Appointment procedure

1. To be able to start the procedure, the researcher must register online. To do so, he/she must go to the (Dutch or) English jobsite of K.U.Leuven and click on “specific registration” (or “specifieke registratie”) at the bottom of the page.
2. In the meantime, the Faculty/Department can draw up the official letter requesting the appointment.

If the request concerns the appointment of someone from abroad:
3. When the HR Consultant Internationalisation receives the letter with all the signatures and the e-registration has been finalised by the candidate, the consultant will check whether all conditions are met and will prepare the file for the Executive Committee and the Admissions Policy Committee (CTB).
4. At the same time, the HR Consultant Internationalisation will send out an e-mail to the researcher with some more information regarding – if applicable -: work permit, visa application, housing, etc.
5. When the approval of the Executive Committee and the Admissions Committee has been received:
  • the registration of free research associates can be processed
  • if candidates for the position of (unsalaried) visiting research associates submitted all the required documents, the application for the work permit can be sent to Migrations in Brussels

6. For non-EEA citizens (and Romanian/Bulgarian citizens): within two weeks, we will have news about the work permit. Once it is issued and if the candidate is still abroad, the HR Department will collect the work permit at the Foreigner’s Office of the city hall of Leuven. Subsequently, the work permit will be sent to the researcher by express mail.
6. With the work permit, non-EEA citizens can start their visa application. It is difficult to estimate how long such a visa application takes, as it depends on the country and the embassy/consulate. We recommend to start the visa application at least one month, but ideally two months in advance.
7. Once the visa has been issued, the researcher needs to scan it and e-mail a copy to the HR Consultant Internationalisation, together with his/her exact arrival date. Upon receiving this information, the HR Department will process the appointment.
8. The researcher (both EEA and non-EEA citizens) will receive an invitation for a welcome meeting at the HR Department. During this welcome meeting, he/she will receive the grant allocation agreement, staff card and more information about living in Leuven and working at K.U.Leuven.