Dealing with unexpected changes to your Erasmus placement

Despite your best intentions, sometimes things can go wrong and you may not be able to complete your planned time with the Erasmus programme. Perhaps a family crisis stops you arriving, something happens during your time overseas, or perhaps things are going so well you want to stay longer. What happens now?

Unexpected Changes

You make a no-show

You are unable to turn up for your placement at all. In this scenario you never arrive at all, due to some unforeseen or personal circumstance.

The most important thing is to immediately contact your Erasmus coordinator and explain what has happened. He or she will advise you of the next step.

As you will presumably not spent any of your grant money, you will have to return it, unless a new start-date can be scheduled, perhaps in the next semester.

You need to interrupt or cancel your stay

A natural disaster, like a flood, or the outbreak of war, or perhaps as a strike by the staff of your host institution, would all count as force majeure. In those circumstances you would not have to pay money already spent for the period you were at the institution. However you will have to return the part of the grant already received for any unused period.

Minor illnesses will be covered by your European Health Insurance Card, but you will be required to have insurance to protect you in the case of serious illness.

You want to extend your stay

In principle it is often possible to extend your stay. You may have originally come for one semester and now want to finish the year, for example. The maximum stay possible is for 12 months, except for some single-cycle programmes, like medicine, where 24 months is possible. The extension period cannot be longer than the original grant period was.

Immediately apply to the International Office at your host institution. You need to apply at least one month before the end of your original placement.

If all their funding has been used up, you may be offered a no-grant extension, with no additional funding.

Your host institute will advise you if your extension has been granted.

You will need to sign a new Learning Agreement for the extension.