Guidelines for Fellowships for Research Stays Abroad

Funds are announced twice a year with the following deadlines:

• 30 April (earliest departure 1 July and latest departure 31 December in the application year)
• 15 September (earliest departure 1 January the following year)

Employment and affiliation:

The applicant must be employed by a health trust or a private, non-profit institution in the region in at least a 20% position. Employment details, including percentage and any end date, must be clearly stated in the applicant’s CV. You cannot apply for an international research grant based solely on an affiliation agreement.

Priority Order:

1. Early-career researchers, in the following order: Postdoctoral fellows, other early-stage researchers, PhD candidates

2. Senior researchers, prioritized in the following order: Applications involving the establishment of new collaborations, applications where the purpose does not involve new collaborations

An assessment of applications is performed in relation to the purpose of the scheme.

The grant may be used to cover travel and additional expenses related to a research stay abroad. Funds are administered by the applicant’s institution, and expenses are reimbursed through expense claims.

It is a prerequisite that salary during the stay abroad is covered by the employer or other sources.

Duration of Stay:

• You may apply for support for a research stay of 6 or 12 months.
• You may apply to divide the stay into two separate periods of approximately equal length (e.g., 3 + 3 months).
• Employees in PhD or postdoc positions must complete their stay abroad no later than three months before the end of the fellowship period.

Costs that may be covered:

• Accommodation and additional expenses: Support may be granted for documented establishment and additional costs during the stay, based on fixed rates. Rates differ depending on whether you travel alone or with family (defined as spouse, cohabitant, or registered partner, and any children under 18 years of age). Family members must stay with the researcher for all or nearly all of the research period abroad to qualify for family rates.
  See the current rates for the application round. All tax-free additional expenses must be documented. Undocumented expenses are taxable.

• Travel: Travel expenses at the start and end of the stay (lowest-cost option) for the applicant and any accompanying family members.

Additionally, for continuous stays of 6 or 12 months, travel expenses for applicants traveling without family and who have children under 16 years of age may be covered as follows:

• Up to two round trips home to visit the family for a 12‑month stay
• One round trip for a 6‑month stay

Such travel costs must be included and justified in the application.

Examples of additional expenses (travel/accommodation) eligible for tax-free reimbursement (must be documented):

• Travel expenses (round trip, actual costs)
• Rent, electricity, etc.
• Visitors visa
• Necessary vaccinations
• School fees if public school cannot be used
• Kindergarten (additional costs compared to Norwegian rates)
• Insurance if extra insurance is required
• Other operating expenses that support the purpose of the grant may be considered tax-free

The application must be submitted via eSøknad. Two attachments must be uploaded:

1. Project description

A template for the project description must be used when applying for a stay abroad. The project description must include:

• Project description with objectives and content of the stay abroad
• Justification for the choice of host institution and international collaboration partner
• Description of expected added value for the researcher and the home research environment, as well as a plan for competence and knowledge transfer upon return
• Plan for continued research collaboration after the stay (e.g., publications, projects, applications)

2. Other required attachments

The attachments must be uploaded as a single PDF document, in the following order, under “Other attachments” in the application form:

1. CV and publication list (last 5 years) – see suggested CV format
2. Invitation from the international host research environment
3. Statement from the applicant’s home research environment