Apply for approval to receive visiting researchers

The Swedish Research Council is the public authority that by law shall approve research principals who wish to invite and receive visiting researchers. The Swedish law is based on the EU’s Visiting Researcher Directive.

The legislation governing approval for research principals to receive visiting researchers (SFS 2008:290) is based on the European Council’s “Visiting Researcher Directive” (2005/71/EC). The purpose of the Directive is to make it easier for researchers from countries outside the EU, EEA or Switzerland to enter, stay and move around the EU, and for the EU in this way to attract more researchers from the rest of the world.

The legislation states that the public agency, physical person or legal entity that conducts research activities and plans to receive a researcher from a third country for more than three months must get approval to do so. The Swedish Research Council is the public agency that tries issues relating to approval according to the ordinance governing approval for research principals to receive visiting researchers (SFS 2008:353).

Requirements to receive a visiting researcher

To receive and host a visiting researcher the following requirements must be met:

  1. The research principal (a higher education institution, research institute or private company) must be approved by the Swedish Research Council.
  2. The research principal and the visiting researcher shall enter into a reception contract that specifies the research project and certain other issues relating to the visiting researcher’s employment and other areas. As from 1 January 2020, the Swedish Migration Agency is responsible for regulations governing visiting researchers’ ability to support themselves during stays in Sweden.
  3. The visiting researcher has applied for and received a residence permit from the Swedish Migration Agency.

Forms for reception contracts and applications for residence permit can be downloaded from the Swedish Migration Agency’s website. External link.

How to apply to the Swedish Research Council

Compile the requested information under items 1-6 below and submit this to us

  1. Information about the applicant, name and organisation number (for example a higher education institution, research institute or private company)
  2. Authorized representative of the applicant. Valid only for legal entity
    (first name sur name, postal address, phone number, email address)
  3. Information on contact person at applicant (first name sur name, postal address, phone number, email address)
  4. Official document stating the organisation number. This can be shown using excerpts from the Business Register, Foundation Register or the Swedish Tax Agency.
  5. Documentation that confirms that the applicant conducts or is planning to conduct research
  6. Information on period of validity applied for (5 years, until further notice or other time period)

If the applicant is currently conducting research

Documentation that can support this may be:

  • a document showing an assignment according to legislation, ordinance or statutory purposes, from a foundation, company or not-for-profit association for example, where the purpose of the organisation is described. This can be shown using excerpts from the Business Register, Foundation Register or the Swedish Tax Agency.
  • information on scientific publications where the described research has been conducted by the applicant
  • other descriptions of conducted research activities
  • documentation of secured funding (such as a certificate showing research funding awarded)
  • excerpts from annual reports or activity reports in which research activities are accounted for.

If the applicant is not currently conducting research, but plans to do so

The application should also include:

  • a project description of a planned research project that will be conducted by the applicant
  • documentation on secured funding for the visiting researcher.

Please send the application with the requested documentation attached to: vetenskapsradet@vr.se, or by standard post to:

Vetenskapsrådet
Box 1035
101 38 Stockholm

What happens next?

If information is lacking so that we cannot make a decision, we will contact the applicant and ask for supplementary information.

Once we have received the application, we will assess it and form a decision (approved or rejected). The contact person of the application will receive the decision by email.

Once an application has been approved, we will update our list of approved research principals with the name of the new research principal, see the heading below.
If an application is rejected, we will inform the Swedish Migration Agency.

The approval’s period of validity

The practice is that an approval as a research principal is valid for 5 years at a time for minor research actors. Higher education institutions (HEIs) have permanent approvals. If the application for approval covers a period of less than 5 years, then the validity of the decision will be limited to the period applied for.

To extend an approval, a new application has to be submitted with updated information showing that the organisation conducts research.

Approved research principals

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