Council Directive 2005/71/EC of 12 October 2005 on a specific procedure for admitting third-country nationals for the purposes of scientific research - Main contents

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 289/15

With a view to consolidating and giving structure to European research policy, the Commission considered it necessary in January 2000 to establish the European Research Area as the lynchpin of the Community’s future action in this field.

Endorsing the European Research Area, the Lisbon European Council in March 2000 set the Community the objective of becoming the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world by 2010.

The globalisation of the economy calls for greater mobility of researchers, something which was recognised by the sixth framework programme of the European Community (4), when it opened up its programmes further to researchers from outside the European Union.

The number of researchers which the Community will need by 2010 to meet the target set by the Barcelona European Council in March 2002 of 3 % of GDP invested in research is estimated at 700 000. This target is to be met through a series of interlocking measures, such as making scientific careers more attractive to young people, promoting women’s involvement in scientific research, extending the opportunities for training and mobility in research, improving career prospects for researchers in the Community and opening up the Community to third-country nationals who might be admitted for the purposes of research.

This Directive is intended to contribute to achieving these goals by fostering the admission and mobility for research purposes of third-country nationals for stays of more than three months, in order to make the Community more attractive to researchers from around the world and to boost its position as an international centre for research.

Implementation of this Directive should not encourage a brain drain from emerging or developing countries. Back-up measures to support researchers’ reintegration into their countries of origin as well as the movement of researchers should be taken in partnership with the countries of origin with a view to establishing a comprehensive migration policy.

For the achievement of the objectives of the Lisbon process it is also important to foster the mobility within the Union of researchers who are EU citizens, and in particular researchers from the Member States which acceded in 2004, for the purpose of carrying out scientific research.

Given the openness imposed by changes in the world economy and the likely requirements to meet the 3 % of GDP target for investment in research, third-country researchers potentially eligible under this Directive should be defined broadly in accordance with their qualifications and the research project which they intend to carry out.

As the effort to be made to achieve the said 3 % target largely concerns the private sector, which must therefore recruit more researchers in the years to come, the research organisations potentially eligible under this Directive belong to both the public and private sectors.

Each Member State should ensure that the most comprehensive information possible, regularly kept up to date, is made publicly available, via the Internet in particular, on the research organisations, approved under this Directive, with which researchers could conclude a hosting agreement, and on the conditions and procedures for entry and residence on its territory for the purposes of carrying out research, as adopted under this Directive.

It is appropriate to facilitate the admission of researchers by establishing an admission procedure which does not depend on their legal relationship with the host research organisation and by no longer requiring a work permit in addition to a residence permit. Member States could apply similar rules for third-country nationals requesting admission for the purposes of teaching in a higher education establishment in accordance with national legislation or administrative practice, in the context of a research project.

At the same time, the traditional avenues of admission (such as employment and traineeship) should be maintained, especially for doctoral students carrying out research as students, who should be excluded from the scope of this Directive and are covered by Council Directive 2004/114/EC of 13 December 2004 on the conditions of admission of third-country nationals for the purposes of studies, pupil exchange, unremunerated training or voluntary service (5).

The specific procedure for researchers is based on collaboration between the research organisations and the immigration authorities in the Member States: it gives the former a key role in the admission procedure with a view to facilitating and speeding up the entry and residence of third-country researchers in the Community while preserving Member States’ prerogatives with respect to immigration policing.

Research organisations approved in advance by the Member States should be able to sign a hosting agreement with a third-country national for the purposes of carrying out a research project. Member States will issue a residence permit on the basis of the hosting agreement if the conditions for entry and residence are met.

In order to make the Community more attractive to third-country researchers, they should be granted, during their stay, equal social and economic rights with nationals of the host Member State in a number of areas and the possibility to teach in higher education establishments.

This Directive adds a very important improvement in the field of social security as the non-discrimination principle also applies directly to persons coming to a Member State directly from a third country. Nevertheless, this Directive should not confer more rights than those already provided in existing Community legislation in the field of social security for third-country nationals who have cross-border elements between Member States. This Directive furthermore should not grant rights in relation to situations which lie outside the scope of Community legislation like for example family members residing in a third country.

It is important to foster the mobility of third-country nationals admitted for the purposes of carrying out scientific research as a means of developing and consolidating contacts and networks between partners and establishing the role of the European Research Area at world level. Researchers should be able to exercise mobility under the conditions established by this Directive. The conditions for exercising mobility under this Directive should not affect the rules currently governing recognition of the validity of the travel documents.

Special attention should be paid to the facilitation and support of the preservation of the unity of family members of the researchers, according to the Council Recommendation of 12 October 2005 to facilitate the admission of third-country nationals to carry out scientific research in the European Community (6).

In order to preserve family unity and to enable mobility, family members should be able to join the researcher in another Member State under the conditions determined by the national law of such Member State, including its obligations arising from bilateral or multilateral agreements.

Holders of residence permits should be in principle allowed to submit an application for admission while remaining on the territory of the Member State concerned.

Member States should have the right to charge applicants for the processing of applications for residence permits.

This Directive should not affect in any circumstances the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1030/2002 of 13 June 2002 laying down a uniform format for residence permits for third-country nationals (7).

The objectives of this Directive, namely the introduction of a special admission procedure and the adoption of conditions of entry and residence applicable to third-country nationals for stays of more than three months in the Member States for the purposes of conducting a research project under a hosting agreement with a research organisation, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States, especially as regards ensuring mobility between Member States, and can therefore be better achieved by the Community. The Community is therefore entitled to take measures in accordance with the subsidiarity principle laid down in Article 5 of the Treaty. In accordance with the principle of proportionality set out in that article, this Directive does not go beyond what is necessary to achieve those objectives.

Member States should give effect to the provisions of this Directive without discrimination on the basis of sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic characteristics, language, religion or beliefs, political or other opinions, membership of a national minority, fortune, birth, disabilities, age or sexual orientation.

This Directive respects the fundamental rights and observes the principles recognised in particular by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

In accordance with paragraph 34 of the Interinstitutional agreement on better law-making, Member States will be encouraged to draw up, for themselves and in the interest of the Community, their own tables, which will, as far as possible, illustrate the correlation between this Directive and the transposition measures, and to make them public.

In accordance with Article 3 of the Protocol on the position of the United Kingdom and Ireland, annexed to the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty establishing the European Community, Ireland has given notice by letter of 1 July 2004 of its wish to participate in the adoption and application of this Directive.

In accordance with Articles 1 and 2 of the Protocol on the position of the United Kingdom and Ireland, annexed to the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty establishing the European Community, and without prejudice to Article 4 of the said Protocol, the United Kingdom is not participating in the adoption of this Directive and is not bound by it or subject to its application.

In accordance with Articles 1 and 2 of the Protocol on the position of Denmark annexed to the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty establishing the European Community, Denmark does not take part in the adoption of this Directive, and is not bound by it or subject to its application,

‘third-country national’ means any person who is not a Union citizen within the meaning of Article 17(1) of the Treaty;

‘research’ means creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man, culture and society, and the use of this stock of knowledge to devise new applications;

‘research organisation’ means any public or private organisations which conducts research and which has been approved for the purposes of this Directive by a Member State in accordance with the latter's legislation or administrative practice;

‘researcher’ means a third-country national holding an appropriate higher education qualification, which gives access to doctoral programmes, who is selected by a research organisation for carrying out a research project for which the above qualification is normally required;

‘residence permit’ means any authorisation bearing the term ‘researcher’ issued by the authorities of a Member State allowing a third-country national to stay legally on its territory, in accordance with Article 1(2)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 1030/2002.

third-country nationals staying in a Member State as applicants for international protection or under temporary protection schemes;

third-country nationals applying to reside in a Member State as students within the meaning of Directive 2004/114/EC in order to carry out research leading to a doctoral degree;

third-country nationals whose expulsion has been suspended for reasons of fact or law;

researchers seconded by a research organisation to another research organisation in another Member State.

bilateral or multilateral agreements concluded between the Community or between the Community and its Member States on the one hand and one or more third countries on the other;

bilateral or multilateral agreements concluded between one or more Member States and one or more third countries.

the research project has been accepted by the relevant authorities in the organisation, after examination of:

during his/her stay the researcher has sufficient monthly resources to meet his/her expenses and return travel costs in accordance with the minimum amount published for the purpose by the Member State, without having recourse to the Member State’s social assistance system;

during his/her stay the researcher has sickness insurance for all the risks normally covered for nationals of the Member State concerned;

the hosting agreement specifies the legal relationship and working conditions of the researchers.

present a valid travel document, as determined by national law. Member States may require the period of the validity of the travel document to cover at least the duration of the residence permit;

present a hosting agreement signed with a research organisation in accordance with Article 6(2);

where appropriate, present a statement of financial responsibility issued by the research organisation in accordance with Article 6(3); and

not be considered to pose a threat to public policy, public security or public health.

recognition of diplomas, certificates and other professional qualifications in accordance with the relevant national procedures;

working conditions, including pay and dismissal;

branches of social security as defined in Council Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 of 14 June 1971 on the application of social security schemes to employed persons, to self-employed persons and to members of their families moving within the Community (8). The special provisions in the Annex to Council Regulation (EC) No 859/2003 of 14 May 2003 extending the provisions of Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 and Regulation (EEC) No 574/72 to nationals of third countries who are not already covered by these provisions solely on the ground of their nationality (9) shall apply accordingly;

tax benefits;

access to goods and services and the supply of goods and services made available to the public.