Erasmus+ Grants for Traineeships

Conditions for Erasmus+ applications 

In order to qualify for an Erasmus+ Grant for your Traineeship abroad, 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 PhD, which culminates with a diploma from Utrecht University (pre-master not applicable).
• For Bachelor's and Master's students: the Traineeship must be integrated and recognized in your study programme at UU (i.e. will appear on your diploma supplement). 
• You have successfully completed a first year of higher education studies and started the second year when the Traineeship begins.
• You will register for and complete a full-time (see below) study/work load at the receiving organisation.
• You will be physically present at the receiving organisation for the duration of the Erasmus+ Grant Period.
• 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. extracurricular) you must still work full-time for the duration of your Traineeship and receive 5 ECTS per month. These ECTS should also be registered on your Diploma Supplement. PhD's do not have to gain ECTS, but still need to work full-time. 

Restrictions 

• Under Erasmus+ the same student may receive grants for mobility periods totaling up to 12 months maximum per study cycle (study cycle = Bachelor, Master, PhD), irrespective of the number and type of mobility activities. If you have received an Erasmus+ grant before (during the same study cycle) you are obliged to report this in your grant application.
• 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   

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. The maximum grant period is determined in spring on the basis of available budget for the upcoming academic year.

• The maximum Erasmus+ grant period for UU students going on a Traineeship abroad in Academic Year 2025-2026 is 2 months + 17 days.

Please note: Erasmus+ budgets differ greatly between institutions, so other universities may be able to give their students an Erasmus+ grant for more than one semester (up to 12 months per study cycle). 

Application deadlines 2025-2026

If you want to have a chance to receive an Erasmus+ Grant from Utrecht University for your Traineeship abroad, then your Erasmus+ Grant Application has to be submitted in Osiris by the deadline 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. 

The deadline for submitting your application in Osiris depends on the start date of your Traineeship. The start date is the first date on which you have to be present for work at the Receiving Organisation.

*If you think you might not be able to submit your Erasmus+ Grant application in Osiris by this deadline, contact your International Office as well as the UU Erasmus Office (erasmus@uu.nl) 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. 

Basic 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 basic grant amounts per month of the Grant Period in Academic Year 2025-2026. The amounts below are per full month abroad (a full month in Erasmus+ terms always counts as 30 days), any additional grant days are calculated proportionally (monthly amount / 30). 

Important note: UU students can be awarded a maximum grant period of 2 months + 17 days (i.e. 77 days in total). If your Traineeship lasts longer, the remaining days will be awarded as 'Zero Grant Days' (you will still be an Erasmus+ student for the remaining period, but you will not receive funding during that time). See above under 'Conditions & Restrictions' for more information. 

Fewer Opportunities Top-up / Special Needs

Under some circumstances, students may receive additional funding (250 Euros per month of Grant Period) due to medical or financial needs. Please see 'Erasmus+ Top-up' and 'Students with special needs' below for further information.

Travel Allowance

Students going on a Traineeship in 2025-2026 will receive 'Travel Allowance' on top of the basic Grant Amount. This is a one-time amount (i.e. not per month) which is automatically added in full 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). (Below 500 km, you are in principle expected to travel sustainably.)
• In order to receive the Travel Allowance amount for Green Travel, you have to upload a Declaration of Honour in your application, in which you promise to travel sustainably. See 'Green Travel' below for further information and the Declaration of Honour format.

Green Travel According to Erasmus+

As an Erasmus+ student, you are in principle expected to travel sustainably if your destination is less than 500 KM from Utrecht. In your Erasmus+ grant application in Osiris, you will have to specify your means of transportation. Erasmus+ sees the following options as Green Travel:

• train 
• bus
• cycling
• carpooling (i.e. sharing a ride with someone who was already going to your destination) 

Please note that hybrid/electric cars are not viewed as a sustainable option according to Erasmus+ rules (unless used for carpooling).

Declaration of Honour

In order to receive the Erasmus+ Travel Allowance amount for Green Travel, you have to upload a Declaration of Honour in your application, in which you promise to travel sustainably. 

Interrail Pass for Erasmus+

If you want to travel by train, make sure to take a look at 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. If you're travelling with an Interrail Pass, be aware that place reservations on high speed trains will cost extra, and can get expensive. Calculate your costs before deciding on the best type of ticket to buy.

Tips & Tricks 

• Buy your tickets as soon as possible, because ticket prices go up and travel options disappear once you get closer to your travel date. Buying ahead saves money!
• NS International and Omio.com are handy websites for booking tickets. Combine different online search engines to get a fuller picture of all available options. 
• Night trains run from the Netherlands to certain locations in Europe. Taking a night train (in a sleep cabin) may seem expensive but for longer journeys this can be the most economical option, as this allows you to save on hotel/hostel costs along the way. 

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.

How to apply for the Top-up?

In your application for the Erasmus+ Grant in Osiris, you will be asked if you want to apply for the Erasmus+ Top-up for Fewer Opportunities. If you answer 'yes' to this question, you will need to upload one of the following types of proof to show that you are eligible:

• Official letter from DUO - The official letter granting your supplementary grant, i.e. the DUO Toekenningsbericht (the date, your name, and the grant amount must 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 to confirm whether your letter is still valid. 
• 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 to you. 

What if I don't have the right proof?

In exceptional cases, students are allowed to upload a different type of proof than stated above. If you believe you have grounds to receive the Top-up (i.e. you fall under one of the two categories described above) but you cannot provide the required documentation, please contact the UU Erasmus Office and explain your situation. 

Please note: the Top-up is part of the Erasmus+ grant. This means that you cannot receive a Top-up separately, and if you are not (or no longer) eligible for the Erasmus+ grant, you will also not be eligible to receive the Erasmus+ Top-up for Fewer Opportunities. 

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. Read the information regarding the Erasmus+ Top-up to understand whether you are eligible for the Top-up for Fewer Opportunities.

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. Do not forget to submit your application. 
    
2. You can continue preparing your grant application (step 3 and 4), but the application for the Erasmus+ Traineeship grant in Osiris (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. Download the Erasmus+ Learning Agreement for Traineeships 2025-2026. 
    
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) International Office or Internship Coordinator (in case of UU Humanities students: your faculty's International Office needs to sign) and your supervisor/coordinator at the Receiving Organisation. Digital and scanned signatures are allowed, if necessary you can arrange all per email.
    
5. Apply for the Erasmus+ Grant in Osiris by going to the Stay Abroad (Buitenland) section in Osiris, where you will find the application processes for any grants you can apply for. Choose the Erasmus+ Grant application. Fill out all the questions. Please note that for non-Dutch bank accounts, you MUST fill out the BIC/SWIFT and address for your bank (main branch), otherwise we cannot process your grant payment. For Dutch bank accounts, IBAN is enough. 
    

6. If you want to apply for the Erasmus+ Top-up for Fewer Opportunities (see 'Erasmus+ Top-up' above), upload the correct type of proof of eligibility. If you want to receive the Travel Allowance amount for Green Travel, upload the Declaration of Honour in your application. All uploads in Osiris have to be in a commonly used format (.docx, .pdf). ZIP files cannot be opened. 

   When you are done with the application in Osiris, don't forget to press submit.

    

After you have submitted your application

The UU Erasmus Office will review 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, you will receive an e-mail to notify you that the application is complete. You will also be notified once the grant has been officially awarded to you and the first Grant Payment has been set in motion. This usually happens within 6 weeks after you submit your application. 

Erasmus+ Grant Payments

The Erasmus+ grant is not paid per month, but in two instalments. You will receive one larger payment at the beginning of your exchange, and one smaller payment once you have returned home.

First payment

The first payment will consist of 80% of the Basic Grant Amount, 80% of any Top-up Amount awarded to you, and the Travel Allowance (100%). The first payment will be made out to you once you have received the notification that the grant has been officially awarded to you.

Please note: in some cases, 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 UU 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

At the end of your Stay Abroad, you will hand in a Traineeship Certificate. If the dates on your Traineeship Certificate differ from the dates on your Learning Agreement, your total Grant Amount may be recalculated. This can influence the second grant payment.

If the total period as stated on your Traineeship Certificate is shorter than the Grant Period which was awarded to you (please consult your Grant Agreement - in most cases this will be the maximum grant period of 2 months + 17 days), then the total Grant Amount finally calculated for your Traineeship will also be less. If your Stay Abroad as reported on your Traineeship Certificate is shorter than the Grant Period which was awarded to you, then you will need to pay back the difference to UU. 

In cases where the total period as stated on your Traineeship Certificate is longer than the awarded Grant Period (please consult your Grant Agreement), the dates of the Mobility Period (and the number of Zero Grant Days) may be adjusted, but the Grant Period will not be adjusted if the maximum Grant Period is already reached.

Please note: these are the recalculation rules for 2025-2026. Students returning from a Stay Abroad which took place in 2024-2025 have received different information, and that information will apply.

IMPORTANT NOTE! Some students are still returning from their Stay Abroad which took place in Academic Year 2024-2025. Therefore, the information below regarding Final Steps has not yet been updated. Information on Final Steps for 2025-2026 will follow in Fall.

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. We will call you on Teams (video call) during the appointed time.

When you make your appointment, you should give a good (detailed) description of your question. Otherwise we may not be able to answer your question during the call. 

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