Stay type

Any international PhD student coming to INRAE must establish a contract with the institute.

Contract conditions are based on three key elements:

• Your status: You are an international PhD student who is employed by an outside institution, who has a doctoral grant or another form of research funding
• Your country of origin: You are a citizen of a country within or outside the European Union (EU)
• The length of your stay: You will be spending up to or more than 5 days at INRAE

In this section, we describe the contractual conditions and procedures associated with each set of circumstances.

1 – You are employed by an outside institution and will be spending up to 5 days at INRAE

Your contract with INRAE

Prior to your visit, you must submit the following to INRAE:

• Letter from your employer providing the authorisation and rationale for your stay at INRAE
• Signed confidentiality agreement provided by the director of your host research unit at INRAE
• Proof of insurance or a self-declaration affirming that you have the following coverage: health care, accident, civil liability, and repatriation
• Copy of your ID card (if from an EU country) or copy of your passport and an appropriate visa (if from a non-EU country)

2 – You are employed by an outside institution and will be spending more than 5 days at INRAE

Your contract with INRAE

The exact process varies depending on your specific circumstances.

1) You are coming to INRAE as part of a research agreement between the institute and your employer (a public or private institution), and doctoral stays are mentioned in the agreement (i.e., in specific clauses or the annex). In this case, you will only need to fill out a hosting agreement if you are coming from outside the EU (i.e., the hosting agreement for foreign researchers or academics/convention d’accueil d’un chercheur ou d’un enseignant étanger).

2) You are coming to INRAE as part of a research agreement between the institute and your employer (a public or private institution), but doctoral stays are not mentioned in the original agreement. It will be necessary to establish a third-party hosting agreement (convention d’accueil d’une personne salariée d’un tiers) signed by INRAE, your employer, and yourself. If you are coming from outside the EU, you will also need to fill out a hosting agreement for foreign researchers or academics (convention d’accueil d’un chercheur ou d’un enseignant étanger).

3) If you are coming to INRAE but no research agreement exists between the institute and your employer, it will be necessary to establish a third-party hosting agreement (convention d’accueil d’une personne salariée d’un tiers) signed by INRAE, your employer, and yourself.

The hosting agreement(s) will be sent to you by your host research unit or division at INRAE. You must fill in the relevant information. Then, your employer must approve and sign the agreement, which needs to be sent back to INRAE prior to your visit.

Contract duration

In all three sets of circumstances, the hosting agreement(s) can have a maximum duration of 3 years. Two additional 1-year renewals are possible, provided that you possess sufficient funding and that you remain continuously enrolled in a doctoral programme.

Income requirements

For your visit to be successful, your host research unit at INRAE must ensure that you will have sufficient financial resources to support yourself during your time in France. On January 1, 2025, the minimum required income was €1,768 per month. This amount is adjusted by ministerial decree on the first day of the year (through 2026).

Complementary funding

Depending on your specific circumstances, your host research unit at INRAE may give you complementary funding to help cover living expenses.

This allowance is not a form of income. For more information, please contact your host research unit.

3 – You are not employed elsewhere, but you have doctoral funding and will be spending more than 5 days at INRAE

International students and researchers can apply for several different types of funding that can partially or entirely pay for their studies in France. A full list can be found at Campus Bourses (available in multiple languages).

Your contract with INRAE

The exact process varies depending on your specific circumstances.

1) If you have doctoral funding and your work requires a stay at INRAE (i.e., to obtain research-based training or contribute to a research project), you must establish a hosting agreement for international PhD students (convention d’accueil d’un doctorant étranger en séjour de recherche) with INRAE. If you are coming from outside the EU, you will also need to fill out a hosting agreement for foreign researchers or academics (convention d’accueil d’un chercheur ou d’un enseignant étanger).

The hosting agreement(s) will be sent to you by your host research unit or division at INRAE. You must fill in the relevant information and send it back to INRAE prior to your visit.

A copy of the agreement(s) will be sent to the institution at which you are enrolled for your doctoral studies.

You must also submit the following documents to your host research unit:

• Proof of competitive funding for your research at INRAE that has been awarded by a foreign government, a foreign research institution, or the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Proof of common law (or equivalent) insurance, which must cover health care, accidents, individual civil liability, and repatriation
• Copy of your ID card (if from an EU country) or copy of your passport and an appropriate visa (if from a non-EU country)
• Proof that you are officially enrolled in a doctoral programme

2) If you are enrolled in a dual PhD programme run by institutions of higher education in France and abroad, an individual dual degree agreement (convention individuelle de co-tutelle) must be established between the two institutions; it will contain a description of your degree requirements.

You will also need to establish a hosting agreement for international PhD students (convention d’accueil d’une ou d’un doctorant étranger en séjour de recherche) with INRAE. The purpose of your stay is to obtain research-based training and/or to take part in a research project. The agreement must include the following clauses:

• Context, purpose, location, and duration of your work at INRAE.
• Your host research unit or laboratory
• Your complete contact information and the names of references.
• Name and contact information for your scientific advisor at INRAE.
• Amount of primary funding for your stay and any complementary funding from INRAE.
• Liability and insurance requirements.
• Rules related to confidentiality, intellectual property rights, value creation, patents, product creation, and scientific communication.
• Rules, regulations, and health & safety requirements that must be respected during your stay at INRAE.
• Terms relating to contract termination and dispute resolution.

The hosting agreement(s) will be sent to you by your host research unit or division at INRAE. You must fill in the relevant information and send it back to INRAE prior to your visit. You must also submit the following documents to your host research unit:

• Proof of competitive funding for your research at INRAE that has been awarded by a foreign government, a foreign research institution, or the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
• Proof of common law (or equivalent) insurance, which must cover health care, accidents, individual civil liability, and repatriation.
• Proof that you are officially enrolled in a doctoral programme.
• Copy of the dual degree agreement.

If you are coming from outside the EU, you will also need to fill out a hosting agreement for foreign researchers or academics (convention d’accueil d’un chercheur ou d’un enseignant étanger).

Contract duration

In both cases, the hosting agreement(s) can have a maximum duration of 3 years. Two additional 1-year renewals are possible, provided that you possess sufficient funding and that you remain continuously enrolled in a doctoral programme.

Income requirements

For your visit to be successful, your host research unit at INRAE must ensure that you will have sufficient financial resources to support yourself during your time in France. On January 1, 2025, the minimum required income was €1,768 per month. This amount is adjusted by ministerial decree on the first day of the year (through 2026).

Complementary funding

Depending on your specific circumstances, your host research unit at INRAE may give you complementary funding to help cover living expenses. This allowance is not a form of income. For more information, please contact your host research unit.