Coronavirus - questions raised by Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps participants

I was on Erasmus+ or European Solidarity Corps mobility in another country, but had to return home. Do I get to keep my grant?
If you are back home but a) you still have expenses directly and exclusively linked to your stay in the destination country, like rent and electricity and/or b) you are taking part in virtual learning or other virtual activities (if the institution/ organisation in the destination country has made those available, as an alternative to the originally planned activities) then yes, you can keep your grant.
In addition, you may be able to obtain a refund of additional travel costs you may have incurred. You should check with your institution / supporting organisation (subject to availability of additional EU funds at disposal of the organisation for your activity).
If you do not continue to have expenses in the destination country then you might have to pay back the portion of the grant, covering the period between the date you terminated your mobility experience and its planned end date.

I was on Erasmus+ in another country, but my course was cancelled because the institution closed. I decided to stay in my destination country. Do I get to keep my grant?
If you remain in the destination country and a) you still have expenses directly and exclusively linked to your stay in that country, like rent and electricity and/or b) you are taking part in virtual learning activities (if the institution in the destination country has made those available as an alternative to the originally planned activities) then yes, you can keep your grant.
In addition, you may be able to receive an additional grant to cover the extra period of time, beyond what you had initially planned, that you had to stay abroad due to the Covid-19 outbreak. You should check with your institution (subject to availability of additional EU funds at disposal of the organisation for your activity).

I was on a European Solidarity Corps activity in another country, but my activity was cancelled because the organisation closed. I could not return to my home country. Do I get to keep my pocket money/ relocation allowance?
If you stay in the destination country and a) you still have expenses directly and exclusively linked to your stay in that country and/ or b) you are taking part in virtual activities (if the host organisation has provided online alternative to the originally planned activities) then yes, you can keep your grant.
Similarly, in the above cases, the organisation may also get the grant to cover other costs linked to your stay.

I was planning to go on Erasmus+ or European Solidarity Corps mobility in another country, but had to cancel before the start because of the Covid-19 outbreak. I had already paid for my flight ticket and part of my accommodation. Do I get to keep the pre-financing I received for that?
If you have paid travel expenses linked to the planned mobility, such as a flight ticket that you never used and that could not be refunded, you can receive the grant for travel costs, whenever the funding rules of the action envisage a financial support for travel. If the action does not envisage this, you are entitled to keep or receive the part of the pre-financing that corresponds to the costs incurred. You may also be able to obtain a refund of costs for the reservation of accommodation. You should check with your institution/ supporting organisation (subject to availability of additional EU funds at disposal of the organisation for your activity).


Can I postpone my planned Erasmus+/ European Solidarity Corps mobility to a later date?
Check with your home institution/ supporting organisation, but in principle, the National Agency of your home institution/ supporting organisation will accept to prolong an Erasmus+ project (which might include periods of mobility abroad for multiple participants) or a European Solidarity Corps project by up to 12 months.


I was on a European Solidarity Corps activity in another country, but my activity was suspended because the organisation closed. Will I be able to continue my activity at a later stage?
Check with your supporting organisation but in principle, this could be counted as a temporary interruption of the activity and you should be able to continue your activity afterwards.


I am a recent higher education or VET graduate and wanted to do a traineeship placement abroad. However, these are only open to recent graduates within 12 months of completing their education. Can I get an exception to this rule?
Recent higher education or VET graduates who need to postpone their planned placements abroad will be allowed to take them up within 18 months of their graduation, instead of the normal 12-month timeframe.