Plan your stay abroad

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To make your stay abroad a success, you need to prepare carefully. Financial aid, administrative documents, health coverage, residence permit, etc. Here are a few tips to help you get ready.

Photo : Ready for mobility © University of Bordeaux
Ready for mobility © University of Bordeaux

Financial aid

Students participating in a mobility experience (whether training or an internship) as part of their academic programme at the University of Bordeaux can apply for financial support. However, submitting an application does not guarantee that assistance will be granted.

How to apply

If you are planning a mobility period of at least 2 months in one of the following countries, you must submit a funding application on the Aquimob platform (in French), in compliance with the deadlines below.

  • Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Northern Macedonia, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey.

Any request to extend your stay must be notified to your grant manager at the International Office at least 1 month before the planned end of your stay in order for your request for additional financial support to be considered.

Students are responsible for entering the mobility dates on  Aquimob. Please be as accurate as possible: your allocation will not be re-examined if incorrect mobility dates were entered when applying.

 

For any other destination or a mobility period not exceeding 2 months, you must submit your application, before the start of your mobility period, on the regional platform "Mes Démarches en Nouvelle-Aquitaine" (MDNA), either for study mobility (in French) or for an internship (in French).
The links to apply can be found at the bottom of the MDNA website pages.

It is strictly impossible to combine the Erasmus+, Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region and international mobility government support grants for any given mobility period.

Whichever platform is used to submit your application, you must provide a certificate of mobility (start and end dates) to your grant manager at the International Office, whether you are receiving financial aid or not.

Erasmus+ grants

The Erasmus+ European programme offers more students mobility opportunities in Europe, studying at universities that have signed the Erasmus Charter or doing internships in public or private organisations. 

Funding applications must be submitted on the Aquimob platform (in French).

It is important to note that the programme classifies countries into 3 separate groups based on their standard of living. Each year, the University of Bordeaux sets monthly grant amounts for each of these three groups.

Erasmus+ study

Students may receive a grant in order to do a 2 to 12-month period of study in another European institution, as of their second year of study.

For the 2024-25 academic year, monthly Erasmus+ grants will range from 390 €/month to 270 €/month.

Financial aid paid by the University of Bordeaux.

Erasmus+ internships

Students may carry out their mobility periods in the form of internships in a public or private organisation in another European country. Students can do an internship as of their first year of study for a 2-month (60 days) to 12-month period.

For the 2024-25 academic year, monthly Erasmus+ internship grants will range from 540 €/month to 420 €/month.

Financial aid paid by the University of Bordeaux.

Erasmus+ short hybrid mobility

A new feature of the Erasmus+ programme is that students can also take part in short physical exchanges (from 5 to 14 days), for which the Erasmus+ allowance is 79 €/day.

Financial aid paid by the University of Bordeaux.

Please note: students who meet at least one of the inclusion criteria (in French) defined by the programme may be eligible for an "inclusion" financial supplement:

- 250 €/month for recipients of an Erasmus+ study or Erasmus+ internship grant

- a lump sum of 100 or 150 €, plus travel expenses based on the European barometer, for beneficiaries of an Erasmus+ short mobility grant

International mobility government aid

The French Ministry of Higher Education and Research offers financial aid for scholarship students that meet the CROUS socioeconomic criteria and who want to study abroad via an exchange programme or do an international internship.

The amount of aid is 400 €/month; it can be granted for a maximum of 9 months corresponding to one or several mobility periods during the student's entire university degree programme (Bachelor and Master degrees). Minimum of 8 weeks from start to end date.

Please note: university diplomas are not eligible for this grant.

Financial aid paid by the University of Bordeaux.

Nouvelle-Aquitaine regional aid

The Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region supports international mobility for Nouvelle-Aquitaine students, offering grants for study and internship mobility periods for all destinations. It is mainly granted based on socioeconomic criteria but does not require applicants to be CROUS grant recipients.

The maximum amount is 3 600 € for non-CROUS beneficiaries and 4 500 € for CROUS grant beneficiaries, for the entire course of study.

Study mobility 

Mobility period must be at least 8 consecutive weeks to be eligible for this grant. It is awarded as a weekly flat rate:

  • 80 €/week of mobility for non-CROUS beneficiaries
  • 100 €/week of mobility for CROUS beneficiaries

Internship mobility 

The mobility period must be at least 2 weeks to be eligible for this grant. It is awarded as a weekly flat rate:

  • 80 €/week of internship for non-CROUS beneficiaries
  • 100 €/week of internship for CROUS beneficiaries

The aid is paid directly by the Regional Council. It is made in 2 instalments: 80% of the total grant at the beginning of the mobility period, the remaining 20% at the end of the mobility period.

If you have any questions about this scheme, please contact: mobilites%40nouvelle-aquitaine.fr

It is absolutely necessary to have the certificate of mobility countersigned by your grant manager in the University of Bordeaux's International Office.

Euroregional aid

The Euroregional grant (in Franch) is a scheme launched by the Euroregion in 2016. It provides monthly financial assistance to students living in one of the three member territories of the Euroregion - New-Aquitaine, Euskadi and Navarre - who wish to study in one of them.

The aim is to encourage mobility between Euroregional territories in order to strengthen the Euroregional identity, as part of a philosophy of local internationalisation.

  • Who?

Students from New Aquitaine, Euskadi or Navarre who wish to undertake a student mobility programme in the Euroregion.

  • Deadlines

Application: July 1st to October 1st

Selection: November

  • Duration of support

From 1 to 5 months.

  • Funding amount

A monthly amount of 300 €, proportional to the duration of the mobility, paid in 2 instalments.

Find out more (in French)

Download the Aquimob deadlines (in French)

Last update:

Download

PDF - 87.51 KB

Useful documents

Other financial aid

Departmental grants

The departments of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region (Dordogne, Landes, Pyrénées Atlantiques in particular) offer additional mobility grants.

European aid

The European-Funding-Guide platform helps students to find financial aid based on their academic programme and objectives.

Contacts

  • Mobility Office - Science and technology, biology, Institute of Vine & Wine Science

    Mélanie Lecouvey & Clara Toscano

    +33 (0)5 40 00 69 50

    outgoing-talence%40u-bordeaux.fr

  • Mobility Office - Law, political science, economics and management, Institute of Technology

    Magalie Lopez

    +33 (0)5 56 84 29 84

    boursesmob-international%40u-bordeaux.fr

  • Mobility Office - Health, human sciences, education, sports

    Valérie Dousset

    +33 (0)5 57 57 45 04

    outgoing-carreire%40u-bordeaux.fr

Immigration requirements

Immigration formalities depend on the length of time you will be studying or doing an internship and on your country of destination.

  • countries within the European Union (EU): a valid ID or passport is sufficient.
  • countries outside the European Union (but in the European region): a passport is sufficient for stays lasting less than 3 months. If the stay is longer than 6 months, a visa is often required.
  • other countries: regulations and procedures vary. For more information, you should therefore check with French consulates or embassies.

Your health, social security and safety

Health insurance

The procedures to follow for health coverage during your stay abroad depend on your health insurance plan:

You can register with the healthcare system in the host country.

You may also consult private health insurance companies.

Learn more

If you receive support from France's social security system for students

The procedures to be completed depend on your destination:

  • Europe (EU/EEE): at least two weeks prior to your departure, you must obtain the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) through your health insurance provider. The card is valid for one year. You are not required to provide any documents when applying.
  • Quebec: you must complete the SE401 Q106 form and follow the procedure for study/exchange programme mobility periods (in French). For internships, please refer to the specific procedure.
  • All other countries: health coverage varies from country to country, depending on the agreements signed with France.

For countries which have a cooperation agreement with France, please refer to your health insurance provider (CPAM > in French), the CFE, Embassy or Consulate in the host country. 

If you receive support from France's general health insurance system

If one of the following applies to you:

  • you do not receive any student health coverage (age limit: 28 years of age)
  • you are a paid employee
  • you are a medical student who does not receive payment from the Bordeaux University Hospital and are over 28 years of age

The procedures should be completed with France's Health Insurance (Assurance Maladie > in French) since you are covered by the general health insurance system.

Risk of work-related accidents or occupational illness

If you are completing an internship, an internship agreement is essential. It will be given to you or sent by the Admissions department prior to your departure. Consequently, it is very important to provide the exact address for the following:

  • the company you will be working for and the contact details of the supervisor or director duly authorised to sign the agreement
  • the host organisation or laboratory and the contact details of the supervisor or director duly authorised to sign the agreement in the case of an internship in an organisation other than a private company (university or research centre, public institution, library, museum, etc.)
  • the host organisation and the contact details of the head of the department and the hospital director in the case of hospital-based internships.

Civil liability insurance

Civil liability insurance is essential to cover any damage for which you may be responsible. Check with your insurance provider for the exact terms and conditions of your coverage as certain providers do not extend coverage abroad.

You should also make sure you have repatriation insurance.

Vaccines

For information concerning compulsory and/or recommended vaccines:

  • Student Health Centre (in French)
  • Saint-André Hospital -  Service Santé Voyages
    86 cours d’Albret, Bordeaux - Tel. +33 (0)5 56 79 58 17
  • Robert-Picqué - Hôpital d’Instruction des Armées 
    351 route de Toulouse, Villenave-d’Ornon - Tel. +33 (0)5 56 84 70 00
  • Espace Santé-Voyages
    9 rue de Condé, Bordeaux - Tel. +33 (0)5 56 01 12 36

Safety

Before your departure, check the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs website (in French) and the Country Files section on a regular basis to keep up to date about the situation in your host country.

Register on Ariane (in French), the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs platform, to indicate your presence in the country and receive updates in case of emergency.

For any internships planned in a high-risk country or zone, please submit a request to the University of Bordeaux's Defense Security Officer (FSD).

 

Erasmus Days

Every year in October, the University of Bordeaux opens up to the world for a week!

Lectures, workshops and activities on all the campus sites are organised to provide information about studying abroad as well as mobility programmes for doctoral students and teachers, and to spend some time in an intercultural atmosphere.

Erasmus Days
Erasmus Days © université de Bordeaux