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The European Union’s Choose Europe for Science initiative offers several routes for researchers to build careers in Europe, but it is not a single program reserved for Americans. Launched in 2025 and expanded since, it brings together competitive EU grants, host-led postdoctoral recruitment and national or regional opportunities. The best route depends on your career stage and whether you are applying for research funding or looking for a job.
What is the EU Choose Europe for Science program?
Choose Europe for Science is an umbrella initiative, not one application or a dedicated relocation grant. It combines EU-level funding routes with national and regional programs intended to attract and retain research talent. The European Commission says the opportunities are open to researchers worldwide, including researchers already in the EU. They include competitive grants, mobility and reintegration schemes, longer-term positions, fellowships for researchers at risk and career-development support.
The funding totals refer to different scopes. At launch in May 2025, the Commission announced €500 million in EU funding for 2025–27. In January 2026, it described the expanded EU package as worth almost €900 million and separately reported at least €1 billion in opportunities across national and regional initiatives. These figures are not interchangeable or a combined total. The Commission’s 2026 overview also cites a €240 million ERA Chairs call for 2026–27. See the Commission’s overview of national and regional initiatives.
How can US scientists move to Europe?
There is no single application path for US researchers. Two prominent EU-level routes work differently: ERC grants are applied for by an individual researcher seeking to lead frontier research, while the MSCA Choose Europe pilot is applied for by an eligible host organisation that recruits postdoctoral researchers. Researchers can also look for national and regional fellowships, mobility schemes and advertised research positions.
#1 Best Overall
| Route | Who applies | What it supports | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| ERC Starting, Consolidator or Advanced Grant with relocation support | Individual researcher based outside Europe | Competitive frontier-research grant; eligible applicants may request additional funding to establish a lab or team and acquire justified equipment | Check the relevant ERC grant call and its conditions |
| MSCA Choose Europe pilot | Eligible host organisation | Postdoctoral recruitment, with EU co-funding and an expected longer-term host employment commitment | The 2025 pilot deadline has passed; check EURAXESS for vacancies as they are advertised |
| National or regional initiatives | Varies by scheme | May include grants, fellowships, mobility, reintegration or longer-term roles | Varies; check each program’s current call |
Europe is broader than the EU. ERC relocation support described by the ERC is for eligible researchers based outside Europe who move to an EU Member State or eligible country associated with Horizon Europe. MSCA host eligibility is tied to the host organisation’s location: eligible hosts for the pilot included organisations in EU Member States and Horizon Europe Associated Countries. Associated countries are not EU Member States, and individual calls set their own eligibility rules.
How much funding can researchers get to relocate to Europe?
ERC grants: additional support, not an automatic moving allowance
Applicants based outside Europe who seek an ERC Starting, Consolidator or Advanced Grant may request up to €2 million in additional funding to relocate a laboratory or team to an EU Member State or eligible associated country. The money is an addition to a competitive research grant, not a guaranteed personal relocation payment. It can help establish the lab or team and cover equipment needed for the grant when the expense is scientifically justified; scientific excellence remains the evaluation criterion.
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The main ERC grant is separate from the relocation top-up. In the example given by the ERC, an Advanced Grant recipient relocating to Europe could receive a main grant of up to €2.5 million plus up to €2 million in additional support. Those are maximum amounts in that example, not an assured award. Individual ERC grantees must spend at least half their working time in Europe. The ERC says the top-up was raised with US-based researchers in mind but is open worldwide: read the ERC funding announcement.
MSCA pilot: funding for postdoctoral jobs and longer employment
The 2025 MSCA Choose Europe pilot funded host organisations rather than individual candidates. A beneficiary could receive up to €3.5 million and had to recruit at least three postdoctoral researchers for positions lasting up to five years. EU funding covered two or three years, with the host expected to provide a further two years of employment. Eligible hosts included universities, research institutions, companies, public bodies, museums, hospitals and NGOs in EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries. The pilot application deadline has passed; its terms should not be treated as a current individual fellowship offer. Read the pilot-call description.
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Where can I find research jobs in Europe?
EURAXESS is the European Commission’s route to research vacancies and practical information on entry, visas, residence permits and hosting. The Commission expected pilot-funded vacancies to appear during 2026, and its main program page said first-call positions would be advertised from September 2026. As of 8 October 2026, check EURAXESS directly to see which posts are actually open; an expected listing period does not mean every funded position has been advertised.
- Search EURAXESS. Use its jobs listings to find vacancies and review the employer, location, eligibility criteria and application deadline.
- Check the funding route. A vacancy may be part of an MSCA-funded host project or another initiative; the employer’s call explains what candidates must submit.
- Verify practical requirements. Consult the host and EURAXESS guidance for entry, visa, residence-permit and hosting information relevant to your circumstances.
- For a grant-led move, check ERC calls. Review the specific Starting, Consolidator or Advanced Grant call and confirm both grant and relocation-support eligibility.
The Commission says multiple EU-funded projects recruit researchers and innovators on a rolling basis during the year, but that does not mean every role is continuously open. Search EURAXESS jobs and check each listing for its current status.
What is known about the 2027 MSCA Choose Europe call?
The official call page lists an indicative budget of €51.25 million. Its timeline is provisional and marked TBC: proposals are listed as opening on 8 December 2026 and closing on 6 April 2027, with results expected in September 2027, grant agreements in December 2027 and projects starting in January 2028. Treat both the amount and dates as indicative until the Commission confirms them. The call is for eligible host organisations, not a direct individual application for a postdoctoral job. Check the 2027 call page for updates.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Are researchers actually moving from the US?
Commission-reported application figures show rising interest in European funding, not completed relocations, grant awards or filled jobs. In its January 2026 update, the Commission said Advanced Grant applications from researchers outside Europe or associated countries rose to 168 from 45, nearly four times as many; Starting Grant applications from that group rose to 246 from 159, an increase of more than 50%. For the 2026 Consolidator Grant call, applications from researchers based outside the EU and Horizon Europe Associated Countries increased to 115 from 50, or 130%. MSCA postdoctoral fellowship applications rose 65% year over year.
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These comparisons cover different schemes and applicant groups; they should not be read as a count of US scientists who have moved. Separately, the ERC reported that US-based applications had risen sharply, with some calls seeing four times as many as in previous competitions. That statement concerns US-based applicants, while the Commission’s figures above use broader outside-Europe comparison groups.
The Commission also highlighted selected national and regional activity in the second half of 2025: Germany’s Global Minds Initiative programs selected 166 researchers; Austria’s APART-USA awarded 25 fellowships; Aix-Marseille University’s Safe Place for Science selected around 60 international researchers; and Vrije Universiteit Brussel recruited 12 international researchers. These are examples, not a complete count of European recruitment.
Which route fits your situation?
- You want to lead an independent research project: investigate the ERC Starting, Consolidator or Advanced Grant suited to your career stage. If you are based outside Europe, check whether you can request the relocation top-up and whether the host location qualifies.
- You are seeking a postdoctoral position: search EURAXESS for actual openings, including positions supported by MSCA projects. The 2025 Choose Europe pilot was a host recruitment scheme; candidates apply to advertised jobs, not to the host funding call.
- You need a fellowship, mobility route or longer-term position: look beyond EU-level calls to national and regional opportunities, whose eligibility, deadlines and employment conditions differ.
For official program details, start with the European Commission’s Choose Europe page, then follow the specific call or vacancy rather than relying on umbrella-program summaries.
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