All actions: Are Russian researchers eligible to apply for MSCA?

Under the framework of Horizon Europe Work Programme 2026-2027, Russian natural persons who are subject to EU restrictive measures may not participate in EU grants.

However, even if natural persons are not subject to EU restrictive measures, natural persons (whatever their nationality) who have their habitual residence in Russia, Belarus or non-government-controlled territories of Ukraine cannot receive financial support.

This restriction is not targeting natural persons of Russian or Belarusian nationality if they do not have their habitual residence in one of these areas. Therefore, Russian individuals who are not attached to a Russian entity (private or public) and do not have their habitual residence in one of the areas mentioned, will in principle remain eligible, after a thorough screening against the EU sanctions list.

Applicants can check this FAQ on the Funding and Tenders Opportunities Portal as well.

PF: Can it be criticised that the same supervisor features in a high number of MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship applications?

There is no rule about what the optimal/ maximum number of supervised researchers is. Note: the supervisor would still need to ensure that they are able to fulfill their supervisory obligations, as outlined in the MSCA Supervision Guidelines, for any and all PF applications that are successful in which they are the designated supervisor.

PF: Is it possible to add a contact person for the outgoing host for Global Fellowships in the system?

The organisation involved in the outgoing phase participates as an Associated Partner. As such, it is not possible to add contact persons for Associated Partners in the portal for Horizon Europe calls. This is confirmed on p. 25 of the Proposal Submission Service User Manual.

PF: Is working as a university lecturer accepted as a professional reason to request part-time implementation of a Postdoctoral Fellowship project?

Yes - in case this is a permanent position that would benefit the researcher in the long run and provide stability beyond the fellowship duration.

PF: When a researcher is unemployed in the months up to and at the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships call deadline, what should they fill out in part A Section 2 Participants - Researcher ‘Current organisation name’ and ‘current department/faculty/institute/laboratory name’?

The information concerning the researcher’s current employer is not mandatory, therefore it can be left blank if the researcher is not employed in any organisation. 

PF: Is an applicant for Postdoctoral Fellowships eligible for the family allowance if they have a “domestic partnership”?

On p. 79 of the MSCA 2026-2027 MSCA Work Programme it is stated that: “the postdoctoral researcher has or acquires family obligations during the action duration, i.e. has persons linked to them by (i) marriage, or (ii) a relationship with equivalent status to a marriage recognised by the legislation of the country or region where this relationship was formalised; or (iii) dependent children who are actually being maintained by the researcher, the family allowance must be paid to them as well.”

Domestic partnership may qualify for the MSCA family allowance, only provided that it constitutes a relationship with a status equivalent to marriage and is legally recognised as such by the legislation of the country where the partnership was formalised.

Therefore, eligibility does not depend on the terminology “domestic partnership” itself, but on its legal status under the relevant national legislation. Applicants should provide the relevant official documentation/certificates. 

PF: When completing Form A, the system displays an error message that at least 1 Associated partner organisation located in a Third Country where the outgoing phase will take place is required. What should applicants do?

This warning appears to be related to the new forms engine, which is not yet fully consistent in certain special cases involving countries such as Japan, whose association to Horizon Europe is limited to Pillar II.

For the purposes of the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships, Japan is considered a Third Country. Therefore, a Japanese associated partner is eligible to host the outgoing phase of a Global Fellowship. The warning is not blocking, and applicants can proceed with the submission after providing the requested justification. The budget should be calculated correctly, as Japan is correctly recognised as a Third Country in the budget section of the application form.

At this stage, it is recommended to proceed with the submission despite the warning.

PF: Which Country Correction Coefficient (CCC) is applied in case there is a three-month secondment at the European host organisation at the beginning of a Global Fellowship?

Тhe CCC of the third country applies for the three-month secondment at the European host organisation.

PF: An error appears in the budget section in Part A. What should applicants do?

This is an IT issue and should be resolved by the end of July. This warning has not blocked proposal submission, and all applicants can proceed with submitting their proposals.

PF: Can fieldwork for a period of 4 months in another country qualify as a short visit?

If the visits are split and do not exceed one month in duration each, they can classify as “field trips” or “short visits”. They have to be explained in detail and specify what type of data or information will be collected.

It is critical that the researcher calculates the cost of those four months of visits to ensure there is adequate budget to cover their cost, which may not be the case given the existing Research, Training and Networking costs and the rest of the RTN activities (conferences, secondments, publications) planned.

PF: A PF applicant has experience in a private company in research and product development. Should “development” be considered as part of the research activity, and then count for the 8-year rule?

If that product development is related to creating or improving products in the company (testing, experimentation, prototyping), that counts as part of Research & Development.

It can be excluded if product development is more “commercial” than “research” development, but the applicant should have the evidence to prove their eligibility.

It is crucial to emphasize that the clearance of proposal eligibility will be conducted by the European Research Executive Agency after the call deadline, considering the numerous potential scenarios. Consequently, eligibility for individual applicants (both researchers and institutions) prior to the call deadline cannot be assessed or confirmed. It is the sole responsibility of the applicants to diligently review all eligibility criteria and ensure the provision of accurate information in the submission forms.

PF: Is a marital relationship between an applicant and the main supervisor considered a conflict of interest? Does it create any restriction or eligibility issue regarding the submission, evaluation, or implementation of an MSCA PF proposal?

Although supervision can be built on an existing collaborative relationship, the supervisor’s choice should be driven by the added value to the project. The applicant needs to justify the complementarity between their profile and the supervisor’s expertise, and if they have already worked together, they will need to explain what new techniques, methods, or specialised knowledge they will acquire that they have not already gained from previous common activities. Unless they can justify their supervisor’s choice (e.g., unique expertise, specific training needs, intersectoral added value, etc.), this could be viewed as a convenient choice that could affect the evaluation of the proposal.

PF: A PF applicant can document their teaching activities through official records. However, academic contracts in their country do not normally specify a fixed percentage of working time allocated to teaching and research. How should they quantify the teaching component in this case?

For the purpose of calculating the 8 years of research experience under MSCA PF, only periods during which the researcher was not carrying out research and research-related activities may be deducted. Any deduction must be supported by appropriate documentation and be quantifiable.

There is no predefined MSCA methodology for converting teaching activities into a percentage of working time based on the number of courses, semesters, or annual averages. The researcher should therefore use the most reliable and well-documented method available to estimate the proportion of time devoted to teaching, considering the specific circumstances of the employment and any supporting evidence (e.g. teaching assignments, workload records, institutional regulations, job descriptions, or other official documentation). The beneficiary should retain the supporting documentation in its records in case of an audit.

Teaching experience should also be described in the CV section of Part B2.

Applicants should note that the eligibility assessment is carried out by the REA only after the call deadline. Consequently, applicants are solely responsible for ensuring that all eligibility criteria are met and that any deductions claimed in the calculation of their research experience are properly justified, documented, and supported by appropriate evidence.

PF: An applicant would like to have a non-academic placement at an EU-based office of the UN Environment Programme whose headquarters are situated in Nairobi. Is it possible?

Non-academic placements must take place in EU Member States or Associated Countries. UNEP’s headquarters are based in Kenya, and their PIC will reference them as an organisation based in a Third Country, even if they have an office in the European Union. As a consequence, the applicant will not be able to include that non-academic placement in the system.

PF: Is it possible to have a secondment at the beginning of the outgoing phase of a Global Fellowship that is hosted not by the beneficiary but by another European organisation?

A secondment in the first months of the outgoing phase in another entity that is not the beneficiary is not advisable.

PF: How can a researcher encode different places of activity and residence during the same period of time in Part A?

It is not possible to encode different countries for the same reference period.

The only recommendation is to indicate the actual physical location in Part A, and to clearly explain the specific situation in Part B2/ CV of the researcher. This clarification may be relevant for the eligibility assessment.

PF: Is Doctorate of Business Administration (DBA) considered equivalent to a PhD for the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships call?

If the degree in question is recognised by the local authorities of the Member State / Associated Country where the beneficiary is located as equivalent to a doctoral degree, then REA will consider it as an equivalent of a doctoral degree for the purposes of eligibility to the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships call.

PF: What is the difference between inadmissible and non-valid non-academic placements (NAPs) in Postdoctoral Fellowships?

Inadmissible placements are considered NAPs when the placements fulfill all the requirements to be considered as a valid NAP (duration of 6 months after the standard duration of the fellowship and organisation located in EU Member States or Associated Countries), but the organisations are academic instead of non-academic. A non-valid NAP is when one of the requirements is not fulfilled. Assessment is done based on the validation status of the organisation at the time of call closure, with further checks during grant agreement preparation.

PF: Is it just a strong recommendation that proposals should be submitted by a representative of the beneficiary (e.g. supervisor of the proposal) or does the submission system prevent the researcher from submitting the proposal themselves?

On p. 5 of the MSCA PF Guide for Applicants it is stated that indeed the proposal should be submitted by a representative of the beneficiary. This should be read as a strong recommendation. Technically however, the researcher can also submit the proposal in the portal as in previous years.

PF: Would it be acceptable for the supervisor to be employed by the host institution only from the start of the project, i.e. joining the institution at the same time as the fellow?

Yes, it is acceptable.