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Whether visiting for just a few weeks or several years, either on their own or with their family, international researchers participate fully in the rich and varied university life. To enable them to focus on their main tasks and help them settle in, they need a specific welcome program. Since fall 2021, this has been one of the new missions of the Welcome Desk at PSL, which has now become one of the 42 Euraxess Service Centers in France.

The Welcome Desk is a service shared by all the university Schools, and for several years it has helped international students settle in at PSL and take their first steps into life in Paris. This service is well established and is now extending its support to the growing numbers of PhD students, postdoctoral fellows, teachers and researchers who are coming to the university schools and labs every year.
This new personalized service is for researchers and their families to enable them to:

• Prepare their stay (entry formalities, visas, work permit, residence permit)
• Settle into life in Paris (help finding accommodation, opening a bank account, registering with social security, if necessary)
• Obtain assistance with everyday administrative formalities (health insurance, children’s schooling)
• Obtain help with integration (help with looking for a French language course, networking)

The new PSL Welcome Desk service will complement the various protocols and welcome packages provided by the University schools and labs, as it is part of the national Euraxess France network. Created about ten years ago as part of European policy measures to improve the attractiveness of science, this network is structured around the sharing of tools and knowledge. By joining the 42 French Euraxess centers, the PSL Welcome Desk has access to legal monitoring and shared tools so that it can better meet the needs of our researchers and simplify mobility procedures.