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

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., DAAD language certificate (PDF)
• 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 the forms provided by the Department of International Affairs. Some partner universities may not use the current versions with the required DAAD data.

Note: Students applying for the academic year 2022/2023 can access the Grant Agreement for printing in the database after filling out their personal details and completing the digital Learning Agreement Part I. You must sign the original Grant Agreement before your stay and submit it to the Erasmus Team. After the Erasmus University Coordinator has signed, the Department of International Affairs will upload the Grant Agreement to your records. 

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 and uploaded in full to the database before you begin your period abroad. We are newly introducing the Learning Agreement in digital form. An upload function for the analog Learning Agreement is also available in your workflow during the transition phase. 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. 
• Green Travel: 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 receive a one-time top-up of €50. If this takes more time, you can receive funding for up to 4 additional days. 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.

Supplements for students with fewer opportunities: Find details on the various supplements in our Infoblatt Zusatzförderung.

• 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

• Submitting the Grant Agreements for Studies: Print out the Grant Agreement for Studies with your personal data from the database. Sign the original document and submit it to the Erasmus Team immediately after release and printing. After the document is signed by the Erasmus+ institutional coordinator, the Department of International Affairs will upload the Grant Agreement to your records in the Mobility Online portal.
• Before leaving to study abroad, Erasmus students must take an OLS language assessment test in the language of instruction at their Erasmus+ host university. For this purpose, you will be sent a link before the beginning of your Erasmus+ period. Note: the language test will be conducted after you have been nominated and is not an application criterion. Native speakers are exempt from the online language test. 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.
• If you make any changes or additions to your course schedule, please include them in the 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 EUSurvey, 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. 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, Anhang IV. 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 2022/2023

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

Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden

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

Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain

Country Group 3: € 490 per month (€ 16.30 per day)

Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey

In all country groups, funding is approved for:

• a maximum of four months for one semester
• a maximum of eight months for two semesters
• a maximum of three months for one trimester
• a maximum of six months for two trimesters
• a maximum of nine months for three trimesters

Erasmus+ mobility grant 2020/21 and 2021/2022

Country Group 1: € 450 per month (€ 15 per day)

Country Group 2: € 390 per month (€ 13 per day)

Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain

Country Group 3: € 330 per month (€ 11 per day)

Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey

In all country groups, funding is approved for:

• a maximum of five months for one semester
• a maximum of ten months for two semesters
• a maximum of three months for one trimester
• a maximum of six months for two trimesters
• a maximum of nine 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%

Students who have applied for a semester abroad in the winter semester or winter semester plus summer semester in the academic year 2021/2022 can use the documents from the academic year 2020/2021. We ask that students who have applied for the Summer Semester 2022 abroad use templates released for the Summer Semester 2022 only.

Erasmus+ academic year 2022/23

• Confirmation of Stay (PDF)
• Information on International Stays during the COVID-19 Pandemic
• Digital Learning Agreement for Studies Part I—Before the Mobility—created in Mobility Online
• English-language guideline Learning Agreement (PDF to follow soon)
• Analog Learning Agreement for Studies Part I  (DOC)—as a supplementary document
• Digital Learning Agreement for Studies Part II—During the Mobility—created in Mobility Online
• Grant Agreement—generated in the database
• Infoblatt Zusatzförderung (information sheet on additional support (PDF)
• Sworn declaration Green Travel and Top-Ups for students with fewer opportunities—generated in the database
• Allgemeine Bedingungen, Anhang II (general conditions, attachment II, PDF to follow soon)
• Erasmus+ Student Charter, attachment III (PDF)
• UHH-Erasmus+ Förderbedingungen für das akademische Jahr 2022/23, Anhang IV (funding conditions for the academic year 2022/23, attachment IV, (PDF)

Erasmus+ Summer Semester 2022

• Confirmation of Stay (PDF)
• Information on International Stays during the COVID-19 Pandemic
• Learning Agreement for Studies Part I—Before the mobility (Summer Semester 2022 (PDF)
• English-language Learning Agreement guidelines (PDF, to follow soon)
• Learning Agreement for Studies Part II—During the Mobility (PDF)
• Grant Agreement—generated in the database
• Sworn declaration Green Travel—generated in the database
• Allgemeine Bedingungen, Anhang II (general conditions, attachment II, PDF to follow soon)
• Erasmus+ Student Charter, attachment III (PDF)
• UHH-Erasmus+ Förderbedingungen für das Sommersemester 2022, Anhang IV (funding conditions for Summer Semester 2022, attachment IV) (PDF)

Erasmus+ Winter Semester 2021/2022

• Confirmation of Stay (PDF)
• Information on International Stays during the COVID-19 Pandemic
• Learning Agreement for Studies Part I—Before the Mobility (Winter Semester 2021/22) (PDF)
• Guidelines on how to use the Learning Agreement for Studies (PDF)
• Learning Agreement for Studies Part II—Before the Mobility (Winter Semester 2021/22) (PDF)
• Learning Agreement for Studies Part III—After the Mobility (Winter Semester 2021/22) (PDF)
• Grant Agreement—will be sent to you by email
• Allgemeine Bedingungen, Anhang II (general conditions, attachment II) (PDF)
• Erasmus+ Student Charter, attachment III (PDF)
• UHH-Erasmus+ Förderbedingungen 2021/2022, Anhang IV (funding conditions 2021/22, attachment IV) (PDF)
• Erasmus+ Verlängerungsantrag (application for extension with Learning Agreement for extension (PDF)

Erasmus+ 2020/21

• Confirmation of Stay  (PDF)
• Learning Agreement for Studies Part I—Before the Mobility (PDF)
• Guidelines on how to use the Learning Agreement for Studies (PDF)
• Learning Agreement for Studies Part II—During the Mobility (PDF)
• Learning Agreement for Studies Part III—After the Mobility  (PDF)
• The Grant Agreement will be sent to you by email.
• Allgemeine Bedingungen, Anhang II (general conditions, attachment II) (PDF)
• Erasmus+ Charta für Studierende Anhang III (student charter, attachment III) (PDF)
• UHH-Erasmus+ Förderbedingungen 2020/2021, Anhang IV (funding conditions 2021/22, attachment IV) (PDF)
• Erasmus+ Verlängerungsantrag (application for extension with Learning Agreement for extension (PDF)