Erasmus+ is the EU Programme in the fields of education, training, youth and sport for the 2021-2027 period. The general objective of the Programme is to support, through lifelong learning, the educational, professional and personal development of people in education, training, youth and sport in Europe and beyond. Our guide on how Erasmus+ works and where it comes from explains the programme behind these activities, and what the European Solidarity Corps is does the same for the other EU programme for young people.
Last updated: October 2026.
Is Erasmus+ only for university students?
No: in general terms, the main target groups are in higher education, vocational education and training, school education, adult education, youth and sport. Our guide on who can apply to Erasmus+ and ESC goes through the conditions role by role.
🎓 Higher education: the main targets are higher education students (short cycle, first, second or third cycle), higher education teachers and professors, staff of higher education institutions, trainers and professionals in enterprises. Higher education mobility supports physical and blended mobility of higher education students in any study field and cycle.
🛠️ Vocational education and training: eligible participants include learners and apprentices in initial vocational education and training (iVET) and in continuing vocational education and training (cVET). Recent graduates (including former apprentices) of eligible iVET and cVET programmes are eligible to participate up to 12 months after their graduation.
🏫 School education: the main targets are school leaders, school teachers and school staff, pupils in pre-primary, primary and secondary education. Participating pupils must be enrolled in an education programme at the sending school.
📚 Adult education: the main targets are members of non-vocational adult education organisations, trainers, staff and learners in non-vocational adult education.
🌍 Youth: the main targets are young people from 13 to 30, youth workers, staff and members of organisations active in the youth field. Different age limits apply depending on the different types of activities.
⚽ Sport: the main targets are professionals and volunteers in the field of sport, athletes and coaches.
What can young people do with Erasmus+?
Erasmus+ offers young people the activities below. Our guide on Erasmus+ for young people gives an overview of what is open to you.
🌍 Youth Exchanges: Youth Exchanges are meetings of groups of young people from at least two different countries who gather for a short period to implement jointly a non-formal learning programme on a topic of their interest. Age: young people aged between 13 and 30 residing in the countries of their sending and receiving organisations. 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 13 and must not be older than the maximum age of 30.
🧑🏫 Youth worker activities: professional development activities are transnational or international learning mobility activities supporting the professional development of youth workers. Professional development activities can take the form of study visits and different types of assignments, such as job shadowing, youth worker exchanges and peer learning. Our guide on what a training course is, what a seminar is, what a study visit is and mobility of youth workers and job shadowing explains each format.
🗳️ Youth participation activities: this action supports activities outside formal education and training that encourage, foster and facilitate young people's participation in Europe's democratic life at local, regional, national and European level.
🚆 DiscoverEU: DiscoverEU offers 18-year-olds the opportunity to have a short-term individual or group travel experience throughout Europe.
💻 Virtual Exchanges: virtual exchanges projects consist of online people-to-people activities that promote intercultural dialogue and soft skills development.
🌐 Erasmus Mundus: Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters (EMJM) scholarships can be offered to students from all over the world.
Which countries can take part in Erasmus+?
As a general rule, participants in Erasmus+ projects must be established in an EU Member State or third country associated to the Programme. Some Actions, notably in the fields of higher education, vocational education and training, youth, and sport, are also open to participants from third countries not associated to the Programme. Young people from third countries not associated to the Programme neighbouring the EU (regions 1 to 4) can apply to the Erasmus+ youth projects, but there are fewer places and more competition, because projects give priority to participants from EU Member States and third countries associated to the Programme. Young people from countries that are not EU Member States, third countries associated to the Programme or third countries not associated to the Programme neighbouring the EU (regions 1 to 4) cannot take part in the Erasmus+ youth projects (Youth Exchanges, Mobility projects for youth workers, Youth participation activities); for them, Erasmus+ higher education mobility, Erasmus+ Virtual Exchanges (Region 9 only) and Erasmus Mundus are open. Our guide on which countries can apply for Erasmus+ and ESC lists every country, opportunities for young people outside the European Union explains what is open to you if your country is not on the lists, and the age limits cover the age rules.
What does Erasmus+ pay for in youth activities?
Here is what Erasmus+ pays for in youth activities. Our guide on what Erasmus+ covers goes through the costs of a youth project.
🚆 Travel: a contribution to the travel costs of participants, including group leaders, accompanying persons and facilitators, from their place of origin to the venue of the activity and return. Our guide on travel reimbursement and distance bands sets out how travel is reimbursed.
🍽️ Individual support: costs linked to subsistence. In Youth Exchanges and youth worker activities, food and accommodation are fully covered for participants; this is mandatory, not an exception.
🤝 Inclusion support: additional costs directly linked to participants with fewer opportunities and their accompanying persons, group leaders and facilitators. Our guide on inclusion support explains who can receive it.
🛂 Visa and health costs: visa and visa-related costs, residence permits, vaccinations and medical certifications are part of the exceptional costs. Our guide on visa and residence rules for ESC and Erasmus+ covers the paperwork.
🛡️ Insurance: all pupils, students, trainees, apprentices, adult learners, young people and staff involved in mobility activities under all Key Actions of the Erasmus+ Programme must be insured against the risks linked to their participation in these activities.
How do you take part in Erasmus+?
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. There is no single registration point for Erasmus+ youth projects: calls are published separately (also on Youth Works Hub), and you apply through each call as it explains. Individuals constitute the main target population of Erasmus+. The Programme reaches these individuals through organisations, institutions, bodies, or groups that organise activities it supports.
🙋 You apply yourself: for student exchanges, student traineeships abroad and Erasmus Mundus (post-grad).
🏢 Your organisation applies: for placements for school pupils and classes (your school), for VET students abroad (your VET training organisation) and for adult learners (your adult education organisation).
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. If you are looking to take part by yourself, it's likely that you will need to apply through an organisation such as your university, training centre, company and so on. Our guide on how to apply for Erasmus+ or ESC takes the steps one by one.
How do you find an Erasmus+ project?
Youth Works Hub has a Match page that finds projects suited to you: it asks 8 questions and shows the results as a swipeable deck of cards, and saved projects stay on your profile page. Using Match requires creating an account on the site; signing up with Google is available but not required. Match does not filter directly by country. Training courses, seminars and study visits published on the SALTO European Training Calendar are pulled into Youth Works Hub automatically several times a day and appear in the Erasmus+ projects category. Our guide on how to find Erasmus+ and ESC projects shows where else the offers are published.
How is Erasmus+ different from the European Solidarity Corps?
The European Solidarity Corps brings together young people to build a more inclusive society, supporting vulnerable people and responding to societal and humanitarian challenges. Erasmus+ covers education, training, youth and sport. Our guide on ESC vs Erasmus+ compares the two programmes side by side.
Frequently asked questions
Do you pay to apply for Erasmus+?
No: nobody should pay anything at the application stage. In Youth Exchanges and youth worker activities, food and accommodation are fully covered for participants; this is mandatory, not an exception. 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. Our guide on what Erasmus+ covers explains the costs in detail.
Do you get a certificate after an Erasmus+ youth project?
Yes: Youthpass must be issued; who issues it (host or support organisation) varies and should be clear in the activity agreement. Youthpass is a European recognition instrument for identifying and documenting learning outcomes. In a Youth Exchange, organisations should support the learning process, the identification and the documentation of learning outcomes, in particular through Youthpass. Our guide on what Youthpass is explains the certificate.
Is Erasmus+ only for people living in Europe?
No: some Actions, notably in the fields of higher education, vocational education and training, youth, and sport, are also open to participants from third countries not associated to the Programme. Our guide on which countries can apply for Erasmus+ and ESC lists the countries.
Do you need to belong to an organisation to take part?
No: there is no requirement to be a member of the sending (support) organisation or to have taken part in its activities before. 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 how to apply for Erasmus+ or ESC takes the steps one by one.
Start with the activity that fits you
Pick the activity that matches your age and goals, then check who can apply and how the application works. Youth Works Hub collects the Erasmus+ projects in one place, so you can start with Match or with the Erasmus+ projects category below. The related pages below from Youth Works Hub cover each part of this guide in more detail.
Related pages: how Erasmus+ works · who can apply · how to apply · what Erasmus+ covers · which countries can take part
👉 Erasmus+ projects: youthworkshub.org/?tab=erasmus-projects
