Erasmus+ helps organise student and doctoral candidate exchanges, and your study period abroad must be part of the study programme that you are following. Exchange or study abroad students attend the institution for a limited period, usually one semester and up to a maximum of two, while remaining enrolled at their home university. International degree students enroll in a full degree program and complete their entire studies at the institution. A free mover is a student who chooses to study abroad outside of an official university partnership or bilateral exchange program such as Erasmus. As an Erasmus+ student, you are exempt from fees for tuition at the receiving institution, and your sending institution must recognise the credits. Our guide on what Erasmus+ is explains the programme as a whole.
Last updated: November 2026.
Who can study abroad with Erasmus+?
Erasmus+ study abroad is open to students at short-cycle, Bachelor and Master levels and to doctoral candidates. You must be registered in a higher education institution that participates in the Erasmus+ programme and enrolled in studies leading to a recognised degree or tertiary-level qualification. Your study period abroad must be relevant for your degree-related learning and personal development needs and part of the study programme that you are following. Our guide on Erasmus Mundus covers the joint Master's route.
How long can you study abroad?
⏳ Erasmus+ long-term mobility: minimum of 2 months to a maximum of 12 months abroad (including blended mobilities with a virtual component).
⏱️ Erasmus+ short-term mobility: between 5 and 30 days abroad (these must be blended mobilities), and only doctoral candidates can do a short-term mobility without a virtual component.
🔢 Erasmus+ maximum: maximum total duration of 12 months within one study cycle, and it is possible to do more than one exchange within that limit. A "cycle" is the level of study as defined by the European Qualifications Framework (EQF).
🩺 Erasmus+ one-cycle courses: for "one-cycle" courses such as medicine or architecture, you can go abroad with Erasmus+ for as long as 24 months.
🎓 Full degree: international degree students complete their entire studies at the institution.
A degree student in Taiwan, outside Erasmus+, whose exchange friends left after the first semester, wrote that exchange students experience a "sprint" characterized by culture shock, rapid adoption, and intense exploration, and degree students undergo a "marathon" of gradual integration and deeper cultural immersion. Our guide on Erasmus+ recognition and ECTS covers how the period abroad counts.
Do you pay tuition at the host university?
No, if you go with Erasmus+: as an Erasmus+ student, you are exempt from fees for tuition, registration, examinations, and charges for access to laboratories or libraries at the receiving institution. Small fees for insurance or student union membership may still apply.
🔁 Free mover at Erasmus School of Economics: free movers need to pay tuition fees to the host university while remaining enrolled at Erasmus University Rotterdam, so they pay tuition fees to both institutions.
🎓 Karolinska Institutet: education at Swedish universities is free of charge for citizens of an EU/EEA country. For those who are not citizens of an EU/EEA country or Switzerland, Swedish universities must charge a tuition fee for studies both at bachelor's and master's level. The universities must in this case also charge an application fee of 900 SEK (as of 7 November 2026).
🎓 Study in Sweden: on average, tuition fees are around SEK 160 000 per academic year. In general, tuition fees range from about SEK 80 000 to SEK 320 000 per academic year (as of 7 November 2026).
🎓 Study in NL: the annual tuition fee (statutory fee) is € 2 694 for the academic year 2026-2027 for students from an EEA country, Switzerland or Surinam who have not yet obtained a similar degree from a government-funded Dutch university or university of applied sciences. For students with other nationalities the average tuition fee for bachelor's programmes is between € 9 000 and € 20 000, and for a master's programme between € 12 000 and € 30 000 (as of 8 November 2026).
🎓 Germany: a student from India at a university in Germany wrote in 2022 that "In Germany, there are no tuition fees", and that in a semester, students will have to pay a certain amount for student associations and semester travelling tickets, which varies from university to university.
Our guide on DAAD scholarships covers funding for study in Germany.
Is there a grant?
Yes with Erasmus+: the amount is a contribution to your travel and daily living costs.
💶 Erasmus+ grant: grant agreements are signed by your sending or receiving institution, and these institutions apply for funding on behalf of their students. The details of the grant depend on many different conditions, including the differences in living costs between your country and the destination country, the number of students applying for a grant, and the distance between countries and the availability of other grants.
➕ Extra Erasmus+ support: there is also extra support for students going on a traineeship, students with fewer opportunities or those from outermost regions. You may also be eligible for additional grants from your institution, government or other sources. Students with physical, mental or health-related conditions can check with the Erasmus+ coordinator at the sending institution to see if they can apply for additional funding.
🧾 What the grant meant for one student: an Erasmus student from Ireland in Bologna found the Erasmus grant a nice "cash injection" but still relied on their own finances, from working throughout the summer and help from family, to fund travel, living expenses and rent (The Irish Times, 2025).
🔁 Erasmus School of Economics: the Erasmus+ Scholarship, Holland Scholarship and ESE (Additional) Scholarship are open to students participating in the exchange programme of Erasmus School of Economics only.
🎓 Moving to Sweden from Cambodia: "It's expensive, but I got the scholarship, so I got a monthly living allowance."
🏦 Proof of financing in Germany: your parents can submit documents certifying their income and financial assets, someone with permanent residence in Germany can guarantee the Alien Registration Office to cover your expenses, a security payment can be deposited into a blocked account, or you can present a scholarship award notification from a recognised scholarship provider.
Our guide on scholarships compared with Erasmus+ grants explains how the two kinds of funding differ.
Will your credits count at home?
Yes with Erasmus+: your sending institution must recognise the credits (using ECTS credits or an equivalent system) and count them towards your degree, without any other requirements.
📝 Before Erasmus+: you will sign a "learning agreement for studies" with your sending and receiving institutions, which defines how your activities abroad will be recognised.
📄 After Erasmus+: your receiving institution must give you and your sending institution a transcript of records which confirms completion and results achieved. Your mobility period should be recorded in the Diploma Supplement, depending on where your institution is based.
🔁 Free mover at Erasmus School of Economics: there is no guarantee that your obtained grades will count towards your diploma.
🎓 ENIC-NARIC: ENIC-NARIC is a network of national centres which share information on foreign qualifications in order to support the mobility of students.
Our guide on recognition, ECTS and Youthpass goes through recognition in detail.
How do you apply?
There's no central application form to study abroad with Erasmus+, and you can reach out to the international or Erasmus+ office of your university or higher education institution to start the process.
⚖️ Erasmus+ selection: your sending higher education institution must select applicants in a fair and transparent way.
📂 Moving to Sweden from Cambodia: "I just had to organise my CV, motivational letter, transcript of my bachelor's degree, the IELTS (English proficiency test), and recommendation letters."
🛂 Swedish residence permit: "My first application was eventually refused because the requested verification of my bank documents hadn't been received in time." From Cambodia: "The problem is that there is no Swedish embassy in Cambodia, so I had to fly to Thailand." From Peru, moving to Sweden: "this whole process can take anywhere from 3 to 5 months, depending on how fast you move and, honestly, a bit of luck."
✅ Swedish Migration Agency: "Use Reddit to learn from other students, but confirm requirements with the Swedish Migration Agency and the relevant embassy."
Our guide on how to write a scholarship motivation letter helps with the letter.
What is daily life like on each route?
Student accounts and surveys on each route talk about housing, language, work and friends.
🏠 Finding a shared flat: a student in Germany: "During the pandemic, I was looking for a shared flat and I wrote 150 requests and never got a call." A student in Germany had to share the flat with six people. A student in Groningen: "Finding accommodation in Dutch student cities has proved to be challenging, and this goes for Groningen as well!" In a Nuffic report, more than 7 in 10 respondents cited the housing shortage as a major concern during their decision-making process for the Netherlands as study destination. DutchNews: "One in three said it had taken them more than three months to find a place to live and 40% are unhappy about the information provided by universities about finding accommodation." In The Irish Times, a student said of the rent: "I had to rent it for an extra month that I wasn't there for."
🗣️ Chinese in Taiwan: "For just an exchange, I don't think it's necessary, but for a degree seeking student I think it would help a lot." For a student in Germany, a lack of fluency in German blocked finding a job or integrating into society, and after learning the language there were lots of calls for interviews. In a Nuffic report, some students felt that they had underestimated the importance of Dutch language skills for social integration and finding (part-time) work.
💼 Work: a student in Sweden found that a lot of positions require you to speak Swedish and that you have to plan around your studies. A student in Germany found it really difficult to find a part-time job in the initial six months in a small university town.
💛 Friends: "I had not made many Swedish friends until I moved to a corridor room." A student in Germany celebrated four cold Christmas days alone. In Germany: "Being away from everyone and everything was hard."
🤝 Erasmus adventure: "One of the most enriching aspects of my Erasmus adventure was the immediate connection with students from across Europe." An exchange student in Taiwan: "Being surrounded by other foreign students is also limiting".
Our guide on what Erasmus+ is covers the programme behind the exchange.
Which route fits you?
Which route fits you depends on the study programme you follow, the fees you pay and whether your credits count.
🎓 Erasmus+: your study period abroad must be part of the study programme that you are following, you are exempt from fees for tuition at the receiving institution, and your sending institution must recognise the credits.
🔁 Free mover at Erasmus School of Economics: you pay tuition fees to both institutions, and there is no guarantee that your obtained grades will count towards your diploma.
🌍 Full degree: international degree students enroll in a full degree program and complete their entire studies at the institution.
Our guide on Erasmus Mundus covers the joint Master's route, our guide on DAAD scholarships covers Germany, our guide on government scholarships in Europe covers national awards, and our guide on scholarships compared with Erasmus+ grants explains the funding words.
Frequently asked questions
Can I combine study with a traineeship?
Yes: trainees can also combine an Erasmus+ traineeship with a study period abroad. Our guide on paid internships abroad covers the traineeship side.
Can I go on Erasmus+ more than once?
Yes: it is possible to do more than one exchange within the maximum total duration of 12 months within one study cycle. Our guide on Erasmus+ recognition and ECTS covers how the period abroad counts.
Can I do both routes?
Yes: a degree student in Germany uncovered the opportunity to participate in the Erasmus program, a semester exchange in a different country, Austria. Our guide on DAAD scholarships covers funding for study in Germany.
Where can you go from here?
Our guide on Erasmus Mundus covers the joint Master's route. Our guide on scholarships compared with Erasmus+ grants explains the funding words. The Youth Works Hub pages below cover the next steps.
Related pages: Erasmus Mundus · recognition, ECTS and Youthpass · paid internships abroad · Erasmus+ · scholarships compared with Erasmus+ grants
👉 Erasmus+ projects: youthworkshub.org/?tab=erasmus-projects
👉 Scholarships: youthworkshub.org/?tab=scholarships
