Erasmus+ grants for Traineeships

Conditions for Erasmus+ applications 

In order to qualify for a grant, you must at least comply with the following conditions:

• You must be registered in a study programme at Bachelor's or Master's level, or for a supplementary/Doctorate programme, which culminates with a diploma from a recognised institution of higher education (pre-master not applicable).
• The traineeship or courses taken at the receiving institution/enterprise must be integrated and recognized in your study programme at UU.
• You have successfully completed a first year of higher education studies and started the second year.
• You will register for and complete a full-time (see below) study/work load at the receiving institution/enterprise.
• You will be physically present at the receiving university/enterprise.
• You will undertake your exchange in a country other than The Netherlands, and in another country than your current country of residence.

*if your Traineeship is voluntary (i.e. not embedded in your curriculum), you must still work fulltime and receive at least 5 ECTS per month for the full duration of your Traineeship

Restrictions 

• Under Erasmus+ the same student may receive grants for mobility periods totaling up to 12 months maximum per study cycle (Bachelor, Master, PhD), irrespective of the number and type of mobility activities. 
• Utrecht University does not award Erasmus+ Traineeship grants to students who will receive an internship allowance from the receiving organisation as high as the grant amount (see below) or more per month.
• Traineeships at the European Union institutions and National Agencies for Erasmus+ are not eligible for Erasmus+ grants.

Maximum grant period 2025-2026 

The budget which Utrecht University receives from the European Commission is limited. In order to ensure that as many students as possible can receive an Erasmus+ grant we have to set a maximum grant period per student in some years. The maximum duration for which UU can provide a grant to students going on a Traineeship/Internship abroad in Academic Year 2025-2026 (start date after August 15th, 2025) will be determined in June 2025, and may be shorter than one semester. 

Application deadlines 2024-2025

The deadlines below apply to you if your Traineeship has a start date (i.e. first day of work on location abroad) of 15 August 2025 at the latest. Traineeships with a start date after 15 August 2025 fall under Erasmus+ Academic Year 2025-2026. 

If you want to have a chance to receive an Erasmus+ Grant from Utrecht University for your Traineeship abroad, then your Erasmus+ Application has to be submitted in Osiris by the date below. Please be aware that you cannot start your Erasmus+ Application in Osiris until you have a (conditionally) approved Stay Abroad request in Osiris (which can take some weeks to arrange). See steps 1 and 2 under 'How to apply' for further information. 

*If you think you might not be able to make this deadline, contact your International Office as well as the Erasmus Office as soon as possible, and definitely before your application deadline! Otherwise, you may miss your chance to receive the grant.

Please note: the sooner you submit your application, the sooner we can process it. We will do our best to check your file as soon as possible, and we process applications in order of start date when possible. 

Application deadlines 2025-2026

If your Traineeship will have a start date (i.e. first day of work on location abroad) after 15 August 2025, then your Traineeship falls under the Erasmus+ application process for Academic Year 2025-2026. Application instructions for 2025-2026 will follow in June, as the application process in Osiris for the upcoming academic year will open at the beginning of July. 

Applications for 2025-2026 will most likely also have deadlines 6 weeks prior to your start date abroad. You cannot start your Erasmus+ Application in Osiris until you have a (conditionally) approved Stay Abroad request in Osiris (which can take some weeks to arrange). See steps 1 and 2 under 'How to apply' for further information.

If your Traineeship for 2025-2026 starts in August or early September and you are worried about making the Erasmus+ application deadline, please e-mail the Erasmus Office (erasmus@uu.nl) directly before 15 June. We will advise you on the best course of action, and we may be able to extend your application deadline by a few weeks (depending on your specific circumstances). 

Grant Amount

The Erasmus+ grant is meant as a contribution to cover additional travel and living costs abroad. The grant amounts per month have been determined by the National Agency Erasmus+. In the table below you will find the amounts per Traineeship month for each of the three country groups. The amounts below are per full month abroad, any additional days are calculated proportionally. 

START DATE BEFORE JUNE 1ST: 

START DATE BETWEEN 1 JUNE AND 15 AUGUST: 

Fewer Opportunities Top-up / Special Needs

Under some circumstances, students may receive additional funding due to medical or financial needs. Please see 'Top-up for Fewer Opportunities' and 'Students with special needs'.

Travel Allowance

Students with a start date after 1 June 2025 will receive 'Travel Allowance' on top of the Grant Amount as stated above. This is a one-time amount (i.e. not per month) which is automatically added to the first Grant Payment (see: 'Grant Payments' below). Travel Allowance is based on:

• Distance to your destination, as calculated using the Erasmus+ Distance Calculator ('start' is always Utrecht, 'end' is the city where your host institution is based), and;
• The main mode of travel used for the majority of your round trip (in terms of distance travelled) as stated in your Erasmus Grant application in Osiris.
• In order to receive the amount for Green Travel, please see the instructions under 'Green Travel Funding' below.

Green Travel Funding

Students who will travel by train, bus, bicycle or ride-share to and from the Stay Abroad destination may receive Green Travel Funding on top of their regular Erasmus+ Grant Amount. 

There are two types of Green Travel Funding:

1. Students with a start date before 1 June 2025 can receive an Erasmus+ Green Travel Top-up, which consists of a one-time payment of € 50,- which will be added to the first Grant Payment. In order to apply in this category, use the Declaration of Honour (start date before 1 June).
2. Students with a start date after 1 June 2025 cannot receive the Green Travel Top-up of 50 Euros, but they can receive a higher amount of Erasmus+ Travel Allowance. (For specific amounts, see 'Grant Amount' above.) In order to apply in this category, use the Declaration of Honour (start date after 1 June). 

How to apply for Green Travel Funding

1. In your regular Erasmus+ Grant application in Osiris, choose the option to receive the Green Top-up. 
2. Upload your signed Declaration of Honour (see above for the correct format for your situation).

Interrail Pass for Erasmus+

If you want to travel by train, make sure you check out the new Interrail Pass for Erasmus+. This is an Interrail Pass with a longer validity period, so that you can use it at the beginning and at the end of your exchange semester.

Top-up for Fewer Opportunities

Erasmus+ offers a top-up for Students with Fewer Opportunities. The top-up amount is € 250,- per month, based on the duration of your Erasmus+ Grant period. You are eligible if:

• you experience economic barriers and therefore receive (or have received, see below) a supplementary grant (i.e. aanvullende beurs) from DUO, and/or;
• you have a disability or a diagnosed (chronic) medical condition which may influence and complicate travel and/or studying abroad.

To apply for the Fewer Opportunities Top-up:

Unlike the Green Top-up, the application process for the Fewer Opportunities Top-up is a separate application process in Osiris. This is due to privacy reasons. 

The deadline for the Fewer Opportunities Top-up application is the same as the deadline of your regular Erasmus+ Grant application (see 'Application Deadlines' above).

1. Go to Osiris > Stay Abroad > Grants, and select the Top-up process.
2. Upload one of the following:

• Official letter from DUO - The official letter granting your supplementary grant, i.e. the DUO Toekenningsbericht (the date, your name, and the grant amount mus be clearly visible). If you do not receive a supplementary grant at this time but have received one in recent years, please send us an email. 
• Medical Statement - A medical statement can be a statement from your doctor, or a copy of an official document which states that you have a diagnosed (i.e. recognised) condition. If you want to keep your condition private then you may upload a statement from a medical professional which makes it clear that you have a diagnosed condition which can impact travel/study abroad, but which does not explicitly name the condition.

If you fall in both groups, then you may upload EITHER a DUO-statement, OR a medical statement, whichever is preferable for you. If you believe you should receive the Top-up, but you cannot provide the above documentation, please contact the UU Erasmus Office and explain your situation.

Please note: any Top-up can only be officially awarded once the Erasmus+ Grant has been awarded to you. You cannot receive a Top-up if you are not (or no longer) eligible for the Erasmus Grant. 

Grant application step-by-step

To make sure you are eligible for the Erasmus+ Grant, you should carefully read the information under 'Conditions & Restrictions' (see above) before beginning the steps below.

1. Before you can apply for an Erasmus+ grant, you need to register your traineeship/internship abroad by submitting a Stay Abroad request in OSIRIS Student. Go to the Stay abroad (Buitenland) section in OSIRIS and start a new request for Internship / research / other stay abroad. Do not forget to submit your application. 
    
2. You can continue preparing your grant application (step 3 and 4), but the online application for the Erasmus+ Traineeship grant (step 5) can only be started after your Stay Abroad request has been approved by your faculty (and this can take quite some time, depending on your situation). More information can be obtained at the International Office of your faculty. Please contact them as soon as you have finished step 1. Contact details can be found on this page. 
    
3. If your Traineeship abroad has a start date before 1 June 2025, download the following document: Learning agreement for Traineeships 2024-2025 (before June 1). If your Traineeship abroad has a start date after 1 June 2025 but before 15 August 2025, download the following document: Learning Agreement for Traineeships 2024-2025 (after 1 June). 
    
4. Complete the Learning agreement by filling out the general part, and the BEFORE THE MOBILITY part (including your signature). Get the document signed by your UU (faculty) exchange coordinator or placement coordinator for the Sending Institution and your supervisor/coordinator at the Receiving Organisation. Digital and scanned signatures are allowed, if necessary you can arrange all per email.
    
5. Have your IBAN (International Bank Account Number) ready. You MUST enter your IBAN in the online application, we cannot disburse an Erasmus+ grant without your IBAN! Payments to foreign bank accounts take more time and require more bank details. If you have a non-Dutch account, you have to fill out the BIC/SWIFT and address for your bank (main branch), otherwise we cannot process the payment.
    
6. Start your online grant application in Osiris Student. Go to the Stay Abroad (Buitenland) section in Osiris and you will find the Grant option behind your (conditionally) approved Stay Abroad request (see above). Fill out all the questions and upload the correct documents. All uploads in Osiris have to be in a commonly used format (.docx, .pdf). ZIP files cannot be opened. Don't forget to press submit.
    
7. If you want to apply for the Erasmus+ Top-up for Fewer Opportunities (see 'Erasmus+ Top-ups' above), you can do this now. You may also complete the Fewer Opportunities Top-up application at a later moment, but please note that the deadline for this is the same as the deadline for your regular Erasmus+ Grant application (see 'Application Deadlines' above).

After you have submitted your application

The UU Erasmus Office will judge your application and inform you if there are any mistakes that need to be rectified. Please be patient, as the Erasmus Office deals with many applications at the same time. If everything is in order, then your application will be conditionally awarded. This usually happens within 6 weeks after you submit your application. 

Grant Payments

The first payment will consist of 80% of the total grant amount, as calculated based on your Learning Agreement. The total grant amount is the monthly amount for each full month abroad, plus 1/30 of the stated amount for each additional day. The first payment will be made out to you once you have received the notification that your grant has been conditionally approved.

Please note: the first payment may arrive some weeks after your start date. The timing is dependent on when your application is complete, processing times at the Erasmus Office, and processing times at the UU Financial Department.

Final payment

The second and final payment will be calculated and transferred after your exchange, and only once your file is complete and everything has been processed. 

Calculation of final payment

Please note that if the actual dates of your Stay Abroad turn out to be different from the dates initially stated on your Learning Agreement, the total Grant Amount will be recalculated and the final payment will be adjusted accordingly. If it turns out that your actual grant period is shorter than initially stated on your Learning Agreement then you will receive a smaller final payment than initially expected. If your grant period is much shorter than initially stated then you may have to pay back part of the already received Grant Amount to the university.

Completing your Erasmus+ file

Your Erasmus+ grant has been awarded conditionally and will only be definitively awarded after you have completed your entire file. This means you have to complete/upload the required report documents and assessments before the appropriate deadlines (see below).

The Erasmus Grant Checklist (parts 1 and 2) will guide you through all steps you must take to have your Erasmus+ grant awarded definitively, including the Report Requirements at the end of your Stay Abroad. You received the first part of the Checklist at the beginning of your Stay Abroad. The second part of the Checklist can be found below:

Erasmus Grant Checklist

Erasmus Grant Checklist Part 2 (download)

• Please read the instructions carefully.
• Check the various deadlines.
• Please be aware that you will receive the invitation for the Participant Report not from UU, but as an e-mail from the European Commission's Erasmus+ system.
• The UU format for the Traineeship Certificate can be found below. Do NOT use other formats!

Report documents 

Traineeship certificate

Deadlines report requirements at the end of your Traineeship

Extra help during your application

If you are a student who may need extra help during the application process for the Erasmus+ Grant, and you feel comfortable sharing this information: please make sure your Exchange Coordinator knows about your situation in advance so that they can give you extra guidance. This may be the case, for example, if you have a medical condition which impairs your visual abilities. 

Additional Special Needs Funding

Students who have a diagnosed medical condition or disability which makes it impossible to study abroad without additional financial support (i.e. who need to cover costs which cannot be covered by the regular Erasmus Grant plus the Fewer Opportunities Top-up) may be eligible to apply for Special Needs Funding. Applications are based on an estimation of actual (expected) costs, so that the National Agency Erasmus+ may grant the student a specific personal budget in addition to the regular grant amount. 

Special Needs Funding may cover, for example:

• Costs for specific housing-needs, such as wheelchair-accessible housing.
• Costs for renting medical equipment abroad.
• The travel costs of an additional person, if the student cannot travel alone.
• Costs for travelling with a support animal.

This is not an exhaustive list and other types of costs may be eligible as well. If you have any questions about this or if you believe you may be eligible to apply, please feel free to send an e-mail to erasmus@uu.nl.

It is no longer possible to apply for an Erasmus+ grant after you have graduated from your study programme (even if you are still enrolled at UU). If you are set to graduate but you really want to do an Internship with Erasmus+ funding, you can reach out to your Board of Examiners to discuss the option to postpone your graduation. 

Please note however that the Board of Examiners can not advise about the Erasmus+ Grant rules, so if you have any specific questions regarding the grant and your eligibility, please contact the Erasmus Office directly (see below) before you decide to postpone your graduation. 

Email

You can contact the Erasmus+ Office for questions about your grant through erasmus@uu.nl.

Teams

It is also possible to make an appointment with the Erasmus+ Office via Teams. If you have a question, please use the calendar below to make an appointment.

When you are unable to make it to your appointment, please don't forget to cancel.