Extending your stay (doctoral scholarship)
Find out about the conditions, the renewal procedure and your responsibilities after your scholarship has been renewed.
Scholarship extension
- Maximum duration 36 months, extendable twice by 12 months after the first year
- Very good academic performance of the scholarship holder in the doctoral studies
- Positive written request by the supervising professor for a 12-month extension
- If you are in your first year of the scholarship: Definitive admission to the doctorate within 12 months of the matriculation date (normally by the end of September of the following year at the latest)
Regular extension
- At the beginning of the calendar year, the Student Exchange Office informs you and your supervisor about the procedure to submit an extension request letter to the FCS Delegate.
- To avoid any delay in this process, discuss the extension process and especially the timeline in your first year with your supervisor (if necessary the Doctoral Administration Office or the person responsible for doctoral studies in your department) and plan accordingly.
- For first-year Doktorats wanting to extend, please upload the final confirmation document (usually titled "Definitive Zulassung zum Doktorat / Formal Admission to the Doctoral Studies Programme") to Mobility-Online to confirm your official admission to the doctoral program Deadline: 30 September of your second year.
Please mark this deadline in your calendar, and should you not be able to adhere to this deadline, inform the Student Exchange Office.
After the 36 months of the scholarship
- If you expect that you will not be finished with your doctorate within the 36 months, and you need more time to finish, make sure to discuss this with your supervisor at least 6 months before the end of your scholarship.
- Shortly before the end of the scholarship, the Student Exchange Office will ask your supervisor about the progress of your doctorate and – if necessary – whether further funding is secured (see point 3 in the relevant directives).
Residence permit
- You must extend your residence permit in person at your place of residence.
- You can do this at the earliest 3 months before the expiry date and must do so no later than 2 weeks before expiry. Keep this in mind, especially if you have planned field trips or conferences close to the expiry date.
- Your local municipality sets the specific requirements for renewing your residence permit. To avoid any surprises, take a moment to read through their guidelines and make sure you’ve gathered all the necessary documents.
- Make sure to bring these 3 document for the renewal as an FCS scholarship holder and doctoral student. The first two documents are provided by FCS directly:
- Copy of official FCS notification letter (first two pages)
- Copy of the FCS extension confirmation letter (first page) – this document replaces the original letter "Gesuch um Aufenthaltsbewilligung".
- Extended confirmation of matriculation, usually for the Autumn Semester, which you can download in myStudies after enrolment for the new semester.
- On the ETH website on residence permits, you will find the contact information for many municipalities, a list of required documents and instructions on how to download your latest extended confirmation of matriculation.
Form “Notice of expiry” (Verfallsanzeige)
- A few week before your residence permit expires, you will receive the following form “Notice of Expiry” or “Verfallsanzeige”. To fill out the form, please request the confirmation for extension from your responsible HR contact, see the instructions here:
- Do not ignore this letter since you risk being fined.
General advice
Follow any instructions and information you may receive from your HR office and immigration authorities carefully.
If you live in a facility managed by the Housing Office of the University of Zurich and ETH
- Your contract will end by the end of August of your first year.
- Start searching for accommodation as soon as possible.
If you organised your own accommodation
- Check the duration of your rental agreement.
- If necessary and desired, inquire about extending your rental agreement.
If your address changes, there are a few things you need to do.
If you are insured through FCS with an Advisor Swiss Insurance programme
Your insurance cover will be automatically extended by FCS.
Important information if you had to apply for an exemption from compulsory health insurance:
- Check the expiration date on the confirmation of your exemption.
- If your exemption is valid at least to the end of your extended stay, you do not need to do anything.
- Should your exemption have expired, send the confirmation to the Student Exchange Office for further advice.
- In case you never received a confirmation, contact the Student Exchange Office.
If you had to take out your own health insurance cover
Ensure that your health and accident insurance remains valid during the extension period.
For further information see:
- You are still eligible if your extension lasts for at least one more semester.
- You can extend the Half-?Fare travelcard at a reduced price which will be refunded.
Inform your supervisor, the personnel assistant at your institute and / or the Human Resources Department about the extension of your scholarship and send the confirmation of extension to the relevant persons.