You spot a poster on your university bulletin board: “Erasmus+ Applications Open for 2027/2028.” A semester in Vienna, Barcelona, or Berlin. A monthly stipend of up to 520 euros. New connections and a resume line that’ll set you apart from thousands of other graduates. Then you start gathering documents and realize - the transcript needs translating, the motivation letter has to be in English, you need a language certificate, and the Learning Agreement needs filling out. All before a deadline that was “yesterday.” Sound familiar? Let’s break down step by step which documents you need for Erasmus+ and what exactly needs to be translated.
What Is Erasmus+ and Who Can Participate¶
Erasmus+ is a European Union program that funds academic mobility for students, lecturers, and researchers. It’s been around since 1987 (back then just “Erasmus”), and over 14 million people have participated since then. For Ukrainian students, Erasmus+ is one of the most accessible ways to spend a semester or two at a European university with financial support.
Who can apply:
- Bachelor’s, master’s, or PhD students at Ukrainian universities that have an inter-institutional agreement with a European university
- Minimum: completed first year (for bachelor’s students)
- Language proficiency: usually B1-B2 (depends on the host university)
- GPA: each university sets its own minimum, typically 75/100 or 4.0/5.0
As noted by the National Erasmus+ Office in Ukraine:
From 2024, procedures for individual mobilities in the education field are organised in cooperation at the institutional level - the potential applicant should contact their home university first.
So step one is to visit your university’s international relations office and find out which European universities have agreements in place. You don’t need to search the European Commission’s website - everything goes through your university.
Types of Mobility¶
Erasmus+ isn’t just about studying. Here are the main options:
| Mobility Type | Duration | Who It’s For |
|---|---|---|
| Study Mobility | 2-12 months | Bachelor’s, master’s, PhD students |
| Traineeship | 2-12 months | Students and recent graduates (up to 12 months after graduation) |
| Blended Mobility | 5-30 days physical + online | Any students |
Study mobility is the classic Erasmus - you go to another university for a semester. Traineeship means an internship at a company or research center. Blended mobility appeared after COVID and combines a short physical visit with online learning.
Full Document Checklist for an Erasmus+ Application¶
The key here is to separate documents into two stages: what you need for the competitive selection at your home university, and what you’ll need after being selected (for the host university).
Stage 1: Competitive Selection at Your Home University¶
- Application form - online form or PDF questionnaire, filled out in English or the host country’s language
- Transcript of Records - a statement listing all courses, grades, and ECTS credits
- Motivation Letter - 1-2 pages explaining why you want to study at this specific university
- CV in Europass format - the standardized European resume
- Language certificate - proof of B1-B2 level (IELTS, TOEFL, Cambridge, Goethe-Zertifikat, or an internal university test)
- Recommendation letter - from a professor or academic supervisor (1-2 letters)
- Passport copy - with a validity of at least 6 months beyond the end of mobility
- Photo - some universities still require one
Stage 2: For the Host University (After Selection)¶
- Learning Agreement - an agreed study plan (filled out online via the OLA platform)
- Nomination letter - sent by your home university
- Insurance - health insurance for the entire mobility period
- Enrollment certificate - proving you’re actually a student
- Bank details - for receiving the grant
As one student wrote on the KPI mobility forum:
The hardest part was getting everything done on time. I rewrote my motivation letter 4 times, the dean’s office took a week to issue my transcript, and then I waited another two days for the translation. Starting one month before the deadline is cutting it way too close. Two months is better.
Tip: start gathering documents at least 2 months before the deadline. Translations, notarizations, recommendation letters - all of these take time.
Which Documents Need Translation and In What Language¶
Here’s where it gets interesting. Not every document needs translating, but some absolutely do. Requirements depend on the host university and country.
The General Rule¶
If a document isn’t in English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, or Dutch - it needs to be translated. For Ukrainian documents, that means translating practically the entire package.
| Document | Translation Needed? | Translation Language | Translation Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transcript of Records | Yes, always | English or host country’s language | Certified |
| Diploma / enrollment certificate | Yes, if required by the university | English or country’s language | Certified |
| Motivation Letter | Written directly in the foreign language | English (usually) | Not needed |
| CV (Europass) | Filled out in the foreign language | English (usually) | Not needed |
| Language certificate | No | Already in a foreign language | - |
| Recommendation letter | Yes, if written in Ukrainian | English | Simple or certified |
| Passport | No | Already bilingual | - |
Transcript: Headache Number One¶
The transcript of records is the document you can’t do without. The problem is that Ukrainian transcript formats often don’t match European standards. European universities expect:
- Courses with codes
- Grades on the ECTS scale (A-F)
- ECTS credits per course
- Signature and stamp
If your university only issues transcripts in Ukrainian, you’ll need a certified translation. Many major Ukrainian universities (KNU, KPI, LNU) already issue bilingual transcripts, so check with your dean’s office first - you might not need a translation at all.
If your university only issues documents in Ukrainian, the translation must be certified. This means a translator’s signature and stamp, or notarization. In Europe, a translator’s signature with their certificate is usually enough, but for some countries (Germany, Austria) you might need a translation by a sworn translator (beeidigter Übersetzer).
As Erasmus University Rotterdam states:
Universities can only enroll you after receiving certified copies of your diploma, final transcript and certified translations if the originals are not in English, German, French, Spanish, Italian or Dutch.
Motivation Letter: You Write It Yourself, But Help Doesn’t Hurt¶
The motivation letter isn’t translated - you write it directly in English (or the host country’s language). But if your English isn’t great, write it in Ukrainian first, then adapt it. Adapt, not just translate word for word. A motivation letter needs to sound natural.
What it must include (per Erasmus+ recommendations):
- Who you are, where you study, your specialization
- Why you chose this specific university and program
- Which specific courses or professors interest you
- How this mobility will help your career or research
- What you can contribute to the host university (cultural exchange, knowledge, experience)
Length: 1-2 pages (500-800 words). No more. The committee reads hundreds of letters and won’t appreciate a 5-page essay.
Recommendation Letter: Don’t Be Shy About Asking¶
Your professor or academic supervisor writes the recommendation letter. If they write in Ukrainian, you’ll need a translation. Best case: ask the professor to write it in English from the start. If that’s not possible, get a professional translation - you can upload your document to ChatsControl in minutes.
A good recommendation letter includes:
- How long the professor has known you and in what capacity
- Specific examples of your achievements (projects, research papers, grades)
- Why you’re a good fit for studying abroad
- The professor’s contact details
Learning Agreement: How to Fill It Out Correctly¶
The Learning Agreement (LA) is a contract between you, your home university, and the host university about which courses you’ll take abroad and how they’ll be credited back home. Without a signed LA, you won’t get the grant.
Since 2021, the LA is filled out online through OLA (Online Learning Agreement). No more printing, signing by hand, and scanning.
How It Works¶
- Register at learning-agreement.eu
- Choose courses at the host university (check their course catalog on their website)
- Specify which courses from your home curriculum they’ll replace
- Send it to your home university coordinator for signing
- The host university coordinator confirms
- All three parties sign - done
Requirement for 2025/2026: minimum 15 ECTS per semester. From 2026/2027, it’s 20 ECTS per semester. That’s roughly 3-5 courses, depending on their credit value.
Tip: don’t pick courses just by title - look at the syllabus (course outline). Sometimes a course with a similar name has completely different content, and you’ll run into credit transfer problems later.
Changes After Signing¶
If you arrive and find out a course has been canceled or the schedule doesn’t work - don’t panic. There’s an official “Changes to the Learning Agreement” procedure. You need to make changes in OLA within the first 5 weeks after the start of mobility and get signatures from both coordinators.
Language Requirements and OLS Testing¶
Language Certificates¶
To participate in Erasmus+, you need to prove your proficiency in the language you’ll study in. Usually that’s B1 or B2 on the CEFR scale. But requirements vary:
| Country | Typical Language Requirement | Accepted Certificates |
|---|---|---|
| Germany | B1-B2 German or English | Goethe-Zertifikat, TestDaF, IELTS, TOEFL |
| France | B1-B2 French or English | DELF/DALF, TCF, IELTS, TOEFL |
| Spain | B1-B2 Spanish or English | DELE, IELTS, TOEFL |
| Poland | B1-B2 English | IELTS, TOEFL, Cambridge |
| Netherlands | B2 English | IELTS 6.0+, TOEFL 80+ |
Pro tip: many Ukrainian universities run internal language tests whose results are accepted for Erasmus+. It’s free and fast - check with your international relations office.
OLS (Online Language Support)¶
Beyond language certificates, all Erasmus+ participants must take the OLS assessment - an online test of your proficiency in the language you’ll study in abroad. This is mandatory for mobilities lasting 14 days or more.
What you need to know about OLS:
- You take the test before and after mobility
- Duration: 40-60 minutes
- Tests grammar, vocabulary, listening, and reading
- The result does NOT affect your participation - even with A1, you won’t be excluded
- After the test, you can access free language courses on the OLS platform
The test is available in 24 languages, including Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, and Polish - but not Ukrainian. So if you’re heading to Poland for a traineeship, you’ll take the test in Polish.
Grant Amounts: How Much Money Does Erasmus+ Give¶
This is what everyone cares about most. The Erasmus+ grant isn’t a full scholarship - it’s partial coverage of living expenses. The amount depends on the country you’re going to:
| Country Group | Countries | Monthly Grant (2025-2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Group 1 (high costs) | Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden | 520 EUR |
| Group 2 (medium costs) | Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Malta, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Czech Republic, Cyprus | 470 EUR |
| Group 3 (lower costs) | Bulgaria, Croatia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Turkey, Hungary | 470 EUR |
Additional funding:
- Travel grant - a one-time payment for travel (depends on distance, usually 275-360 EUR)
- Traineeship - an extra +150 EUR/month on top of the base grant
- Students with disabilities or from low-income families - additional supplement up to 250 EUR/month
Reality check: 520 euros per month in Berlin or Paris is far from full coverage. Renting a room in Berlin starts at 400 EUR, in Paris at 600 EUR. So either you’ll have savings, or you’ll be looking for a part-time job (up to 20 hours per week on a student visa).
According to the University of Helsinki, the Erasmus+ stipend for studying in Finland in 2026 is roughly 1,100 EUR/month, which includes additional funding from the Finnish side. This is more the exception - most programs stick to the standard EU grant.
Grade Conversion: ECTS and the Ukrainian System¶
One of the biggest challenges for Ukrainian students is grade conversion. Europe uses the ECTS scale (A-F), while Ukraine uses a national scale (1-12 or 60-100). If your Transcript of Records only shows grades on the Ukrainian scale, the host university might not understand what “85 points” means.
Approximate conversion (unofficial but widely used):
| Ukrainian (100-point scale) | ECTS Grade | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 90-100 | A | Excellent |
| 82-89 | B | Very Good |
| 75-81 | C | Good |
| 67-74 | D | Satisfactory |
| 60-66 | E | Sufficient |
| 35-59 | FX | Fail with option to retake |
| 0-34 | F | Fail |
For more details on grade conversion, check out our article on converting Ukrainian grades to GPA and ECTS.
Tip: ask your dean’s office to issue a transcript with ECTS grades from the start. Most Ukrainian universities participating in the Bologna Process can do this.
Special Conditions for Ukrainian Students Due to the War¶
After Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, Erasmus+ introduced several accommodations for Ukrainian participants. According to the National Erasmus+ Office in Ukraine:
- Flexible timelines: option to extend or temporarily suspend mobility
- Force majeure: if mobility is impossible due to hostilities, the grant doesn’t need to be returned
- Additional funding: some European universities allocate extra funds for Ukrainian students
- Simplified verification: if original documents are lost or inaccessible due to the war
As the Erasmus Student Network (ESN) noted:
There have already been reports of Higher Education Institutions not accepting students from Ukraine as they already had spent all the Erasmus funds available for the current period.
This is why applying early matters - funding is limited.
Restriction: under martial law, men aged 18-60 and certain other categories of citizens can’t cross the border without permission. The decision on departure is made by the State Border Guard Service based on provided documents. If you’re a male student, check the current rules before applying.
Step-by-Step Guide: From Idea to Airport¶
Here’s the timeline to follow (for a fall semester):
September-October (one year before mobility): 1. Visit your international relations office - find out which universities have Erasmus+ agreements 2. Study the host universities’ course catalogs 3. Take a language test (or get a certificate)
November-December: 4. Gather documents: transcript, CV, motivation letter, recommendations 5. Translate your transcript (if needed) - ChatsControl can do it in minutes 6. Submit your application at your home university
January-February: 7. Wait for selection results 8. If selected, fill out the Learning Agreement via OLA 9. Send documents to the host university
March-April: 10. Receive the acceptance letter from the host university 11. Get insurance 12. Take the OLS language test
May-June: 13. Apply for a visa (if needed - for studies exceeding 90 days in the Schengen area) 14. Sign the grant agreement 15. Receive the first grant payment (usually 70-80% upfront)
September: start studying abroad!
Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them¶
Mistake 1: Wrong Transcript Format¶
European universities expect a transcript with ECTS credits. If your dean’s office issues a document with “hours” instead of credits, you’ll need to convert them. The standard is 1 ECTS = 30 academic hours.
Mistake 2: Translation Without Certification¶
A plain translation on an A4 sheet without a translator’s signature, stamp, or statement of accuracy won’t be accepted. You need a certified translation. For Erasmus+, a translator’s signature with their certificate is usually enough, but for some countries (Germany) you might need a beglaubigte Übersetzung.
Mistake 3: Generic Motivation Letter¶
The motivation letter isn’t a formality. The committee actually reads it. The typical mistake is writing generic phrases like “I want to broaden my horizons.” Be specific! “I want to take the Machine Learning course with Prof. Schmidt because my thesis is about ML in medicine” - that’s what works.
Mistake 4: Forgetting About the Transcript of Records After Mobility¶
After you finish studying abroad, the host university must issue your Transcript of Records (ToR) within 5 weeks. Without it, your grades won’t be credited back home. As the official Erasmus+ guide states:
The Receiving Institution must provide the Transcript of Records to the student and the Sending Institution normally within five weeks after the announcement of the student’s results.
If the ToR is delayed, write to the host university coordinator immediately. Don’t wait for months.
Erasmus Mundus: The Full-Funding Alternative¶
If the standard Erasmus+ grant feels too small, look into Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degrees. These are joint master’s programs that include studying at 2-3 European universities with a full scholarship.
What the Erasmus Mundus scholarship includes:
- Full tuition fee coverage
- Monthly living stipend (1,400 EUR/month)
- Travel costs
- Health insurance
The competition is tougher, of course. But Ukrainian students have decent chances - partner countries have additional quotas.
FAQ¶
How much does it cost to participate in Erasmus+ as a Ukrainian student?¶
Applying for Erasmus+ is free - no fees or application charges. But there are expenses: document translation (from 500 UAH per page), language certificate (IELTS - from 7,300 UAH, Goethe B2 - from 200 EUR), health insurance (from 30 EUR/month). The grant covers part of your living expenses (470-520 EUR/month), but not everything.
Can you go on Erasmus+ without knowing the host country’s language?¶
Yes, if the study program is in English. Many European universities offer English-taught courses, especially at the master’s level. The minimum requirement is usually B2 English (IELTS 5.5-6.5). But knowing the local language is a big plus for daily life.
Are Erasmus+ grades recognized at my Ukrainian university?¶
Yes - that’s the core idea of the program: full academic recognition. All courses listed in the Learning Agreement must be credited by your home university. If there are problems with credit transfer, contact your Erasmus+ coordinator and refer to the signed LA.
What if my university doesn’t issue a bilingual transcript?¶
Order a certified translation of your transcript. You can do this through a translation bureau or an online service. The translation must include the translator’s signature, qualifications, and a statement of accuracy. For a quick turnaround, you can use ChatsControl - upload your document and get a translation with formatting preserved.
Can Ukrainian men go on Erasmus+ during martial law?¶
This depends on current border-crossing rules. Students may have grounds for departure, but the decision is made by the State Border Guard Service. Check the rules on the SBGS website and with your university’s international relations office before applying.
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