MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2026

For MSCA-PF, the rules of the General Model Grant Agreement (Article 8) on the involvement of affiliated entities do not apply. MSCA-PF (Article 9) allows the beneficiary to use entities with a capital or legal link to it and/or associated partners to carry out work under the action.

"Associated partners linked to a beneficiary" are entities that have a link with the beneficiary, in particular, a legal or capital link, which is neither limited to the action nor established for the sole purpose of its implementation. Associated partners linked to a beneficiary may be used for the hosting and research training of researchers, and can even implement all those activities under the action. However, associated partners linked to a beneficiary cannot recruit the researcher (only the beneficiary can) and cannot host secondments or Non-Academic Placements (only associated partners can). They also cannot claim costs separately. Their involvement must be clearly described in Annex 1 (in particular, the name of the entity, the type of link with the beneficiary, and tasks to be carried out).

"Associated partners" are third parties involved in the action without a (capital or legal) link to the beneficiary. They may be used to provide training and host researchers during a secondment or Non-Academic Placements. A beneficiary using third parties remains fully responsible for them under the Grant Agreement.

In order to be eligible under Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships, one of the conditions is that the supported researchers must be postdoctoral researchers at the date of the call deadline, i.e. in possession of a doctoral degree.

Researchers who have successfully and unconditionally defended their doctoral thesis before the call deadline but who have not yet formally been awarded the doctoral degree will also be considered as postdoctoral researchers and will be considered eligible to apply, provided the other eligibility conditions are respected.

In such cases, the researcher/beneficiary should be able to provide on request (for example, to auditors) a formal document from the PhD awarding institution confirming the date of the successful unconditional PhD thesis defence.

No, the researcher cannot. According to Article 18 of the Model Grant Agreement for Unit Grants, the researcher must work exclusively on the action, unless part-time for professional reasons is allowed and has been approved; additionally, the researcher cannot receive incomes other than those received from the beneficiary for the activities carried out in the frame of the MSCA.

In Part A (online submission form), under ‘Participants’, ONLY the Beneficiary in European Fellowships, or the Beneficiary and Associated Partner hosting the outgoing phase in Global Fellowships should be listed.

If the proposal includes a non-academic placement, the respective host should also be added as an Associated Partner (applies to both European and Global Fellowships).

In Part B-2, under ‘5 - Capacity of the Participating Organizations’, all Participating Organizations in the action should be described. Therefore, in addition to the participant Organizations listed in Part A, Associated Partners linked to the beneficiary (if applicable) and Associated Partners for secondment (if applicable) must be included.

For a definition of the different types of participating organizations, please refer to the Guide for Applicants.

In order to be eligible, the researcher cannot be in either of the two following situations:

• have resided in the country of the beneficiary for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately prior to the call deadline,
• have carried out his/her main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of the beneficiary for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately prior to the call deadline. Please take note that in case of remote work performed from country A for an employer located in country B, the place of main activity is considered as country B.

Example: A researcher started a contract with a Belgian university in January 202(X-1). However, the researcher has not been able to move to Belgium until March 202X and worked during the period for the Belgian university remotely from France. As per the mobility rule in MSCA-EF-202X, the researcher will be ineligible for institutions located in both countries (Belgium and France).

Only legal entities established in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country are eligible for funding under MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships. Association to Horizon Europe takes place through the conclusion of an international agreement between the EU and the non-EU country.

Association agreements are in place with several countries (including the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Egypt).

Agreements with additional countries (including and Morocco) are currently under negotiation and transitional arrangements apply meaning that for the eligibility purposes the legal entities established in these countries are treated in the evaluation as if they were based in an Associated Country from the launch date of the call. Following the evaluation, the eligibility will be subject to the entry into force of the association agreement by the time for signature of the grant agreements for the call.

Please note that countries associated to Horizon Europe Pillar II only do not qualify them as Associated countries under MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships.

More details are provided list-3rd-country-participation_horizon-euratom_en.pdfPDF.

Researchers of any nationality can participate in European Postdoctoral Fellowships. However, Global Postdoctoral Fellowships are restricted only to nationals or long-term residents of Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries. Long-term residence means a period of legal and continuous residence within EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries of at least five consecutive years. Periods of absence from the territory of the EU Member State or Horizon Europe associated country will be taken into account for the calculation of this period where they are shorter than six consecutive months and do not exceed in total ten months within this period.

The researcher would not be eligible for an MSCA-Postdoctoral Fellowship (MSCA-PF) in country A. The application of the eligibility criteria for the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships is very strict and includes compliance with the "mobility rule": they must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of the beneficiary (for European Postdoctoral Fellowships), or in the country of the host organisation for the outgoing phase (for Global Postdoctoral Fellowships) for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before the call deadline.

As a result, if the researcher has resided or carried out the main activity in country A for more than 12 months during the 3 years prior to the deadline for submission of proposals, they would not be eligible to apply for an MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship in this country.

In the case of multiple doctoral degrees, the date of the first PhD will be considered in determining eligibility. However, no supporting documents should be added in the proposal application but they should be readily available in case of audit. It remains a responsibility of the host organization to to keep records of all supporting documents.

If the researcher fulfils the eligibility conditions for the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship, they can apply with a different and original research project even if they already received funding from another MSCA call. In this case, the added value and originality of the research activity under the new action must be explained in the proposal. Please note that a researcher cannot benefit from two Marie Skłodowska-Curie action grants at the same time and that the same project cannot benefit twice from different European funding programmes.

In order to be eligible for a MSCA-GF, the researcher cannot be in either of the two following situations:

• have resided in the country of the associated partner hosting the outgoing phase for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately prior to the call deadline,
• have carried out his/her main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of the associated partner hosting the outgoing phase for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately prior to the call deadline. Please take note that in case of remote work performed from country A for an employer located in country B, the place of main activity is considered as country B.

Example: A researcher started a contract with an US university in January 202(X-1). However, the researcher has not been able to move to US until March 202X and worked during that period for the US university remotely from Germany. As per the mobility rule in the MSCA-GF-202X, the researcher will be ineligible for outgoing phase in an institution located in the US.

OBSOLETE (only applicable to the calls indicated below, under the section "Tags")

Only legal entities established in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country are eligible for funding under the MSCA-PF action.

Transitional arrangements may apply for countries with which association negotiations are ongoing or where association is imminent. The transitional arrangements normally apply until the association agreement starts producing legal effects either through provisional application or their entry into force.

For the purposes of the eligibility conditions, legal entities established in countries benefitting from transitional arrangements will be treated in the evaluation as if they were based in an Associated Country from the launch date of the call. Following the evaluation, the eligibility will be subject to the entry into force of the association agreement by the time for signature of the grant agreements for the call.

Following the conclusion of the negotiations on the association of Switzerland to Horizon Europe and Euratom programmes in December 2024, transitional arrangements apply for Switzerland for the entire Horizon Europe Programme for award procedures implementing Union budget for the year 2025 and onwards, including the MSCA-PF 2025 call.

OBSOLETE (only applicable to the calls indicated below, under the section "Tags")

Only legal entities established in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country are eligible for funding under MSCA-PF. Association to Horizon Europe takes place through the conclusion of an international agreement between the EU and the non-EU country.

Association agreements are in place with several countries (including the United Kingdom).

Agreements with additional countries (including Switzerland, Egypt and Morrocco) are currently under negotiation and transitional arrangements apply.

More details are provided list-3rd-country-participation_horizon-euratom_en.pdfPDF.

The Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions (MSCA) scheme does not prevent the host institution from receiving additional funding as long as the same costs are not reimbursed by both grants, and the researcher does not receive (for activities carried out in the frame of the action) other incomes than those received from the beneficiary.

The Horizon Europe Work Programme - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions lays down that: “At the call deadline, supported researchers must have a maximum of eight years full-time equivalent experience in research, measured from the date of award of the doctoral degree. For nationals or long-term residents of EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries who wish to reintegrate to pursue their research career in EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries, years of experience in research in third countries will not be considered in the above maximum.”

The time spent in Associated Countries (including prior to association) does not count as experience in research in third countries.

No, it is not possible because the other grant would generate a profit under the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship. According to the Financial Regulation (Article 192), grants shall not have the purpose or effect of producing a profit within the framework of the action (no profit principle). The MSCA Grant Agreement provisions clearly state that the researcher should be employed full-time and be working exclusively for the action.

No supporting documentation demonstrating the researcher’s eligibility will have to be submitted to the Research Executive Agency (REA) at the point of proposal submission. However, if the proposal is successful, it is an obligation for the beneficiary (the entity signing the grant agreement) to ensure that all of the necessary supporting documentation relating to the researcher's eligibility (mobility, years of experience in research, etc.) are requested, verified and kept on file in case of audit. REA may request supporting documents to the beneficiary applicant to assess the eligibility after the call deadline.

Note that a wizard accompanied by instructions on how to make these calculations is made available through the "Horizon Europe MSCA - How to apply" page.

When considering the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools for the preparation of the proposal, it is imperative to exercise caution and careful consideration. The AI-generated content should be thoroughly reviewed and validated by the applicants to ensure its appropriateness and accuracy, as well as its compliance with intellectual property regulations. Applicants are fully responsible for the content of the proposal (even those parts produced by the AI tool) and must be transparent in disclosing which AI tools were used and how they were utilized.

Specifically, applicants are required to:

● Verify the accuracy, validity, and appropriateness of the content and any citations generated by the AI tool and correct any errors or inconsistencies.

● Provide a list of sources used to generate content and citations, including those generated by the AI tool. Double-check citations to ensure they are accurate and properly referenced.

● Be conscious of the potential for plagiarism where the AI tool may have reproduced substantial text from other sources. Check the original sources to be sure you are not plagiarizing someone else’s work.

● Acknowledge the limitations of the AI tool in the proposal preparation, including the potential for bias, errors, and gaps in knowledge.

Text explaining the use of generative AI in the preparation of the proposal should be included at the end of part B2.

The non-academic sector placement must be encoded in Part A of the proposal and described in Part B. In Part A of the submission wizard, the name of the associated partner where the non-academic placement will take place must be encoded as a participating organization ("associated partner") in the tab "Participants". The Associated Partner needs to have a PIC number. In Part B1, the relevance and added value of the non-academic placement period will be assessed by the evaluators and may therefore impact the final score awarded to the proposal. Secondment hosts should not be encoded as Associated Partners; this is only intended for non-academic placement hosts and associated partners for the outgoing phase for Global Fellowships. More clarifications about the difference between optional secondments and placements can be found ec.europa.eu.

Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions have a bottom-up approach, meaning that proposals from all scientific areas (including those covered by EURATOM) are eligible for funding. The proposal should be submitted to one of the 8 main scientific areas, defined in the MSCA Work Progamme, in which the proposal best fits. It is not compulsory to choose the same field as the applicant's PhD.

For example, if the researcher has a PhD in chemistry and the proposal is mainly focusing on bio-chemistry the researcher can freely choose to submit the proposal in CHE (chemistry) or LIF (life sciences). The list of descriptors are available via the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship call page of the Funding & Tenders Portal.

The limit of 8-years full-time research experience at the call deadline is determined based on the date of award of the first PhD.

To be considered valid, extensions (for instance maternity leave, paternity leave, career breaks, research experience in non-associated third countries) MUST:

-- fall between the date of the first PhD award and the call deadline (i.e. they don’t have to be in the 8 years immediately prior to the call deadline)

and

-- fulfil the conditions indicated in the Work ProgrammePDF and the Guide for Applicants.

Any valid extension can be encoded as a deduction at the proposal submission stage, in Part A of the forms. Supporting documents are not required in the proposal application but should be kept readily available in case of an audit.

Note that a wizard accompanied by instructions on how to make these calculations is made available through the "Horizon Europe MSCA - How to apply" page.

As stated in the Horizon Europe Programme guidePDF, public bodies, research organisations and higher education establishments from EU Member States and Associated Countries submitting proposals for calls whose deadlines are foreseen in 2022 and beyond, must have a Gender Equality Plan (GEP) or equivalent strategy in place to be eligible for funding. A guidance document presenting the components of the eligibility criterion as set by the European Commission, explaining what these requirements mean in practice when developing and implementing a GEP or reviewing the equivalence of existing plans or policies, and providing concrete practical examples, building on existing materials, good practices and various resources that support gender equality in research and innovation (R&I) at national and institutional levels, can be found op.europa.eu.

From HORIZON-MSCA-2026-PF call onwards, applicants will be allowed to re-submit a proposal that was rejected under the previous Horizon Europe MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship call, unless the proposal scored below 80%.

Applicants who plan to develop, deploy and/or use Artificial Intelligence in their project should address this under criterion 1 (Excellence) as they would do for any other key methodology they plan to use in the project. Addressing the technical robustness of AI systems is no longer required under criterion 1.

As in previous MSCA-PF calls, whenever applicants intend to develop, deploy, or make use of AI in their project, they should answer 'Yes' to the relevant question in Part A, Section 4 - Ethics and Security, and provide an explanation of the ethical implications of the objectives, methodology, and potential impact of AI in their project, as well as compliance with relevant ethical principles and legislation, in the Ethics self-assessment of Part A (and in Part B2, if necessary). Further information can be found in the document How to complete your ethics self-assessment.PDF Applicants should also be aware of how the AI Act can affect their research activities.

Any valid extensions (such as for maternity leave, paternity leave, career breaks, and other reasons specified in the Work ProgrammePDF and Guide for Applicants) can be encoded as long as they fall between the date of (first) PhD award and the call deadline. They do not have to be in the 8 years immediately prior to the call deadline.

Note that a wizard accompanied by instructions on how to make these calculations is made available through the "Horizon Europe MSCA - How to apply" page.

In the electronic submission system (SEP) the applicants should choose the keywords (descriptors) carefully since this these will guide the REA in the selection of the most appropriate experts for the proposal evaluation. The applicants must select at least 3, and up to 5, keywords (descriptors) that best characterise the subject of their proposal in descending order of relevance as explained below:

- The first two keywords (descriptors) must be selected within the same scientific area of research/panel (e.g.: CHE) that has already been selected for the proposal. Sub-areas of research (e.g.: C4 –Applied and Industrial Chemistry) are only there to structure the list.

- The third, fourth and fifth keywords (descriptors) can be chosen from any of the eight (8) scientific areas of research/panel (CHE, ECO, ENG, ENV, MAT, LIF, PHY, SOC).

OBSOLETE (only applicable to the calls indicated below, under the section "Tags")

Applicants will be allowed to re-submit a proposal that was rejected under the previous Horizon Europe MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship call, unless the proposal scored below 70%.

The “long-term residence“ according to the Horizon Europe Work Programme, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, is “(… ) a period of legal and continuous residence within EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries of at least five consecutive years. Absences of less than six consecutive months and no more than ten months over the whole period are permitted when calculating the five years.”

Once a country is associated to Horizon Europe, any period spent in that country (independently of the date of association to Horizon Europe) may be counted towards the calculation of the ‘’long-term residence’’.

The maximum of 8 years after PhD can be extended for the time spent outside research, including teaching. The time not spent on research and related activities can be deducted from the 8-year calculation provided that it can be documented by e.g. work contract/job description and quantified based on documentation/proof which the host organisation (beneficiary) needs to keep for their records (not to be included in the proposal). Note that a wizard accompanied by instructions on how to make these calculations is made available through the "Horizon Europe MSCA - How to apply" page.

If the proposal is successful, it is a contractual obligation for the beneficiary (the entity signing the grant agreement) to ensure that all the necessary documentation demonstrating the researcher’s family status is correct and is kept on file in case of audit.

No. Experience in research means periods where the researcher is employed or holding a scholarship in research.

Under Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships, the non-academic placement (NAP) is an additional period of up to six months to support researchers seeking a placement at the end of the project to work on R&I projects in an organization from the non-academic sector established in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country. The placement needs to be in line with the project objectives and add significant value and/or impact to the fellowship. The request for a non-academic sector placement must be included in the proposal. However, proposals will not be penalized for not including a non-academic placement.

Note that the non-academic placement is NOT a secondment. More clarifications about the difference between optional secondments and placements can be found ec.europa.eu and in the Guide for Applicants.

Although the ERA Fellowships are technically a different call with a different funding mechanism, it is not possible to apply directly to the ERA call. All applications should therefore be sent to MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships where the proposals will be evaluated and ranked. Any MSCA-PF-EF application from a host in a widening country can express their wish to also be considered for funding under the ERA fellowships call. This option is not available for applicants to Postdoctoral Global Fellowships.

For maternity, for each child born within the 8-year eligibility period (i.e. after the PhD award date), a fixed amount of 18 months (548 days) can be deducted by the applicant from the experience in research, unless the applicant can document a longer parental leave prior to the call deadline. This applies also for those working part-time.

Yes, there is an impact. Indirect costs are already reimbursed by the operating grant so the budget of the Postdoctoral Fellowship must be reduced accordingly, in order to avoid double funding of indirect costs, unless the beneficiary can demonstrate that the operating grant does not cover any (direct or indirect) costs of the action.

As a rule, in MSCA-PF the researcher must be employed full-time. Part-time employment can however be accepted on personal or family grounds, after the start of the action. Part-time for professional reasons in order to pursue supplementary activities can also be requested provided that it is agreed beforehand together with the supervisor and beneficiary and has received the prior approval of the European Research Executive Agency (REA). However, the researcher cannot be involved in two MSCA grants at the same time. In case of part-time work for professional reasons, the researcher must dedicate at least 50% of their working time to the MSCA-PF action.

For Global Fellowships, part-time work due to engaging in supplementary activities cannot take place during the outgoing phase. Supplementary activities include, for example, creating a company, pursuing another research project, engaging in advanced studies not related to the MSCA grant.

The non-academic placement (NAP) is not a secondment.

An optional secondment is a temporary transfer to another entity in any sector, anywhere in the world at any time during the action, typically to perform part of the research or to gain experience.

Secondments do not have a separate budget and can take place for up to a maximum of half of the standard duration of the project in case of European Fellowships or half of the outgoing phase duration in case of Global Fellowships.

Non-Academic placements also involve mobility to another entity, located in a EU member state or Associated Country, but can only take place to an organization in the non-academic sector and after the end of the regular duration of the project. NAPs have a dedicated budget.

Both secondments and non-academic placements are expected to include supervision, to bring a clear added value to the research proposal, and should be covered by the employment contract with the beneficiary. Further information can be found in the Guide for Applicants.

For MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships, the Supervisor may supervise two or more fellows, as long as the obligations of the beneficiary institution stipulated in the HE Model Grant Agreement for MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship are respected. In particular, the beneficiary must ensure that the researcher is adequately supervised (see Article 18 of the Model Grant Agreement).

In the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships, as long as the beneficiary hosts the researcher at its premises in the specified host country, as required by the MSCA-PF Grant Agreement, the researcher can reside on the other side of the border.

If the researcher is already employed at the host institution at the start of the fellowship, an additional contract is not required provided that all of the conditions of the Grant Agreement are respected in the original contract.

The limit of 8-years full-time research experience is determined based on the date of award of the (first) PhD. In specific cases, researchers exceeding this limit can declare deductions, for example for maternity leave, paternity leave, career breaks, research experience in third countries (full list in the Work ProgrammePDF and Guide for Applicants). Note that a wizard accompanied by instructions on how to make these calculations is made available through the "Horizon Europe MSCA - How to apply" page. Such deductions should be declared in Part A of the submission forms. No supporting documents should be added in the proposal application, but they should be readily available in case of audit. It remains a responsibility of the host organization to to keep records of all supporting documents.

There must be only one supervisor per host organization. The supervisor is the senior researcher assigned by the beneficiary to supervise the researcher throughout the whole duration of the action. European Fellowships have one host organization and thus one supervisor. For Global Postdoctoral Fellowships, an additional supervisor should also be assigned for the time spent at the associated partner for the outgoing phase.

This depends on the duration of the stay for medical reasons. Short stays for medical reasons will not be taken into account for the assessment of the mobility rule. However, if the researcher had to relocate to a different country in order to obtain medical care during a significant period of time, this long stay will be taken into account.

No. A period spent at university is counted as research experience only if you are employed (or if you are the holder of a scholarship agreement) as a researcher at the university.

A mere enrolment in a Master degree is considered as a “mere association” to a university, and not as research experience.

Examples of “mere association” are:

• using the facilities of the university;
• being sent to a conference by or on behalf of the university;
• being enrolled in a non-research related degree at the university.

OBSOLETE (only applicable to the calls indicated below, under the section "Tags")

The non-academic placement (NAP) is not a secondment.

An optional secondment is a temporary transfer to another entity in any sector, anywhere in the world at any time during the action, typically to perform part of the research or to gain experience. Secondments do not have a separate budget and can take place for up to a maximum of one third of the standard duration of the project.

Non-academic Placements also involve mobility to another entity, located in an EU member state or Associated Country, but can only take place to an organisation in the non-academic sector and after the end of the regular duration of the project. NAPs have a dedicated budget.

Both secondments and non-academic placements are expected to include supervision, to bring a clear added value to the research proposal, and should be covered by the employment contract with the beneficiary. Further information can be found in the Guide for Applicants.

All sections of the proposal will be included in the evaluation. The 10-page limit is applied only to part B1 - sections 1 to 3 (combined). The reason for this is not to cause disadvantage, for example, to researchers with more experience and hence a longer CV, who may otherwise have reduced space to write sections 1 to 3.

Similarly, the restrictions indicated for section 5.2 of Part B2 must also be respected.

A proposal submitted to last year's MSCA-PF call as an European Fellowship and submitted to this year's MSCA-PF call by the same individual researcher and recruiting organization as a Global Fellowship (or vice-versa) is not considered as a resubmission.

The proposal would be considered eligible for resubmission, provided the other eligibility conditions are respected.

Please note that from HORIZON-MSCA-2026-PF call onwards, the resubmission threshold corresponds to a score of 80% (instead of 70% applicable under previous HORIZON-MSCA-PF calls).

The MSCA Work ProgrammePDF definition of a resubmission for a Global Fellowship proposal is that it has the same recruiting organization, individual researcher and outgoing phase host of the previous proposal.

The proposal would be considered as eligible for resubmission, provided the other eligibility conditions are respected.

Please note that from HORIZON-MSCA-2026-PF call onwards, the resubmission threshold corresponds to a score of 80% (instead of 70% applicable for previous HORIZON-MSCA-PF calls).

The MSCA Work ProgrammePDF specifically refers to the recruiting organization, therefore even if the researcher was hosted by another institute/site, the main recruiting organization would be the same.

The proposal would be considered as ineligible for resubmission.

Please note that from HORIZON-MSCA-2026-PF call onwards, the resubmission threshold corresponds to a score of 80% (instead of 70% applicable under previous HORIZON-MSCA-PF calls).

The assessment of the researcher is a key element of the 'Excellence' award sub-criterion 1.4 "Quality and appropriateness of the researcher’s professional experience, competences and skills". The researchers are evaluated based on their track record (including their Curriculum Vitae, part B-2) and professional experience in relation to the proposed research. The fellowships are awarded to the top scoring proposals based on the global evaluation of all three award criteria as presented in the MSCA Work Programme.

The proposal would be considered ineligible for resubmission.

The provisions related to resubmissions in the MSCA Work ProgrammePDF do not refer to the scientific topic/contents of the proposal but to the recruiting organization and individual researcher only.

Please note that from HORIZON-MSCA-2026-PF call onwards, the resubmission threshold corresponds to a score of 80% (instead of 70% applicable under previous HORIZON-MSCA-PF calls).

This rule only applies to the new Horizon Europe Framework Programme, therefore the only comparison would be with a proposal submitted the previous year under the Horizon Europe Framework Programme and not with proposals submitted under previous Horizon 2020 calls.

The proposal would be considered as eligible for resubmission, provided the other eligibility conditions are respected.

The MSCA Work ProgrammePDF specifically defines as ineligible for resubmission a European Fellowship proposal that has the same recruiting organization and individual researcher, independently of the supervisor.

The proposal would be considered as ineligible for resubmission.

Please note that from HORIZON-MSCA-2026-PF call onwards, the resubmission threshold corresponds to a score of 80% (instead of 70% applicable under previous HORIZON-MSCA-PF calls).

Under subcriterion 1.4 (Quality and appropriateness of the researcher’s professional experience, competences and skills), applicants should demonstrate how the researcher’s existing professional experience is appropriate in relation to the proposed research project.

Under subcriterion 2.1 (Credibility of the measures to enhance the career perspectives and employability of the researcher and contribution to his/her skills development), the proposal should explain the expected impact of the planned research and training on the career prospects of the researcher after the fellowship.

The additional non-academic sector placement is optional and no penalisation will be applied to applicants that do not propose one. The request for such a placement must be an integral part of the proposal, explaining the added value for the project and for the career development of the researcher, and will be subject to evaluation. This will be scored under the Excellence criterion.

The European Research Executive Agency (REA) will perform the eligibility assessment of submitted proposals only after the call deadline. For this reason, we refrain from clearing eligibility scenarios for any applicants (researchers and institutions) before the call deadline.

Applicants are solely responsible for checking the fulfilment of all eligibility criteria and providing the correct information in the submission forms.

Guidance can be provided by contacting your respective MSCA National Contact Point (NCP).

Applicants who have successfully defended their doctoral thesis on or before the call deadline but who have not yet formally been awarded the doctoral degree will also be considered as postdoctoral researchers and will be eligible to apply. A medical doctor degree will be accepted only when it corresponds to a doctoral degree or if the researcher can demonstrate his/her appointment in a position that requires doctoral equivalency (e.g. professorship appointment). Medical doctor degrees corresponding to basic medical training as defined in Annex V of Directive 2005/36/EC will not be considered a doctoral degree.

The rules for the transfer of a grant to a new beneficiary are described in the Model Grant Agreement for Unit GrantsPDF, Article 41.

The transfer of a MSCA-PF to a different organisation can only be accepted in exceptional circumstances, when there are serious reasons which affect the capacity of the beneficiary to implement the action. It must be noted that the request to transfer a MSCA-PF grant can only be made by the beneficiary, meaning the host organisation located in a Member State or Associated Country.

Under Horizon Europe, if the recruited researcher acquires family obligations during the implementation of the project (marriage, or relationship with equivalent status, or dependent children), the family allowance can be requested and added.

The EU contribution must be directly managed by the beneficiary established in an EU Member State or Associated Country. Аccording to Article 9 of the MSCA-PF Grant Agreement, the beneficiary may call upon associated partners to implement part of the action (e.g. hosting and training the researcher during a secondment or the outgoing phase of a Global Fellowship). Associated partners participate in the action but do not sign the grant agreement and do not have the right to charge costs or claim contributions. Only the beneficiary can claim contributions. The beneficiary retains sole responsibility for implementing the action and complying with the grant agreement, including an obligation to ensure that certain contractual obligations also apply to associated partners. It is highly encouraged to define these obligations as well as financial arrangements between the beneficiary and associated partners, according to the needs of the project, in a partnership agreement.For a definition of “associated partner”, please see 2.3.1 Annex 2 of the Horizon Europe Work ProgrammePDF.