Erasmus+ and youth projects: the guide

The European Union’s programme for education, training, youth and sport. It pays for studies and traineeships abroad, youth exchanges, training courses for people who work with youth, and cooperation between organisations. People take part through an organisation: a school, a university or an association such as ours.

Erasmus+

Yes. In Erasmus+ what counts is the country where you live and the organisation that sends you, not your passport. If you live in Poland legally, you join the Polish group of a Polish sending organisation on the same terms as Polish citizens. The call always says which countries of residence it accepts.

Open calls

Quite a lot. Erasmus+ training courses, seminars and study visits for people who work with young people have no upper age limit. You can lead a group on a youth exchange. Humanitarian aid volunteering in the European Solidarity Corps is open up to the age of 35. And our events, the radio and volunteering at the foundation have no age limit at all.

Open calls

A valid passport and a document of your legal stay in Poland: a residence card, the CUKR card, or UKR status with the Temporary Protection Document in mObywatel. With them you can travel in the Schengen area for up to 90 days in any 180. For a country outside Schengen you may need a visa: check with that country’s embassy early; the sending organisation is obliged to help, and visa costs can be covered from the project. Participants under 18 need written consent from their parents. Insurance requirements are stated in each call.

Visas and residence permits in Erasmus+

Yes: UKR status ends if you are outside Poland for more than 30 days. A youth exchange or a training course is much shorter, so it is safe. Before a long volunteering placement or a semester abroad, first arrange another basis of stay, for example the CUKR card.

Open the guide

Ukraine is not a programme country, but organisations from Ukraine can be partners in youth projects. So you take part through a Ukrainian partner organisation named in the call, and the call says whether participants from Ukraine are accepted.

Eligible countries

Groups of young people from different countries meet for a short time and work on a shared topic. Youth exchanges are for people aged 13 to 30; group leaders can be older. The rules of each exchange are in its call.

Open callsErasmus+ (EU)

From 5 to 21 days, not counting travel. Groups from several countries live together and work on one topic through workshops, debates, role plays and outdoor activities; it is learning outside school, not lessons. Each group has a leader who is at least 18.

Open calls

The project budget has a fixed amount for each participant’s travel, set by distance and not by the ticket price, and a daily amount that covers accommodation and food, which the organisers arrange. Visa costs can be covered separately. How and when travel is refunded is written in each call, so keep your tickets.

Open calls

It depends on the project. Every call says what is covered (for example travel, accommodation, food) and whether there is a participation fee. Read the call before you apply.

Open calls

Each call describes its own selection. Usually you fill in a form and say why the topic matters to you; motivation counts more than experience, and the programme asks organisers to give a chance to people with fewer opportunities.

Open calls

Each call names the working language, most often English. The programme asks for no certificate: you need enough to talk and work in a group, and the exchange itself is good practice.

Open calls

Youth exchanges are open from the age of 13, so yes, when the call accepts your age. You will need your parents’ written consent, and the group travels with an adult leader.

Open calls

Yes. Training courses for youth workers have no upper age limit, and a group leader in a youth exchange only has to be at least 18. Look for calls marked as training courses.

Open calls

A short international training, seminar or study visit for people who work with young people as staff or volunteers: activities last from 2 to 60 days. There is no upper age limit; participants are usually 18 or older.

Open calls

Yes. Participants of Erasmus+ youth projects receive a Youthpass: a European certificate that describes what you did and what you learned. You can add it to your CV.

Youthpass

You must be enrolled at a university that takes part in Erasmus+; your citizenship does not matter. An exchange lasts from 2 to 12 months, up to 12 months in total in each study cycle, and short blended trips last 5 to 30 days. You pay no tuition at the host university, you receive a grant towards travel and living costs, and your credits are recognised under a learning agreement signed before you go. There is no central form: apply at the international or Erasmus+ office of your own university.

Official page

You can register from 17 and start between 18 and 30. What counts is the country where you live, so residents of Poland can apply. Individual volunteering lasts from 2 weeks to 12 months, team volunteering from 2 weeks to 2 months. Return travel, accommodation, food, insurance, pocket money and language support are covered. Register on the European Youth Portal and apply to the offers you like.

Official page

A free travel pass for 18-year-olds, mostly for trains: up to 7 travel days within one month. Citizens and residents of EU countries can apply, so living in Poland is enough. Each round names the eligible year of birth; you fill in an online form and take a short quiz, alone or with up to 4 friends.

Official page

Not as a private person: applications are made by organisations and by informal groups of young people, to the National Agency of their country (in Poland it is FRSE). As a participant you apply to the organisation that runs the project.

FRSE

Open the Opportunities page: every call says who can apply, what is covered, the deadline and how to send an application. If there is no open call now, leave your email in the newsletter form and we will write when one opens.

Open callsProjects