What Is an Erasmus+ Seminar? (2026)

An Erasmus+ seminar is a transnational or international learning mobility activity for the professional development of youth workers, supporting in particular knowledge-building and best practices sharing. Our guide on what Erasmus+ is introduces the programme, mobility projects for youth workers covers the Action a seminar sits inside, and what non-formal education is explains the learning approach.

Last updated: October 2026.

Who can join an Erasmus+ seminar?

In a seminar in a Mobility project for Youth Workers, participants must be minimum 16 years old and must be resident in the country of their sending or receiving organisation. A sending organisation is a participating organisation sending one or more participants to an activity of an Erasmus+ project. A receiving organisation is a participating organisation receiving participants and organising activities of an Erasmus+ project. At the start date of the activity, participants must have reached the minimum age of 16. SALTO stands for 'Support for Advanced Learning and Training Opportunities'. Many seminars published on the SALTO European Training Calendar are Training and Cooperation Activities (TCAs) organised by National Agencies. In these activities participants must be at least 18; priority goes to young people active in organisations and to youth workers, and after the activity they are expected to share what they learned and prepare new projects. Being active in a youth organisation is important but not required. Our guide on who can apply to Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps goes through the other conditions, the age limits by activity compares the seminar age rule with other formats, the list of eligible countries shows where you can live, and the role of youth workers explains who these activities are for.

What happens at an Erasmus+ seminar and how long does it last?

Seminars and workshops support in particular knowledge-building and best practices sharing. Duration of activities: from 2 to 60 days, excluding travel days, and the minimum 2 days must be consecutive. Youth worker activities and study visits usually last from 4-5 days up to 10-12 days. Activities must take place in the country of one of the organisations participating in the activity, or in the countries of several of them in case of itinerant activities.

Training courses support the development of competences, to implement quality youth work practices or address and test innovative methods. Study visits and different types of assignments, such as job shadowing, youth worker exchanges and peer learning, take place in youth work organisations and organisations active in the youth field abroad. Our guide on what a training course is describes the training format, what an Erasmus+ study visit is covers the visit format, and what a Youth Exchange is explains the format made for young people.

How do you apply to an Erasmus+ seminar?

For Youth Exchanges, Volunteering Teams, training courses, seminars and study visits, young people apply to the call itself; the call may ask you to apply directly, or it may name a sending organisation in your country through which you have to apply, so you must read the details of each call. Erasmus+ youth projects have no standard application format; each call explains how to apply. Many seminars are published on the SALTO European Training Calendar. SALTO training courses and seminars are pulled into Youth Works Hub automatically several times a day. Match is a page of Youth Works Hub that finds projects suited to the reader: it asks 8 questions and shows the results as a swipeable deck of cards. Using Match requires creating an account on the site; signing up with Google is available but not required.

If a call asks for a sending (support) organisation, you can find all organisations holding a Quality Label on the European Youth Portal and ask one of them to be your sending (support) organisation; this is completely free, so most organisations will accept you. We recommend choosing an organisation in your own city or region.

Four things to know about applying:

📄 CV: Use the Europass CV format, which is the common format in youth projects. Include even small details in your CV.

✍️ Motivation letter: Keep the motivation letter to one page in 12-point type and a classic font. Write a new motivation letter for each project. Use images only when they fit the purpose.

🔍 The call: most applications are rejected at the first screening because the applicant did not read the details of the call.

⏳ After you apply: you may or may not receive an email confirming that your application arrived; selected applicants are always contacted, but rejected applicants are often not contacted at all.

Our guide on how to find Erasmus+ and ESC projects shows where the offers are published, Erasmus+ application tips goes through the points above, how to write a motivation letter covers the letter, the supporting organisation explains the role of the sending organisation, and the ESC Quality Label explains the certificate those organisations hold.

What does Erasmus+ pay for at an Erasmus+ seminar?

Erasmus+ pays for the following:

✈️ Travel: contribution to the travel costs of participants from their place of origin to the venue of the activity and return. Participants usually buy their own return ticket first and the organisation reimburses them afterwards; for participants with limited financial means, organisations can also support them, so this should be agreed with the sending and receiving organisations before buying. If the ticket costs more than the travel distance band amount, the participant pays the difference; if it costs less, the remaining amount stays with the organisation. When travel costs are reimbursed differs from project to project; it should be written in the info pack, and if it is not, you must clarify it with the organisation before the project. Our guide on how travel distance bands work shows which band your distance falls into, and green travel in Erasmus+ and ESC explains what changes when you travel by low-emission transport.

🍽️ Food and accommodation: In Youth Exchanges and youth worker activities, food and accommodation are fully covered for participants; this is mandatory, not an exception. In Erasmus+ youth projects, participants usually stay in hotels. The aim is to provide basic living conditions, so do not expect luxury.

♿ Inclusion support for participants: additional costs directly linked to participants with fewer opportunities are covered. Our guide on inclusion support explains who counts as a young person with fewer opportunities.

🛂 Visa and related costs: visa and visa-related costs, residence permits, vaccinations and medical certifications are covered at 100% of eligible costs. Our guide on visas and residence permits walks through the paperwork.

Our guide on what Erasmus+ covers lists the categories across the youth Actions, and how much money you actually need sets out what is left to you.

Do you pay anything to join an Erasmus+ seminar?

No fee is ever asked for applying; nobody should pay anything at the application stage. A request for money under any name (application fee, placement fee, commission, booking fee, visa processing fee) is a warning sign of a fake or problematic call. Contact only through social media is a warning sign, while a serious organisation also writes by email. If an organisation asks you to pay at the application stage, report it to the National Agency or the European Commission and let us know, so we can report it too.

In Erasmus+ Youth Exchanges, training courses, seminars and study visits, about one in ten calls asks participants for a participation fee; Youth Works Hub does not support this practice. The participation fee is not a payment made in advance: it is usually deducted from the travel reimbursement. A participation fee is never paid at application, only by selected participants, and in many cases it can be negotiated or even waived by the organisation. Contributions cannot be collected from participants with fewer opportunities. Our guide on how to spot fake offers goes through the signs of a problematic call.

How is what you learn at an Erasmus+ seminar recognised?

Youthpass must be issued; who issues it (host or support organisation) varies and should be clear in the activity agreement. Youthpass is recognised in practice by employers and universities. Our guide on what Youthpass is explains the certificate itself, getting your learning recognised covers recognition more widely, and how to put Youthpass on your CV shows what to do with it afterwards.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between an Erasmus+ seminar and a training course?

Seminars and workshops support in particular knowledge-building and best practices sharing, and training courses support the development of competences. Our guide on what a training course is describes that format in full.

Do I need to be active in a youth organisation to join?

Being active in a youth organisation is important but not required. Young people who understand how these projects work and cooperate with local organisations have a clear advantage. Our guide on the role of youth workers explains who youth workers are.

Can I apply to more than one seminar?

There is no limit on the number of applications: you can apply to every project that suits you. Twenty good applications work better than a hundred copies. Our guide on Erasmus+ application tips goes through what a good application contains.

What if I never hear back after applying?

Selected applicants are always contacted, but rejected applicants are often not contacted at all, because some projects receive so many applications that coordinators do not reply to each one. You may or may not receive an email confirming that your application arrived. Hundreds of young people may apply to the same project, so a rejection or no reply should not discourage you; people who keep applying do get into a project. Our guide on what to do when you applied and heard nothing goes through the next steps.

Find a seminar

Our guide on how to find Erasmus+ and ESC projects shows where the offers are published. The related pages below from Youth Works Hub cover each part of this guide in more detail.

👉 Erasmus+ projects: youthworkshub.org/?tab=erasmus-projects