FAQ after selection - Student Programmes
The CERN Contract
Contracts are established in priority of their start date. You will receive your contract by email, along with instructions on how to return it signed. Should you need your contract urgently, please inform your coordinator
Should you need an attestation of your studentship before receiving the contract, kindly contact tsc.student@cern.ch.
Students are Associated Members of Personnel and the validity of the contract of association is subject to remaining a registered student at their university. ). The declaration “Students Home Institute Declaration” must be approved by the educational establishment before the contract can be established. For doctoral students an additional document: PhD description is also required for the contract set up.
If your university requires a studentship agreement, please note that we cannot sign external documents. They should sign the CERN agreement which has been established in collaboration with schools.
You will receive instruction to upload your passport/ID. For some ID cards, the photo is outdated even if they are still valid. You must be recognizable in the photo so please renew it if necessary. The Swiss Mission requires up-to-date documents. Also, your ID card must have a validity start and end date. In addition you will need to provide us the following documents/ information:
For technical and administrative students:
- The declaration “Students Home Institute Declaration” must be approved by the educational establishment before the contract can be established. Please use the format DD-MM-YYYY.
- Place of residence at the time of the committee. Please note that no official document is required to confirm your place of residence.
For doctoral students:
- The declaration “Students Home Institute Declaration” must be approved by the educational establishment before the contract can be established. Please use the format DD-MM-YYYY.
- PhD description is also required for the contract set up.
- Place of residence at the time of the committee. Please note that no official document is required to confirm your place of residence.
You will receive an invitation to the onboarding event at the Globe of Science and Innovation a few days before the start date of your contract. The exact time of the induction will be communiticated to you in the invitation. Please note that the first possible start time is 08:00 C.E.T.
No, you are expected to start work on the following Monday. This also applies if your contract starts on a Sunday. Should your contract start on an official holiday, you are expected to start work on the next working day.
Some universities require an attestation for Health and Safety for your studentship. If that is your case, please contact tsc.student@cern.ch.
The initial duration of the association contract is 6 months. The contract may be extended by two periods of 12 months, followed by a last extension of 6 months. The maximum duration of a doctoral student contract may not exceed three years.
A progress report on the student's work is required for extensions after 18 months and after 30 months.
Students will get 2.5 days per month. In addition, CERN is closed during the Christmas period for 2 weeks without deduction of annual leave.
Please note that any leave you have remaining from another CERN status cannot be transferred to your Student contract.
The Subsistence Allowance
You will receive your first payment and all future payments around the 25th of each month. For more information check the Payment Dates.
3319 Swiss francs/month (the allowance is net of tax) for technical and administrative students
3719 Swiss francs/month (the allowance is net of tax) for doctoral students
This amount is intended to cover the living expenses of a single person.
If you are in the following situation:
- married or in an officially registered partnership
- have at least one dependent child
- your spouse and/or dependent child(s) join(s) you in the area for a period of at least 6 months.
As long as your contract duration is for at least 6 months, your subsistence allowance may increase.
You should fill in the declaration ‘Supplement to subsistence allowance due to family situation’ and should provide a copy of your marriage certificate and child(s) birth certificate(s). This latter document must be drawn up in or translated (official translation) into French, English, German, Spanish or Italian.
Any financial benefits from external sources during your contract must be reported to the Coordinator and you are required to provide proof of the monthly net amount you receive. If this support is directly related to your placement at CERN, it will be deducted from your CERN subsistence.
Yes, you will need to open a Swiss bank account as you are paid in Swiss Francs. CERN has two banks in Meyrin site (UBS or La Poste), one in Prevessin site (Credit Agricole). You can also open a bank account in any other bank in Switzerland. Once you are at CERN, you can contact the bank in order to arrange an appointment.
Accommodation
Given that CERN is situated on the French-Swiss border, you must decide in which country you are going to live.
Geneva is a predominantly urban district, where public transport is highly developed.
Nearby France is mainly countryside, situated between the Swiss border and the foothills of the Jura Mountain. Most of the students who are living in France, choose Saint-Genis Pouilly, Ferney-Voltaire, Prevessin or Thoiry.
Please note that we do not encourage students to start their contract in July/August since it is difficult to find an accommodation at this period and the CERN hostel is fully booked.
CERN has a Housing Service which can help you find accommodation or make a reservation at the CERN Hostel.
You can also have a look at the CERN market, CERN Private market accomodation, and at some of the Hotels in the area.
Health Insurance
Should no cover for disability be provided by your home institute, you are under the strict obligation to obtain it yourself. The Social Affairs Service at CERN will be able to help you find an appropriate insurance and there is also a possibility to purchase such insurance from the CERN UNIQA office.
Membership of the CERN health insurance scheme (CHIS) is compulsory*. CHIS provides for reimbursement of a major portion of reasonable and customary expenses resulting from medical treatment within the conditions specified in its Rules, incurred by its Members. CERN pays 7.71% of the monthly basic allowance and the member pays 4.86% of the monthly basic allowance. CERN also pays an additional premium which covers professional accidents and illness insurance (0.12% of the monthly basic allowance). Further information can be found on the CHIS pages or by contacting uniqa.assurances@cern.ch .
The Organization shall not take any measures to safeguard students against the financial consequences of old-age and disability, and unemployment. Should no cover for disability be provided by the home institute the students are under the strict obligation to obtain it themselves. There is a possibility to purchase such insurance from the CERN UNIQA office.
* Unless the students are subject to compulsory health insurance in Switzerland (Lamal), in which case CERN shall nevertheless insure them against occupational illnesses and accidents. The students concerned should submit Lamal insurance certificate to the HR programme coordinator.
Leisure and Social Activities
Of course! Technical and administrative students are assigned to a student already at CERN. CERN is not only about working and learning but also sharing, being in an intercultural environment and meeting new people from all over the world. You will receive an email which contains the name and email your buddy. Please contact this student if you have any questions regarding the life in the area. Once you will be at CERN, it will be your turn to help a future student.
Travel
If you are entitled to travel reimbursement, CERN will reimburse it upon arrival on a flat rate basis from your place of residence at the time of the selection committee. The reimbursement will be processed by your departmental secretariat, once you open your Swiss bank account.
As a student, if you are living more than 70 km away from Geneva (distance by airplane in a straight line) at the time of the committee and you are not already registered at CERN, you will receive a travel allowance on a flat rate basis, calculated on your place of residence only (provided that you take up residence within a radius of 50 km from Geneva). The reimbursement will be processed on arrival once the permanent residence is communicated and your Swiss bank account opens. No proof of transport is required.
Removal expenses are not paid by CERN. However, under certain conditions, as a student, you might be able to benefit from a duty free custom procedure for the import of your belongings to Switzerland or France. For more information, please contact the Installation Service at Installation.Service@cern.ch . Further information is also available here.
Visa
It is important that you check whether you need a visa for France and / or Switzerland, on this link. If you do, please contact visa.hr@cern.ch to know which documents you will need for your visa application. Note that the procedure takes at least 1 month, which is also an important point to consider when defining your contract start date with your supervisor.