Joining INRAE
Your application has been accepted. Congratulations! Here are your next steps as a new PhD student.
Administrative requirements
Your host research unit will ask you to fill out a number of forms, which are available in French and English. This paperwork must be returned by the stated deadline. You will also have to furnish the following documents:
- CV
- Copy of your birth certificate or an official form of national ID (ID card, passport, or equivalent document)
- Copy of your diplomas
- Copy of your residence permit and work permit (if you are a non-EU citizen already residing in France)
- Proof of public health coverage in France (attestation de droits) and a copy of your French health insurance card OR a self-declaration stating that you do not have public health coverage in France
- Your bank account information (relevé d’identité bancaire [RIB])
- Proof of enrolment at an institution of higher education
While translations of these documents are not required, we recommend that you provide English versions.
If you need help with this paperwork, reach out to the research unit’s HR representative.
Visa & residence permit
Before coming to France, you must plan for any administrative requirements, such as applying for a visa and residence permit. If you are a citizen of an EU country, you do not need to apply for a visa for contractual work at INRAE. If you are coming from outside the EU, you need to verify visa requirements, which will vary depending on existing bilateral agreements between your home country and France. If you are subject to visa requirements, your host unit will furnish the documents you need to include in your application.
International doctoral students must have a residence permit. In its absence, INRAE will terminate your doctoral contract.
PhD contract
At INRAE, PhD students are hired as contractual employees on doctoral contracts. Thus, their employment conditions are governed by public law and are described in INRAE’s internal charter for contractual staff. Doctoral contracts require full-time employment and have a term of 3 years. They include the following information:
- Thesis topic and host research unit
- Conditions under which your PhD research will occur
- Length of the contract and trial period
- Remuneration
- Conditions under which training will occur
- Terms regarding confidentiality and intellectual property
- Regulations for health and safety at work
- Leave
- Intellectual property requirements are addressed in the body of the doctoral contract (i.e., not in the appendix as with category A contracts)
You will sign your doctoral contract on your first day in the laboratory or beforehand, depending on the circumstances. Additionally, you will be given a copy of INRAE’s Ethics Charter for Research Professionals; you will need to sign a form certifying that you have read it.
For information purposes, you will also receive an English-language version of the contract.
For doctoral contracts, the trial period lasts 2 months and is non renewable. During this period, either party can terminate the contract via registered letter with return receipt. No termination compensation will be given. If you have not finished your PhD within 3 years (e.g., your research is incomplete, you went on maternity leave or sick leave), your contract can be extended. It can be renewed twice for a 1-year period. Under no circumstances can you take longer than 6 years to complete your PhD.
Useful link
First days in the laboratory
When you arrive in the laboratory, you will be welcomed by the directors and staff of your host research unit. They will give you the equipment and log-in information you need to access INRAE’s computing resources. You will also receive ID badges used to access the research centre and its collective catering services. Additionally, you will be informed about the internal policies and health & safety requirements of your research unit and centre.
Completion of your PhD
Before you move on from INRAE, you will have an exit interview with your supervisor or research unit director to help you prepare for the next steps in your career. The purpose of this exchange is not to evaluate your work, but rather to assess the skills you have utilised and developed over the course of your doctorate.
You will not receive any monetary compensation for leave you have accumulated. Therefore, make sure to take all your vacation days before you graduate.
Employment certificate & applying for unemployment
At the end of your contract, HR at your research centre will send you an employment certificate. When applying for jobs, this document serves as proof that you were employed by INRAE. The institute will also electronically transmit information about your period of employment (e.g., contract type, start and end dates, remuneration) to the national unemployment office (France Travail). HR at your research centre will give you a document certifying that this information has been submitted.
Thus, if you have not yet found a job at the end of your doctoral contract, you can register as a job seeker with France Travail. Depending on how long you worked at INRAE and anywhere else in France, you could be eligible for unemployment benefits.
During your first appointment at France Travail, you will be asked to provide the certification document issued by INRAE.
