FCT Mobility Programme: Call Closed, Final Results & Funding

FCT Mobility Programme: Current Status and Purpose

FCT Mobility was launched by Portugal’s Foundation for Science and Technology to strengthen the internationalisation of the national science and technology system. It funded international mobility by doctoral researchers for research activities and/or fieldwork.

The programme was the first edition of FCT Mobility under Portugal’s Recovery and Resilience Plan investment RE-C06-i06, “Ciência Mais Capacitação”. Applications were accepted from 7 November 2024 until 31 December 2025, or until the programme’s maximum allocation was reached.

Final Results of the First FCT Mobility Call

FCT’s official call page reports the following overall statistics after completion of the programme’s seven evaluation stages:

FCT announced on 9 March 2026 that the final results of the seventh and last evaluation stage were known and that contracting and payment procedures for approved support were underway.

How the Two FCT Mobility Modalities Worked

FCT Mobility Outgoing

The outgoing modality supported an eligible Portugal-based PhD researcher carrying out research activities at one or more foreign research institutions.

• Duration: 2 to 11 consecutive months.
• The researcher could work at more than one foreign institution, but had to spend at least two consecutive months — 60 days — at one institution.
• Each researcher could submit one outgoing application per year.
• A researcher could receive outgoing support for a maximum of 11 months in each three-year period.

FCT Mobility Incoming

The incoming modality supported an eligible researcher based in Portugal who wished to host an internationally recognised PhD researcher affiliated with a foreign institution for joint scientific activities in Portugal.

• Duration: 1 to 3 consecutive months.
• The Portugal-based researcher was the applicant and beneficiary.
• The foreign researcher was the visiting researcher, not the direct applicant.
• Each eligible applicant could submit one incoming application per three-year period.

Who Was Eligible to Apply?

The official rules were narrower than the earlier version of this CareerAidHub article suggested.

The final beneficiaries and applicants had to be PhD researchers affiliated with Portuguese institutions who met one of the following conditions:

• be an integrated member of an FCT-funded Portuguese R&D Unit; or
• have a contractual relationship with an Associated Laboratory.

The eligible applicants carried out their research activity in Portuguese institutions located in mainland Portugal, the Azores or Madeira.

International researchers

A foreign PhD researcher could participate as the visiting researcher under the incoming route, but the application itself had to be submitted by an eligible Portugal-based PhD researcher.

Funding Structure

FCT Mobility was financed through Portugal’s Recovery and Resilience Plan. The call had a total budget of €5 million.

Travel and stay costs

The support was designed to cover mobility costs, including travel and subsistence at the host location.

• Travel support was calculated using the programme’s distance-based table.
• FCT funded one journey even when the mobility plan contained more than one trip.
• Other mobility costs were calculated from a base amount of €1,500 per month, adjusted by a country-specific correction factor.
• Outgoing stays of at least six consecutive months could receive an additional one-off €1,000 installation allowance.
• The programme did not fund overheads.
• The support was not renewable or extendable.

Who received the payment?

• Outgoing: payment was made directly to the beneficiary researcher.
• Incoming: payment was made to the Portuguese institution of the beneficiary researcher.

Application Process Used in the Closed Call

Applications were submitted in English through the dedicated FCT Mobility online form. Once submitted, the application could not be changed.

Outgoing supporting documents

• application form;
• short CV of the researcher responsible for hosting/supervising the applicant at the foreign institution — maximum two pages;
• acceptance letter from the foreign host institution; and
• support letter from the Portuguese institution with which the applicant was affiliated.

Incoming supporting documents

• application form;
• short CV of the visiting foreign researcher — maximum two pages; and
• support letter from the Portuguese institution with which the applicant researcher was affiliated.

How Applications Were Evaluated

FCT appointed independent evaluators affiliated with foreign institutions. Each application was assessed using four criteria.

The final score was calculated as:

FC = 0.35A + 0.25B + 0.15C + 0.25(D or E)

Scores were awarded on a 1–5 scale in increments of 0.1. Only applications with a final score of at least 2.5 were eligible for funding.

The programme operated with evaluation moments at least once every three months. FCT published provisional and final results for each evaluation phase.

Important Programme Conditions

PRR implementation deadline

Mobility periods had to overlap with the eligibility period of the Recovery and Resilience Plan, which ran through the end of March 2026.

Family-related flexibility for outgoing mobility

For outgoing beneficiaries with children aged up to 12, or children of any age with a documented disability or chronic illness, the stay could be split into periods of at least one consecutive month under the conditions set out in the call.

Other funding

Applicants receiving other mobility grants or financial support had to declare that funding to FCT.

Completion requirement

If the beneficiary did not complete the full approved mobility period, the unused portion of the support had to be returned to FCT.

Final report

After the funded mobility period, the beneficiary was required to submit a concise technical report of up to four A4 pages describing activities and outputs.

Is There a New General FCT Mobility Call for 2026?

As of 18 September 2026, FCT marks the first FCT Mobility programme as Finished, and CareerAidHub did not identify a newly opened second general FCT Mobility call replacing it.

FCT has launched other international-mobility calls during 2026, including bilateral programmes with countries such as Germany and France, but those are different schemes with separate rules, budgets and deadlines. They should not be presented as a reopening of the original FCT Mobility programme.

Researchers looking for current Portugal-based international mobility opportunities should monitor FCT’s open and planned calls rather than use the closed Formstack link from the first FCT Mobility competition.

CareerAidHub Takeaways for a Future FCT Mobility Edition

Confirm who the formal applicant is

The first edition was institutionally anchored in Portugal: even incoming mobility was proposed by the eligible Portugal-based researcher, not by the foreign visitor independently.

Build the case around mobility value

The evaluation framework gave substantial weight to the applicant’s track record, the scientific merit of the work plan and the quality of the host or visiting researcher. A future application would need to explain why mobility adds research value that cannot be achieved through ordinary collaboration.

Separate mobility costs from salary

The first edition funded travel and stay costs using predefined formulas. It was not a salary-based employment programme.

Researchers can also review CareerAidHub’s Research Jobs, postdoctoral fellowships, and research jobs.