Council Directive 2005/71/ECShow full title

CHAPTER I GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1 Purpose

This Directive lays down the conditions for the admission of third-country researchers to the Member States for more than three months for the purposes of carrying out a research project under hosting agreements with research organisations.

Article 2 Definitions

For the purposes of this Directive:

(a)

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

(b)

‘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;

(c)

‘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;

(d)

‘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;

(e)

‘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.

Article 3 Scope

1. This Directive shall apply to third-country nationals who apply to be admitted to the territory of a Member State for the purpose of carrying out a research project.

2. This Directive shall not apply to:

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

(b) 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;

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

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

Article 4 More favourable provisions

1. This Directive shall be without prejudice to more favourable provisions of:

(a) 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;

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

2. This Directive shall not affect the right of Member States to adopt or retain more favourable provisions for persons to whom it applies.