How is your Erasmus exchange funded?
Under the Erasmus programme, students from the EU, EEA and Turkey have the opportunity to spend between 2 and 12 months studying in a European higher education institution as part of their course.
Successful applicants for the Erasmus exchange programme do not pay fees at their chosen institution.
Erasmus students may receive a study grant, which is provided by the European Commission. The aim of the grant is to assist students with travel and initial moving costs. It is not a maintenance grant and the amount varies from year to year depending on how many students are participating in the programme. The grant is not means-tested and does not affect students' entitlements to other grants, such as SUSI, Back to Education, etc.
What to do to receive the Erasmus mobility grant
The Erasmus mobility grant is paid in two instalments by bank transfer, on receipt of the necessary documents - see Brightspace for more details.
An explanatory e-mail will be sent to your UL e-mail account prior to the start of the semester abroad (August for Autumn placements; December for Spring placements).
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Documents to be submitted to UL:
1. Confirmation of Attendance (Certificate of Arrival section) – once you arrive at the host university, have the first section of the document filled in and signed by the International Office and upload it on the .
2. Erasmus grant agreement – the Erasmus grant agreement will be emailed to your UL email address within 5-10 working days of submitting the Certificate of Arrival. Once the UL Erasmus team receives the signed Erasmus grant agreement, 70% of the total grant amount will be released. The first instalment (70%) of the Erasmus grant will be paid within 10 working days of receiving the signed Erasmus grant agreement.
3. Finalised Learning agreement – fill in the Learning Agreement and sign it, have it signed by the host university and your Erasmus Academic Coordinator at UL. Once it is signed by all three parties, please upload it on the .
The remaining 30% of the Erasmus grant will be released upon your return from Erasmus and submission of the following documents:
1. Confirmation of Attendance (Certificate of Departure section) – at the end of the Erasmus placement, have the second section of the document filled in and signed by the international office at the host university and upload it on the .
2. Finalised Learning agreement (if you have not submitted it yet)
3. Submission of the EU Participant survey - you will receive a link on your UL email address at the end of your study placement abroad to this brief survey. It is mandatory for students to complete this survey. For an example of what the EU Participant report may look like, please see the sample provided in the sidebar to the left of this page.
- To be eligible for the Erasmus mobility grant, the duration of the stay abroad must be minimum 2 months.
- Students are entitled to funding while they are present at the host university.
- At the end of your semester, if the dates on the second section of the Confirmation of Studies document are substantially different to those indicated initially, the last instalment may be reduced significantly or students may have to refund some of the grant monies. For example, if the Certificate of Arrival notes Date of Arrival Jan 1st and Date of Departure May 31st (Funded duration: 150 days), but the Certificate of Attendance notes Date of Arrival Jan 1st and Date of Departure May 1st, the funding will be reduced by 30 days to reflect the actual duration of the semester abroad. This will be reflected in the final payment or may necessitate reimbursement of excess funding.
Frequently asked questions:
Q1: Can the quarantine period be included on the Certificate of Arrival, i.e. are students eligible for Erasmus funding during that period?
Yes, you can include the dates of quarantine in the grant calculation. Students should make sure that the quarantine period is stated on the Certificate of Arrival.
Q2: My host university have announced that all classes will be delivered online. Am I still eligible for Erasmus funding?
Students can receive the Erasmus mobility grant so long as they have physically travelled, regardless of whether the classes are on campus or online. If a student opts to stay in Ireland and carry out a virtual mobility they are not entitled to grant support.
Q3. Am I still entitled to EU funding if my host university ‘goes online’ a few weeks into the semester?
Students receive the grant for when they are physically overseas. Should the student travel at the start of semester and then go virtual they are still entitled to the grant payment for the duration of their stay abroad.
Q4. Should I book accommodation? Will I get my deposit back if Erasmus exchanges are cancelled by the host university?
We would advise that you try to ensure that online options are available before travelling. However, if the student is forced to cancel their mobility because the host institution couldn’t carry out online classes, then we would treat this as a cancelled mobility and would revert to the guidelines on force majeure i.e. the student should be reimbursed for their flight and accommodation costs.
All Erasmus grant documents (except the grant agreement, which must be submitted in hard copy) should be uploaded to the .