The “researcher-talent passport” long-stay visa permits doctoral study, research, and teaching in France.
It can be renewed as a multiple-year resident permit.
What activities are permitted with the “research-talent passport” long-stay visa?
The Visa Long Valant Titre de Séjour mention “passport talent-chercheur” (VLS-TS long-stay visa constituting a residency permit marked “researcher-talent passport”) permits holders of a Master’s degree to remain in France to do research or teach at a university level in the context of a hosting arrangement.
Who is eligible for the long-stay “researcher-talent passport” visa?
The VLS-TS “passport for researcher talent” is restricted to doctoral students, researchers, and professors-researchers.
Spouses and minor children of “researcher-talent passport” VLS holders are eligible for the streamlined “accompanying family” procedure and can enter France without completing a family reunification procedure.
What is a hosting contract?
A hosting agreement is a legal instrument that describes the kind and duration of the task allocated to the researcher or doctoral student.
It also describes the beneficiary’s resources, living conditions, and medical coverage. The host institution must send the hosting agreement to the recipient. At the time of visa application, the researcher or doctoral student must have the document stamped by the Consulate in their place of residency.
This approach applies regardless of the nature of the researcher’s or doctoral student’s employment contract, doctorate contract, Convention Industrielle de Formation par la Recherche (CIFRE – Industrial Agreement for Training via Research), or other.
Nationals of countries inside the European Union, the European Economic Area, Switzerland, and Romania do not require a hosting agreement.
Similarly, Algerian doctorate students are governed by the Franco-Algerian agreements of December 27, 1968. If you come to France to pursue a PhD at a French university without funding or a scholarship but without a doctoral contract or labor contract, your host institution may deny you a hosting agreement.
Then, you must apply for a long-stay “student” visa.
How to validate your long-stay “talent passport” visa
For stays shorter than 12 months, you can apply for a one-year “researcher-talent passport” VLS-TS. You must validate your visa online within three months after your arrival in France. You are initially issued with a three-month “researcher-talent passport” visa for stays of 12 months or longer.
You must visit the Prefecture within two months of your arrival in France to apply for a multiple-year “researcher-talent passport” residency visa. It is effective for the same duration as the hosting arrangement, up to four years.
You are not required to visit the OFII.
Is a “researcher-talent passport” long-stay visa valid for travel?
This is based on the length of your visa and the associated validation procedure.
- If you have a one-year, multiple-entry “researcher-talent passport” VLS-TS, you can travel freely within the Schengen region for the first three months following your admission into France with a valid VLS-TS.
- After three months, you are required to validate your visa online.
- With a “researcher-talent passport” visa, you may freely enter and exit the Schengen area for the first three months after entering France.
- You will require a residency permit if you wish to go outside of France.
Can you work with a long-stay “researcher-talent passport” visa?
If you possess a “researcher-talent passport” long-stay visa or residency permit, you are free to hold the post outlined in the hosting agreement without the prior approval of the Direction régionale des Entreprises, de la Concurrence, de la Consommation, du Travail et de l’Emploi (Direccte – the Regional Department of Competition, Consumption, Work and Employment).
The spouse of a PhD student or researcher who obtains a long-stay “family talent passport” visa may also work in France.
How to renew your long-stay “research-talent passport” visa
To extend your stay in France, once your “researcher-talent passport” long-stay visa expires, you can apply for a “researcher-talent passport” residency permit valid for multiple years.
You can request service at the Prefecture. If you receive a residency permit, it will be valid for the same duration as your hosting agreement, up to four years and costs 225 Euros.
Under the same conditions, family members may also request renewal of their “family talent passport” long-stay visa to get a multiple-year residency permit.