EU membership supports the movement of researchers both directly and indirectly, actively supporting movement through Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions and facilitating it by allowing free movement of workers. However, the global nature of research sees scientists moving to and from the UK from all over the world.
The right to freedom of movement within the EU allows researchers who are EU nationals to work wherever they choose within the EU. However, UK-based researchers move to countries outside the EU as well as to those within, and the UK research workforce is comprised of researchers from all over the world, not just from the EU. It is not clear whether the UK’s membership of the EU helps UK institutions to attract these non-EU workers, but they do successfully access EU funding when they are here.
Without detail, it is not possible to speculate how this mobility might be affected by changes to freedom of movement, but this section includes details of the visa regulations with which researchers have to comply to enter other countries, to illustrate how restrictions on movement operate in practice.
Visa restrictions are not the only factor in researchers’ decision to move. Other factors such as culture, and geography also play a role.
How much do UK-based researchers move within the EU?
UK-based researchers move to work within the EU, but they also move globally, and do so more than researchers from comparable countries. Looking at publications data for active researchers affiliated with a UK institution, we used institutional affiliations on research papers to see where researchers had worked between 1996 and 2011. 7.6% of UK-affiliated researchers (including non-UK nationals) had experience of working abroad for more than two years in other EU countries but not outside the EU, which is similar to the proportion of researchers in both Germany and France that had done so, at 8.7% and 7.0%, respectively.
The proportion of UK-affiliated researchers who worked in a country outside the EU for more than two years over the same period was 13.3%70, whereas the proportions of researchers from Germany and France who had done so were lower, at 9.2% and 8.1% respectively.
Table 5 shows the proportion of researchers in European countries that spent more than two years working in a different country between 1996 and 2011. The UK is ranked sixth, but note that all the countries ranked above the UK are notably smaller—in terms of population, GDP and research spend—so it might be reasonable to assume that researchers from those countries have more incentive to move abroad to develop their careers.
Table 5
European countries ranked by the proportion of their research population that has spent more than two years working in a different country between 1996 and 2011.
* European Member States | ** EEA countries and Switzerland
| Country |
Long-term migration |
Outside EU migration |
Within EU migration |
| **Switzerland |
24.63% |
9.17% |
15.46% |
| **Liechtenstein |
23.24% |
2.82% |
20.42% |
| *Cyprus |
23.23% |
8.44% |
14.79% |
| Faroe Islands |
23.08% |
2.56% |
20.52% |
| *Ireland |
22.34% |
10.16% |
12.18% |
| *Luxembourg |
21.96% |
2.32% |
19.64% |
| Moldova |
21.00% |
8.86% |
12.14% |
| *United Kingdom |
20.91% |
13.27% |
7.64% |
| Serbia |
20.55% |
14.67% |
5.88% |
| Montenegro |
18.92% |
8.11% |
10.81% |
| **Iceland |
18.29% |
6.50% |
11.79% |
| Israel |
18.18% |
14.73% |
3.45% |
| *Germany |
17.80% |
9.15% |
8.65% |
| *Sweden |
17.71% |
8.77% |
8.94% |
| *Austria |
17.33% |
5.79% |
11.54% |
| *Netherlands |
15.80% |
6.60% |
9.20% |
| *Belgium |
15.75% |
6.21% |
9.54% |
| *Denmark |
15.50% |
6.48% |
9.02% |
| *Malta |
15.36% |
4.78% |
10.58% |
| *France |
15.11% |
8.07% |
7.04% |
This data includes active researchers who have migrated to another country (or countries) for at least two years.
Figure 6
See large image
See large image
How does the EU support researcher mobility?
Researchers who are EU nationals are able to travel, live, look for a job and work in any Member State without a visa or work permit, due to the EU’s free movement of workers principle.
The EU sets out to support the mobility of researchers within the EU. The European Research Area is intended to be “a unified research area open to the world based on the Internal Market, in which researchers, scientific knowledge and technology circulate freely and through which the Union and its Member States strengthen their scientific and technological bases, their competitiveness and their capacity to collectively address grand challenges”. This broad aim has driven measures to support the movement of researchers, both indirectly by removing restrictions on their movement and directly through schemes designed to support mobility. These measures apply to both EU nationals and non-EU nationals (see Box 4).
International mobility is supported by national and international schemes, and individual countries set their own immigration rules and regulations, which researchers have to comply with. As well as their visa regulations, many factors influence researchers’ decisions about where to move and employers’ decisions about where to recruit from.
Freedom of movement of workers within the EU
Researchers who are EU nationals are able to travel, live, look for a job and work in any Member State without a visa or work permit, due to the EU’s free movement of workers principle. This right also extends to the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland. For UK research institutions, this means that the pool of ‘home’ talent from which they can recruit without having to go through the immigration system is much bigger. Compared with the administrative burden and cost of moving to and from non-EU countries, mobility within the EEA is relatively cheap and easy.
British researchers wishing to travel to countries outside the EEA and Switzerland are subject to the immigration systems of the destination country, and non-EU researchers moving to the UK must comply with immigration rules that are predominantly under the control of the UK government.
Box 5 includes examples of the immigration rules and regulations that researchers have to comply with when moving outside of the EU, to the USA, Australia, China, India and Turkey. It also includes examples of the requirements for moving to countries within the EU, the UK and Germany, for researchers that do not have the right to free movement within the EEA.
Box 4: Movement of non-EU nationals within the EU
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The EU is working to harmonise mobility rules for researchers and students from outside the EU (non-EU citizens), through a draft Directive that is currently progressing through the European Parliament and Council.
The Directive’s stated objective is to advance the European Union in the global competition for talent and to promote Europe as a world centre of excellence for studies and training. It aims to do this by making it easier for third-country researchers to make short and long visits to other Member States for their work, allowing dependents to join them in the EU and allowing them to remain in the EU for up to nine months after they have completed their study or work, to look for a job or set up a business.
The UK, Ireland and Denmark are not taking part in this, so the changes will not take effect in the UK. This Directive is discussed here to illustrate a further way in which the EU is working to support intra-EU mobility for researchers.
Together, these examples show the variety of immigration systems around the world, and the cost, bureaucracy and time it takes for researchers to comply with visa requirements when they move.
Travel visa restrictions are one of the factors that influence researchers’ decisions about where to move so it is possible that a change to the principle of free movement could influence the attractiveness of the UK to other EU researchers and the willingness of British researchers to move around the EU. However since many factors influence these decisions, it is not possible to say the extent to which patterns of mobility might change.
Box 5: For a researcher with a PhD emigrating or travelling for work
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UK
Work
There are two possible routes: Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent), for established or future leaders in academia or industry and Tier 2, for skilled workers with at least a graduate-level job offer. A Tier 1 visa will cost £900 and a Tier 2 visa may cost from £400 to £1200. Applicants for either visa must also pay an annual £200 healthcare surcharge. Both visas offer five years residency and it is possible to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain after this period. Holders of either visa can be accompanied by dependents who also have the right to work and access healthcare. Both Tier 1 and Tier 2 visas are normally processed within 10 days.
Business and research trips
A short-stay visitor to the UK needs a Standard Visitor visa, which is valid for 6 months and typically processed within five days, for a cost of £87. Paid engagements require a Permitted Paid Engagement visa, which is valid for one month paid engagement and also costs £87.
USA
Work
There are two temporary employment visas for professionals in specialty occupations. The H-1B is for those with a job offer that requires a bachelor’s or higher degree. The O-1B is for those who have risen to the top of their field of endeavour and it must be petitioned by a US organisation. In both cases, dependents can apply for a dependent’s visas, but cannot work. The processing time for both visas is around 2 – 5 months, and they can cost anywhere from $825 – $4,000 USD.
Applications for permanent residency are two tier, must be accompanied by an offer of employment and fall into a broad range of categories depending on the credentials of the person applying. For the initial I-140 application, applicants can apply through one of the following streams; EB-1 extraordinary ability, EB-1 outstanding professors and researchers, EB-2 advanced degree, EB-2 exceptional ability, EB-2 national interest waiver, EB-3 skilled workers and EB-3 professionals, which each take around 4 – 8 months to process and cost $580 USD.
For any of the EB-2 or EB-3 streams, the employer must also complete a PERM application with the Department of Labor. A PERM requires the sponsoring employer to prove that there are no minimally qualified US workers for the position; this is usually done via a job advertisement in a newspaper and can take around 6 – 10 months. Once one of these statuses is achieved, the individual can complete the second part of the permanent residency application, I-485, which costs over $1,000 USD. Once in possession of permanent residency status, an individual can apply for permanent residency for any dependents.
Business and research trips
For business activities, a foreign national can obtain a B-1 business visa that is valid for up to 6 months and costs $160 USD. They cannot partake in paid work and must demonstrate ties to their home country. Alternatively, the Visa Waiver Program allows nationals of certain countries to enter the US for business without a visa. Authorisation is usually immediate and costs $14 USD.
China
Work
There is no specialised pathway for individuals possessing a bachelors or higher degree. The work visa system is split into two tiers; China Work ‘Z’ Visa and China Talent ‘R’ Visa. China Work ‘Z’ visas are granted to those who plan to take on scientific or technical work, project management or consultation for a cooperating party in China. The China Talent ‘R’ Visa is issued for much needed, highly talented people who need to remain in China. Both the Work ‘Z’ and Talent ‘R’ visas are valid for up to 30 days from arrival, during which time the visa holder must seek a temporary residents permit, which is valid for up to 5 years. The USA and China have recently made a special agreement under which US nationals visas can be valid for up to 10 years. Both visas cost around $1,000 USD and dependent family members can accompany an individual under these streams. A permanent residence card is an option for an eligible spouse of a Chinese national, dependent, investor or special personnel.
Business and research trips
For exchanges, visits and tours an individual can obtain an ‘F’ visa, which is valid for 12 months, takes four working days to process and costs less than $348 USD. If travelling for trade and commercial reasons, it is necessary to obtain a Business ‘B’ visa, which is usually issued for 60 days per visit.
India
Work
There are no separate authorisation pathways for individuals with specialised knowledge. Instead, one ‘E’ visa covers a range of professions including skilled, technical personnel and senior managers. This visa can be granted for up to one year and costs around $1,000 USD. It takes around 6 – 34 days from the date of application and permits dependents to accompany the visa holder. There is no form of employment-based permanent residence in India.
Business and research trips
A Business ‘B’ visa is used for business visits and allows multiple entries. It is valid for up to one year and takes 3 – 4 working days to process, costing around $ 348 USD.
Australia
Work
There is no specialised pathway for individuals possessing a bachelors or higher degree, instead the visa system is split into two pathways: Subclass 400, for those doing short-term specialised work, and Subclass 457, for temporary sponsorship of overseas skilled workers. Subclass 400 is normally valid for 3 months, but can be extended to 6 months when there is a strong business case and Subclass 457 is valid for up to 4 years. These visas cost $165 AUD and $420 AUD, respectively. An employer can nominate a foreign national for a full-time position in their organisation using the Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) Subclass 186 visa or Migration Scheme (RSMS) Subclass 187 visa. Dependents can accompany individuals with either Subclass 186 or Subclass 187 status.
Business and research trips
The Subclass 400 visa can be used for short stays to carry out specialised work or to participate in non-ongoing activities at the invitation of an Australian organisation.
Turkey
Work
There are no separate authorisation pathways for individuals with specialised knowledge, instead a standard Work Permit is used for most assignments. A minimum salary and a local worker quota apply. This permit is valid for one year and takes around 88 days to process, costing around $1,000 USD. A permanent residence application was only introduced in 2014 and so far does not accept applications.
Business and research trips
Certain technical workers can obtain an AMS Work visa. The individual can work at the host company designated on the visa application. This is generally granted for a maximum of 90 days and allows multiple entries. Processing takes 2 – 5 calendar days to process and costs less than $1000 USD.
Germany
Work (for a US citizen)
A scientist from the US can travel to Germany for work at a university or research institute using a Guest Scientist visa. All German visas cost €60 and it is recommended that individuals allow at least 3 weeks processing time. Applicants need: confirmation from a health insurance provider proving that they have cover for their whole stay in Germany, all flights and rail booked with proof, proof of accommodation for the whole stay in the Schengen area and a personal covering letter explaining the purpose of the stay in Germany. They must also provide a no-objection letter from their own university/research institute, an invitation letter from the university or institute they are visiting, proof of their academic qualification and proof of marital status. Once a Guest Scientists is in Germany, they can apply for a residence permit for work purposes, under the Specialist Profession stream. To gain a work permit, it is necessary to prove you have the ability to integrate into German society, sufficient funds to sustain yourself and a contract of employment. US, Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland and the Republic of Korea can apply for the work permit when in Germany as a tourist.
Business and research trips (for a US citizen)
For trips shorter than 90 days without work, no visa is required. For stays longer than 90 days, a US citizen can apply for a Business Visa, which requires copies of the previous 3 months’ bank statements, an invitation letter from an organisation and a detailed list of business meetings for stays over 30 days.
Work (for a Chinese citizen)
Chinese citizens will need a tourist visa to visit the Schengen area for less than 90 days. However, the same requirements apply as for a US citizen if an individual wants to visit Germany as a visiting researcher using a Guest Scientist visa. They can also apply for a residence permit for work purposes using the Specialist Profession stream but they must apply before arriving in Germany.
Business and research trips (for a Chinese citizen)
For trips under 90 days without work, a tourist visa is required. As with all visas this will cost €60 and take around 3 weeks to process. Again, for trips over 90 days, a Chinese citizen can apply for a Business visa.
Should the UK leave the EU, the nature of the UK’s future relationship with the EU will determine free movement rights. EEA member countries have different agreements underpinning free movement within the EEA, for example Norway retains the right to free movement and Norwegian researchers can access European research funding. In a referendum in Switzerland, Swiss citizens voted to limit immigration, which led to limits being imposed on the principle of free movement. This affected the ability of researchers to move to Switzerland and could affect Switzerland’s ability to access European research funding in future (see Box 6).
Supporting mobility through funding
The EU has specific funding schemes to support mobility. Many other national and international organisations support the international mobility of researchers. Box 7 describes some of these, as examples of the sources of support that exist beyond the EU.
Between 2007 and 2014, 3,454 UK-based researchers received funding from the Marie Skłodowska- Curie Actions, with a total value of over €1 billion.
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCAs) enable researchers to work in different countries, sectors or disciplines. MSCAs support international training networks for PhD and early career researchers, international mobility fellowships for experienced researchers, international exchanges of research staff and other programmes related to international and intersectoral research training and career development.
Between 2007 and 2014, 3,454 UK-based researchers received funding from the MSCAs, with a total value of over €1 billion. 1,297 received fellowships and 2,157 received funding for staff exchanges. Interestingly, the most popular destination for UK-based Fellows was to stay in the UK for their research. This reflects that many UK-based researchers are not UK nationals and qualify for the MSCA scheme to support a Fellowship in the UK if they have not resided here for more than 12 months in the 3 years prior to their application; over 400 chose this option. The next most-popular destinations were Germany and France, with around 100 fellows each.
Box 6: What happened to Switzerland when they stopped free movement of people?
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In February 2014, Swiss citizens voted in a referendum on immigration from any country, with the majority of people (50.3%) backing the limiting of immigration through quotas. Due to the referendum result, Switzerland was required to renegotiate its agreement covering migration with the EU. The set of bilateral agreements signed between the EU and Switzerland in 1999 had included agreements on both freedom of movement for people between Switzerland and the EU, and provisions for Switzerland’s inclusion in EU research programmes as an Associated Country. These agreements were linked by a so-called ‘guillotine clause’, meaning that if one of the agreements was terminated or altered, the other could also be affected. Subsequent changes to Swiss immigration policy would therefore potentially jeopardise Switzerland’s future access to EU research funding.
When Switzerland chose not to sign a protocol on Croatia, which had recently joined the EU and was not already covered by the existing Swiss-EU agreement, the European Commission initially announced that Switzerland’s status in Horizon 2020 would be downgraded from Associated to Third Country, meaning Swiss researchers were excluded from Erasmus programmes and many sources of H2020 funding.
In December 2014, Switzerland and the EU signed an agreement giving Switzerland Partial Associated status up to the end of 2016. This
agreement allows Swiss researchers to directly access Horizon 2020 funding as an Associated Country for particular activities, including ERC funding and Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions. For certain other parts of the Horizon 2020 programme, Switzerland remains a nonassociated
Third Country participant, under which arrangement they may have to provide some matched funding in order for their researchers to receive EU funding.
Switzerland’s status in Horizon 2020 after 2016 will be dependent on whether it applies the rules on the free movement of people across
the whole EU and confirms this agreement will extend to Croatia. If it does this, it will regain its full Associated Country status, however if it chooses not to do this, it will only be able to participate as a third country.
Box 7: National and international funding for mobility
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The Newton Fund was established by the UK Government to promote international economic development though science and innovation partnerships. The fund facilitates bilateral exchanges of researchers between the UK and partner countries. The UK Government has selected 15 partner countries, including Brazil, China, Egypt, Turkey and the Philippines.
The Newton Fund will distribute £735 million between 2014 until 2021 and is part of the UK’s Official Development Assistance. The fund is operated through 15 UK partner delivery organisations, including The Royal Society, which manage the funds and run calls focusing on three strategic areas: people, research and translation.
The UK Research Councils run a number of schemes to support activities that foster international collaboration. These include establishing partnership links between research institutions, building on existing links between research groups and extending networks, and encouraging researchers from overseas to undertake research in the UK as well as UK researchers to spend time abroad. The Research
Councils offer a number of opportunities depending on the type of collaboration being undertaken.
The Global Innovation Initiative is a partnership between the UK Department of Business Innovation and Skills and the US Department of State, administered by the British Council and the US Institute of International Education. The GII encourages multilateral research collaborations between universities in the UK, the US and designated third countries, currently Brazil, China, India and Indonesia. Grants are intended for projects focusing on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)-related global challenges. The initiative aims to increase global mobility and develop a research workforce with an international outlook.
An OECD study using authors’ institutional affiliations to track mobility found that scientists are more likely to move between countries which are geographically closer, socioeconomically similar and have comparable scientific cultures.
Of foreign fellows coming to the UK, over 700 came from Italy, 575 from Spain and 550 from Germany. Nearly 24% of MCSA awards in FP7 were for researchers from countries that are outside the EU Member States and its Associated Countries.
China was the most popular country for staff exchanges with the UK, with almost 800 staff coming to the UK and about 850 UK staff going to China. This figure dwarfs the number of staff coming from or going to other countries. Brazil, Russia and India, which were the next most popular exchange partners, each sending between 100 and 200 staff to the UK. The US, Brazil, Russia and India were the next most popular destinations for UK staff, receiving between 100 and 200 UK staff.
Does EU membership attract researchers to the UK?
Researchers’ decisions to move for work are affected by a wide range of factors, both professional and personal. An OECD study using authors’ institutional affiliations to track mobility found that scientists are more likely to move between countries which are geographically closer, socioeconomically similar and have comparable scientific cultures. The study found that scientific collaboration appears to be a major factor associated with the mobility of scientists, but common language and distance between countries have a stronger impact on mobility. Scientists are more likely to move between countries who place similar importance and funding on R&D. Mobility is also related to policies such as travel visa restrictions and changing economic and research conditions.
With all of these factors playing a part, it is not possible to say whether being a member of the EU, and a part of the ERA, makes the UK a more attractive destination for researchers from outside the EU. However, EU funding is an important component of the overall research environment in the UK, as the Society’s report on the role of the EU in funding UK research shows.
EU funding schemes are open to all researchers based in EU countries, regardless of their nationality. As an example of the extent to which non-EU nationals access European funding while based in European countries, we looked at the nationalities of the recipients of ERC Starter Grants, Consolidator Grants and Advanced Grants across a selection of European Member States and Associated Countries (Tables 6, 7 and 8), from 2009 to 2015.
These three Grants are flagship ERC schemes that fund individuals at particular stages in their research careers. For all three, some researchers move to countries with access to ERC funding specifically to receive these Grants. However, we cannot conclude that these are the primary driver of their movement. Foreign nationals who are already based in these countries also successfully access these funding streams.
The UK hosts a notably higher proportion of foreign nationals for ERC Starter Grants than comparable EU member states; 65% of recipients in the UK are foreign nationals, compared with 31% in France and 36% in Germany. 35% of the recipients of Consolidator Grants in the UK are foreign nationals and 26% of recipients of Advanced Grants are. For Advanced Grants, this proportion is roughly the same in France and Germany.
In Associated Countries, only Switzerland and Israel receive these ERC Grants in any notable number, and the nationality profiles of ERC Grant recipients vary markedly between Switzerland, Israel and Norway. Whereas in Switzerland recipients for all three Grants are predominantly foreign nationals, in Israel recipients are overwhelmingly Israeli researchers.
To draw stronger conclusions from these figures it would be important to understand the international make up of the research workforces in these different countries, but unfortunately comparable data was not available for this report.
Table 6
Recipients of ERC Starter Grants based in example European Member States and Associated Countries by nationality (2009 – 2015).
* Associated countries
| |
National of the host country (%) |
National of any other European country, based in host country (%) |
National of any non-European country, based in host country (%) |
Any foreign national, moving to the country specifically for the Grant (%) |
Total number of grants received |
| UK |
35 |
39 |
19 |
7 |
565 |
| France |
69 |
19 |
7 |
5 |
344 |
| Germany |
64 |
16 |
10 |
9 |
405 |
| *Switzerland |
15 |
60 |
14 |
11 |
149 |
| *Israel |
96 |
2 |
0.5 |
0.5 |
175 |
| *Norway |
44 |
17 |
17 |
22 |
23 |
Table 7
Recipients of ERC Consolidator Grants based in example European Member States and Associated Countries by nationality (2009 – 2014).
* Associated countries
|
|
National of the host country (%) |
National of any other European country, based in host country (%) |
National of any non-European country, based in host country (%) |
Any foreign national, moving to the country specifically for the Grant (%) |
Total number of grants received |
| UK |
65 |
26 |
7 |
3 |
407 |
| France |
70 |
17 |
9 |
4 |
231 |
| Germany |
76 |
15 |
6 |
4 |
274 |
| *Switzerland |
33 |
43 |
18 |
7 |
120 |
| *Israel |
100 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
79 |
| *Norway |
57 |
22 |
13 |
9 |
23 |
Table 8
Recipients of ERC Advanced Grants based in example European Member States and Associated Countries by nationality (2009 – 2015).
* Associated countries
| |
National of the host country (%) |
National of any other European country, based in host country (%) |
National of any non-European country, based in host country (%) |
Any foreign national, moving to the country specifically for the Grant (%) |
Total number of grants received |
| UK |
74 |
17 |
7 |
2 |
438 |
| France |
75 |
15 |
7 |
3 |
223 |
| Germany |
73 |
17 |
5 |
5 |
279 |
| *Switzerland |
34 |
48 |
13 |
5 |
164 |
| *Israel |
96 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
81 |
| *Norway |
60 |
20 |
12 |
8 |
25 |