Research Stay
You have decided to absolve a research stay at Chemnitz University of Technology? A very good choice because Chemnitz University of Technology counts - measured by i.a. the acquired third-party funding per professorship - among the best research universities in Germany! In order to turn your research stay at our university as effective and beneficial as possible, we have compiled in the following a few organizational hints for you. Please pay special attention to the different regulations according to countries of origin.
Regarding all issues concerning the academic preparation and implementation of your research stay, the scientific supervisor of your research project at the respective professorship at Chemnitz University of Technology is your most important contact person. If you have organizational questions, you are welcome to address to the International Office. With regard to opportunities for financial support, there is a great number and variety of foundations and organizations which are funding research stays. You find further details by selecting the category "Funding opportunities".
Professors and postdocs who are working at prominent positions at their home university and who would like to absolve a research stay within an already exisiting and proven collaboration with scientists of Chemnitz University of Technology in order to implement a joint research project have the opportunity to apply for being included in the "Visiting Scholar Program" of Chemnitz University of Technology which offers exclusive funding and support services for those kinds of specific research stays at Chemnitz University of Technology.
According to Section 2 Freedom of Movement Act/ EU you do not need a visa for the entry to Germany neither a residence permit for the time of your research stay at Chemnitz University of Technology. Though, in the case that you are staying longer than 90 days at Chemnitz, you are obliged to register at the Citizens' Registration Office (Meldebehörde).
You are entitled to enter Germany without a visa but after arrival you have got to apply at the Immigration Authority for a residence permit for the period of your research stay at Chemnitz University of Technology. In this context, please read also the subsequent information for citizens from other countries of origin.
You are required a visa for entering Germany as well as - in the case that the period of your research stay at Chemnitz University of Technology is longer than the period of validity of your visa - a residence permit. In this respect, please go through the following steps:
For application for a visa for entering Germany for the purpose of a research stay at Chemnitz University of Technology, you will need an invitation letter of a professorship of Chemnitz University of Technology. This should include i.a. the following indications:
- Your surname, name, home university, status, nationality, date of birth and passport number
- Intended beginning and duration of your research stay at Chemnitz University of Technology
- Topic of the research project and short description of your activities during the research stay at Chemnitz University of Technology
- Ensurance of the necessary framework conditions for the successful implementation of your research project by the professorship (provision of the necessary material and space resources; access to necessary infrastructure at the professorship/ faculty/ university etc.)
- Indications regarding the financing of the living and subsistence costs related to your research stay at Chemnitz University of Technology (on your own, by funding, scholarship etc.)
- Indications regarding sufficient health insurance coverance for the period of your stay in Germany.
A draft of an invitation letter can be downloaded here which has then to be individually adapted, particularly at the parts marked yellow, to your respective research stay at Chemnitz University of Technology.
As next document you will need a hosting agreement of Chemnitz University of Technology for the time of your research stay for your application for a visa. For this purpose, please download the respective form and send it duly filled and signed, with pleasure as scan per email, to the International Office. Please attach the following documents:
- Duly filled hosting agreement form with your signature
- Signed invitation letter of the professorship of Chemnitz University of Technology
- Proof of the financial resources you have indicated in the Hosting Agreement for paying the costs of your research stay at Chemnitz University of Technology
- Curriculum vitae, particularly regarding your scientific career
- Certificate of your latest academic degree.
The International Office checks your documents and sends you the signed hosting agreement (via email). In the case that the conclusion of a contract with a visiting researcher (see step 4) is necessary, the International Office gets the signature from the Department for Human Resources.
In the case that you
- are a researcher who is employed at a university abroad,
- who comes for a limited period of time for a research stay at a professorship to Chemnitz University of Technology
- and who does not take up an employment at Chemnitz University of Technology (which means that you keep being employed at your home university also during your research stay at Chemnitz University of Technology)
the conclusion of a Contract with a visiting researcher for the period of your research stay at Chemnitz University of Technology is necessary. Please proceed as follows:
- Download the respective forms from the website of the Department for Human Resources (personal information form and contract with a visiting researcher) and fill them in (the contract with a visiting researcher in duplicate)
- Sign the personal information sheet as well as the contract with a visiting researcher and ask also the professor at Chemnitz University of Technology who will supervise your research stay to sign as well
- Submit the forms together with a copy of your visa and the respective proofs of qualification (e.g. certificates of university degrees) at least two weeks before the beginning of your research stay to the Department for Human Resources.
In the case that you do not fulfill the conditions mentioned at the beginning (e.g. if you are coming for PhD-studies or for taking up an employment to Chemnitz University of Technology), no contract with a guest researcher needs to be concluded.
In the case that your visa is not valid during the whole period of your research stay at Germany resp. Chemnitz, you have to apply for a residence permit for the purpose of research at the Immigration Authority. For this, you will need i.a. the hosting agreement of Chemnitz University of Technology. A checklist of all documents to submit may be downloaded here. Please submit your application in due time before the expiration of your visa as the processing time may take several weeks.
