Study abroad with Erasmus+

The guidelines on how to apply successfully for an Erasmus+ period abroad are explained in the online application for an Erasmus+ study abroad (in German)

As soon as you have successfully submitted your application, you can retrieve your status online at any time by logging on with your STiNE user name. Thus, you can see from abroad what documents need to be uploaded—for example, when to obtain your first and second funding installments.

What documents do I need to upload online?

First complete the online application form and send it off electronically. Then you must complete your personal data in the database. Finally, upload the following application documents (PDFs only) to the database:

• letter of motivation
• Europass CV template or regular CV
• preliminary learning agreement
• proof of your proficiency level in the language of instruction (not more than 2 years old, e.g. language certificate issued by the Language Centre of the University of Hamburg (PDF, in German only) or DAAD language certificate (PDF), further information can be found on the website of the Language Centre of the University of Hamburg)
• proof of enrollment

Your faculty may require additional application documents. Contact your faculty’s Erasmus+ officer before you apply via Mobility Online. Make sure to save your uploaded documents for your own records.

Forms to upload or submit if your Erasmus+ application is successful

Applicants must use and follow the instructions in the database Mobility Online and only use forms provided by the Department of International Affairs.

Documents, deadlines, and formal requirements while abroad

Before your stay

• After being nominated by the faculty or institute, you must enroll at your host university and apply for a room in a student dormitory, if applicable.
• Your Universität Hamburg enrollment certificate covering the period of your stay abroad will also be uploaded to the database.
• The digital Learning Agreements for Studies Part I: Before the Mobility must be signed by all 3 parties before you begin your period abroad. An upload function for the analog Learning Agreement is also available in your workflow in case your host university does not provide the DLA. Note that you must still complete the digital Learning Agreement in any event. Follow the Learning Agreement for Studies guidelines (PDF) when completing the Learning Agreement for Studies. 
• Supplements for students with fewer opportunities: If you are eligible for one of the following supplements, confirm this in your workflow. Then print out the sworn declaration in your workflow, sign it, and upload the signed document again. You will receive €250 per month in addition to your regular monthly grant. Even if you meet the criteria for several supplements, you will still receive this subsidy only once. 
  • students with children
  • students with at least a grade 20 disability (GdB 20)
  • students with chronic illnesses
  • students who are the first academics in their family
  • working students who have to interrupt or terminate their gainful employment due to their semester abroad
• Travel expenses:
  • If you undertake standard travel, meaning you plan to travel by plane or car, you receive a travel allowance which is calculated automatically depending on the distance. The travel allowance is part of the first installement.
  • If you undertake green travel, meaning you plan to use sustainable transportation (train, bus, car-share, bicycle, walking) for more than 50 percent of the journey, you can apply for Green Travel. A query is part of your workflow. If green travel applies to you, print out the sworn declaration in your workflow, sign it, and then upload the signed document again.
• Submitting the Grant Agreements for Studies: the Grant Agreement for Studies with your personal data is generated in your workflow and made available for you to download or digitally sign. The Grant Agreement must be signed and uploaded to the database before your stay. It will then be digitally signed by the Erasmus University Coordinator.
• Before leaving to study abroad, Erasmus students can take an OLS language assessment test in the language of instruction at their Erasmus+ host university. For more information see Erasmus+ Online Language Support (OLS).

During your stay

• On the first day of class, go to the Erasmus+ office/coordinator at your host university and have them sign your Confirmation of Stay (Part I), then upload it to the database. Upon uploading the Confirmation of Stay, your first grant installment will be disbursed (70% of the total funding amount). If you have registered for a language course suggested by the host university, its initial day can be counted as the first day of class of your period abroad and should be entered on the Confirmation of Stay. If you are taking an external preparatory language course in the host country immediately before the beginning of regular classes at the host institution, the initial day of the language course can also be counted as the first day of class of your period abroad.

After uploading the Confirmation of Stay (Part I), you will receive the first installment (70% of the total funding).

• If you make any changes or additions to your course schedule, please include them in the Digital Learning Agreement for Studies Part II: During the Mobility. You can submit course changes up to 5 weeks after the start of your Erasmus+ period. The document is also finalized digitally in the database.
• Ensure that you have the last academic day at your host university confirmed (i.e., the last day of class, the last exam, due date of final term paper, etc.) on the Confirmation of Stay (Part II), then upload it to the database.
• If you want to extend your Erasmus+ stay abroad, upload a request for extension together with the Learning Agreement Part II to the database no later than one month before the end of your original grant period. Your request will be reviewed by the Department of International Affairs.

After your stay

• Fill in the Online EU-Survey on your computer. We will send you the link to the survey immediately after your return. If your coursework has not yet been recognized when you fill in the online EUSurvey, you will receive another online survey (about recognition of credits) to fill in 45 days later.
• Also complete the free-text Testimonial and then upload it to the database (not mandatory at all faculties).
• Upload the completed Confirmation of Stay to the database.
• Upload your Transcript of Records from your host university to the database as soon as you receive it.

As soon as you have submitted all required documents and filled in the online EU-Survey, your second grant installment will be paid. 

Application requirements

• You must be enrolled in a degree program at the University (no exchange students).
• You must be proficient in the language of instruction.

Who selects the applicants and what are the selection criteria?

The program supervisors or the Erasmus coordinators in the faculties select the applicants according to the following criteria (prioritized by the selection committee):

• academic achievements
• semesters of study completed
• proficiency in course and local language
• motivation

Note the following exceptions in the selection procedures for the Faculties 1 (Law) and 3 (Medicine):

Law: Since many students have not yet received their grades by the time they apply, the letter of motivation constitutes the main selection criterion for allocating a place at the desired university.

Medicine: Political and social commitment as well as part-time work parallel to studies are also taken into consideration.

The DAAD approves Erasmus+ funding at the end of May / beginning of June. It is at this point that the grant amount for students for the next academic year is determined. The monthly funding amount depends on the duration of your stay abroad and the host country; countries are divided into 3 categories according to the cost of living. In addition to the regular monthly grant students receive a travel allowance which is calculated automatically depending on the distance. Subject to the approval by the National Agency for EU Higher Education Cooperation at the DAAD, the grant amount is calculated on the basis of the exact number of days spent at the host institution multiplied by the corresponding country category. For further information, see the PDF UHH Erasmus+ Förderbedingungen. If there are insufficient funds available, students on waiting lists and those for whom recognition of their coursework is not necessary will be considered for a place only once all other applications have been handled. The following special terms apply:

• Months counting 31 days are calculated on a basis of 30 days.
• A mobility grant is available for Erasmus stays abroad of at least 2 months only (from Summer Semester 2022 with the exception of trimesters). If you abandon or prematurely terminate your stay abroad, you must repay any funding you have already received. In such a situation, receipt of your grant is possible only if you can present a medical certificate and it is subject to approval by the DAAD.
• Multiple participation in the Erasmus+ program with a maximum duration of 12 months is possible. If you already spent an Erasmus or Erasmus+ period abroad, you may apply again to Erasmus+.

Switzerland currently does not participate in the Erasmus+ program but funds German exchange students from its own budget (approx. CHF 430 ). Your Erasmus+ coordinator can provide more information, or contact the Swiss university you would like to study at directly.

Erasmus+ mobility grant 2025/2026

Country Group 1: €600 per month (€20 per day)

Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Great Britain, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden

Country Group 2: € 540 per month (€ 18 per day)

Estonia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Greece, Latvia, Malta, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Slovenia

Country Group 3: € 540 per month (€ 18 per day)

Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Turkey

In all country groups, funding for the academic year 2025/26 is approved for:

• a maximum of 3.5 months for one semester
• a maximum of 7 months for two semesters
• a maximum of 3 months for one trimester
• a maximum of 6 months for two trimesters
• a maximum of 9 months for three trimesters

Accordingly, the length of your stay abroad and the length of time for which you receive funding may differ. The Department of International Affairs, Erasmus Team is responsible for the distribution of available funds. The mobility grant is disbursed in 2 installments. first installment: 70%, second installment: 30%

Supplements for students with fewer opportunities

Students with fewer opportunities will receive €250 per month in addition to their regular monthly grant:

• students with children
• students with at least a grade 20 disability (GdB 20)
• students with chronic illnesses
• students who are the first academics in their family
• working students who have to interrupt or terminate their gainful employment due to their semester abroad

Travel expenses

In addition to the regular Erasmus funding students receive a travel allowance for standard or green travel. Students traveling green can apply for up to 6 additional travel days. The following travel allowance will be granted per stay (return travel) per participant depending on the distance which is automatically determined using coordinates:

Actual distance (one-way travel)	Travel allowance (return travel)	Green Travel allowance (return travel)
10 to 99 KM	28 EUR	56 EUR
100 to 499 KM	211 EUR	285 EUR
500 to 1,999 KM	309 EUR	417 EUR
2,000 to 2,999 KM	395 EUR	535 EUR
3,000 to 3,999 KM	580 EUR	785 EUR
4,000 to 7,999 KM	1,188 EUR	1,188 EUR
8,000 KM or more	1,735 EUR	1,735 EUR

If you have applied successfully for Erasmus+ funding, you will need to submit certain forms or upload them to your records before and after your stay abroad.

Note: Applicants must use the forms provided by the Department of International Affairs. Please use the Adobe Reader programme to complete the forms. The Preview programme from MacOs displays the completed fields incorrectly and cannot be processed.

Erasmus+ academic year 2025/26

• Confirmation of Stay (PDF)
• Digital Learning Agreement for Studies Part I—Before the Mobility—created in Mobility Online
• English-language guideline Learning Agreement (PDF)
• Digital Learning Agreement for Studies Part II—During the Mobility—created in Mobility Online
• Analog Learning Agreement for Studies Part I —as a supplementary document
• Analog Learning Agreement for Studies Part II —as a supplementary document
• Grant Agreement—generated in the database
• Sworn declaration Green Travel and Top-Ups for students with fewer opportunities—generated in the database
• Verlängerungsantrag (extension request, German, PDF, available soon)
• Erasmus+ Student Charter, attachment II (PDF)

Erasmus+ academic year 2024/25

• Confirmation of Stay (PDF)
• Digital Learning Agreement for Studies Part I—Before the Mobility—created in Mobility Online
• English-language guideline Learning Agreement (PDF)
• Digital Learning Agreement for Studies Part II—During the Mobility—created in Mobility Online
• Analog Learning Agreement for Studies Part I (PDF)—as a supplementary document
• Analog Learning Agreement for Studies Part II (PDF)—as a supplementary document
• Grant Agreement—generated in the database
• Information sheet on additional support (PDF)
• Sworn declaration Green Travel and Top-Ups for students with fewer opportunities—generated in the database
• Verlängerungsantrag (extension request, German, PDF)
• Erasmus+ Student Charter, attachment II (PDF)
• UHH-Erasmus+ Förderbedingungen für das akademische Jahr 2024/25 (funding conditions for the academic year 2024/25, German, (PDF)