Welcoming international researchers and doctoral students

Avignon University welcomes foreign teacher-researchers, researchers, doctoral students or post-docs wishing to come and teach in our establishment or do a research stay in one of our laboratories.

Avignon University is the EURAXESS local contact point and a member of the Euraxess France association. The EURAXESS Researchers in Motion network is an initiative of the European Commission launched in 2004 and intended to facilitate the mobility of researchers in Europe. It is a network of more than 500 service centers located in more than 40 countries. Its purpose is to support mobile researchers, whether they are nationals of the European Union or of a third country. Since 2001, the French network has been involved in European thinking and cooperated actively with the committee, particularly in the implementation of the Talent Passport visa for researchers.

The EURAXESS portal can provide researchers, international doctoral students and host laboratories with a great deal of information on:

• scientific employment, consulting or submitting offers, submitting CVs through EURAXESS jobs,
• career development in research with the No limits ’tool
• Euraxess centers from other countries which can support them during international mobility
• the European charter with the rights and duties of researchers and the code of conduct for the recruitment of researchers
• Partnership opportunities with companies, universities and research organizations around the world thanks to the Euraxess database

The Contact Point facilitates your setup, in particular obtaining your visa and / or residence permit. It maintains privileged links with the Prefecture of Vaucluse (Avignon). You can request it at any time, in French or in English by writing to euraxess@univ-avignon.fr

The formalities for entering and staying in France

If you are not a national of a European Union country, in most cases you need a visa to come and work in France.

The type of visa depends on the duration (less than or greater than 90 days) of your stay, its reason and your status.

In order to know the type of visa you need and to start your procedures, please go to the official website for visas for France. You can also get more information on the website of the French Office for Immigration and Integration as well as that of the Ministry of the Interior.

In case you struggle to identify the type of visa for your situation, contact euraxess@univ-avignon.fr

A hosting agreement will be necessary for salaried doctors or non-European foreign researchers asking for a visa or residence permit for professional stay in France. It is one of the mandatory documents to be provided to the consulate. Students or interns are not concerned by this procedure.

This agreement is established by the University, please contact your laboratory to obtain it.

Please not that if you live in France and your status changes, you must also take the necessary administrative procedures with the Prefecture of your department of residence and apply for a “Talent Passport” residence permit. A hosting agreement will also be necessary.

Accommodation in Avignon

The university's laboratories are located on two campuses: the Hannah Arendt Campus in the city center, and the Jean-Henri Fabre campus in the Agroparc district (15 minutes from the city center by car or bus). For stays of a few days / months, we recommend the following residences:

• City center : Résidence Les Cordeliers (site disponible en anglais) : https://www.cordeliers-avignon.com/fr/
• Agroparc : Campus Del Sol https://www.residenceetudiante.fr/en/residence/residence-campus-del-sol.html 
• For long stays (several months / years), it is recommended to find private rental accommodation. For more information:  https://www.euraxess.fr/fr/node/224022/logement

Civil Liability Insurance must be requested from an insurer.

You can benefit from the basic French social security system only if you have an employment contract.

If you are not covered in France by the insurance organization of your country of origin (in the event of secondment, for example, bilateral agreements between social security funds in different countries exist which allow you to be affiliated to the CPAM ), several options are available to you:

• Subscribe to private insurance in your country of origin which will cover all health expenses, for you and your family, for the duration of your stay in France;
• Subscribe to private insurance in France.

For long stays, you can register to the social security (CPAM) based on the criterion of residence by completing a form and gathering the required documents. This is only possible after three months of residence in France, so you will need to provide insurance for the first 4 months.

• You can contact insurance partners at national level AXA via the Fnak or ACS AMI site, which have developed packages for researchers.

If you are a doctoral student and you are over 28, you cannot benefit from the student mutual insurance scheme. You can join the social security (CPAM) on the criterion of residence.

Are you planning to join us? To facilitate your arrival in Avignon, we have published a bilingual French-English guide that will give you all the keys to prepare your stay.






It offers four main themes:

• Before you come
  Steps, formalities, family, schools, learning french

• Settle in Avignon
  Visa, housing, bank, insurance, tax, healthcare

• Stay in Avignon
  Climate, work pace, tourism, culture, sport, gastronomy

• Find your way
  Travel, campus maps, calendar, directory, checklist, step by step