Participation in an international Youth Exchange (Erasmus+)
By participating in an Erasmus+ International Youth Exchange, organisations in the field of youth enable young people from Switzerland to take part in an Erasmus+ project.
Overview
For whom
- Teenagers and young adults (13-30 years) from Switzerland
Duration of the International Youth Exchange
- 5 days to 3 weeks
- The duration of the stay of the Swiss participants must correspond to the duration of the activity in the Erasmus+ application
Where
- In Europe and neighbouring countries
What we fund
- Financial support for travelling and accommodation
- Effective costs are covered for participants with special needs
What to do
- Organisations and institutions involved in the field of youth based in Switzerland apply for funding for Swiss participants
- The application must relate to a planned Erasmus+ project
Deadlines
- Application deadlines:
- 5 March 2025: for participation in projects of the Erasmus+ deadline of 12 February 2025
- 14 May 2025: for participation in Erasmus+ projects from 7 May 2025
- 8 October 2025: for participation in Erasmus+ projects from 1 October 2025
In detail
Erasmus+ promotes numerous Youth Exchanges in its programme and partner countries. To enable young people from Switzerland to participate in these projects in the field of youth, we offer financial support.. The Swiss organisation or institution only applies to Movetia for funding for the Swiss young people; the main application is submitted to the EU by the project coordinators.
This activity is funded by the Swiss Programme for Erasmus+. This programme allows Swiss institutions to organise activities similar to the ones funded by the European education programme Erasmus+.
Requirements
For participants:
- The participants are teenagers and young adults aged between 13 and 30 from Switzerland.
- For every 4 young people, a maximum of one group leader / accompanying persons without age limit will be funded for the project.
- If minors are sent to the project, at least one adult group leader / accompanying person must be travelling with them.
- For participation in Erasmus+ projects, Movetia only funds participants who reside in Switzerland.
- The young participants take part in the project voluntarily outside of their school or work commitments.
For applicant organisations and institutions:
- Organisations or institutions in the field of youth based in Switzerland are eligible to apply.
- The organisations or institutions work according to the principles of youth work: participatory, inclusive, accessible.
To the project:
- The participating young people must be involved in all phases of the project: Planning, realisation, processing.
- The Youth Exchange lasts between 5 days and 3 weeks - excluding arrival and departure days.
- The Swiss project participation must be tailored to the Erasmus+ project, i.e. it must relate to the same activity period and the same project duration. A copy of the Erasmus application, its programme of activities and an invitation letter from the coordinating organisation must be submitted.
Funding amounts
- Travel allowance: 400 to 500 CHF per Swiss participant for international trips, depending on the destination
- Accomodation allowance: 41 to 59 CHF per day and person, depending on destination
- For the specific needs of individuals with disabilities or those suffering from physical, mental, or chronic illnesses: Max. 12,000 CHF (actual costs based on the note of requirements) Insurance and any visa fees are at your expense.
The guidelines contain all the funding amounts and the calculation in detail:
Evaluation criteria
The relevance of the project for Swiss youth work is assessed on the basis of the following evaluation criteria:
- Relevance of the project
- The project a aligns with the objectives and priorities of the Swiss organisation or institution.
The project promises high-quality learning experiences for the Swiss participants.
The project enables the participation of Swiss individuals with fewer opportunities.
- The project a aligns with the objectives and priorities of the Swiss organisation or institution.
- Quality of project planning
- The selection procedure is suitable for selecting Swiss participants with the right profile.
- The quality of the preparation and support provided to the Swiss participants is comprehensible.
- Impact of the project and dissemination of results
- The project has a positive impact on the Swiss participants and the Swiss organisation or institution involved.
- Appropriate measures for disseminating the project results in Switzerland are planned.
The decision as to whether the Erasmus+ project for which there is Swiss participation fulfils the Erasmus+ criteria is a matter for the responsible National Agency and is not reviewed by Movetia.
Procedure
For teenagers and young adults:
Young people and young adults who are interested in participating in an International Youth Exchange (Erasmus+) should contact the youth organisation whose activities they already regularly attend. This organisation can apply for funding from us.
For institutions and organisations in the field of youth based in Switzerland:
The guidelines contain all the information you need to apply for and implement your project. These include, for example, the funding table, the eligible programme countries and the funding criteria:
Follow these steps to organise participation in an International Youth Exchange (Erasmus+):
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1. Networking with partners in the Erasmus+ programme countries
- If you hear about an interesting project or are contacted directly by the organisation or institution that is carrying out an Erasmus+ Youth Exchange relevant to you, discuss with the project coordinator the possibility of enabling Swiss participants to take part thanks to Movetia funding.
- You can also find possible partner organisations through your umbrella organisations, organisations known to you through collaborators or volunteers or via the OTLAS platform.
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2. optional Arrange a preparatory visit
Would you like to meet potential project partners on site to get to know each other or jointly develop a project? Get financial support for a preparatory visit.
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3. Collecting the relevant materials from the Erasmus+ application
- Ask the project coordinator for the original application as submitted for the Erasmus+ project and the activity programme. You then submit these with the Swiss application. You should also enclose a confirmation from the project coordinator confirming that Swiss participation is desired.
We will be happy to provide you with individual counselling to answer any questions you may have concerning the planning, submission and implementation of your project. The counselling can take place by phone, online or on site.
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4. Submit project proposal
- Submit the project application online in the same application round as the Erasmus+ application.
- Open the application as early as possible to familiarise yourself with the requirements. We open the application forms together with the Call, usually in December, June and August. You can save the application temporarily and continue working on it later. If you are submitting an application for the first time, you will need to register once.
- Enclose the relevant documents from the Erasmus+ application with the funding application. Please also include the statutory documents of your organisation and the declaration of honour of an authorised signatory in the application.
It is important to us to enable people with disabilities or with physical, mental, or chronic illnesses to participate. Therefore, we provide additional funding for special needs. You can apply for additional funding in the login area during the project period. You can find more information under inclusion and equal opportunities.
- After thorough preparation, you will need approx. 3 hours to complete the application. If there are any open questions, it may take longer to complete the form and compile the documents.
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5. Movetia evaluates the funding application
- We review the funding application with regard to fulfilment of the preconditions and the evaluation criteria and decide whether the project can be funded and with what amount.
- The evaluation lasts approximately 60 days.
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6. Waiting for and submitting the European funding decision
- After we have evaluated your application, you will receive a funding decision. If the project is supported by Movetia, you must still wait for the decision from the Erasmus+ programme country, as participation is only possible in a project that has actually been financed by Erasmus+.
- If you receive a positive decision from Erasmus+, forward it to Movetia immediately so that the funding decision can take effect. We will then send you a contract.
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7. Payment of funding amounts
- 80 % of the funding amount will be paid out after the contract has been signed; the final settlement will be made with the final report. In certain cases, Movetia reserves the right to apply a different payment procedure.
- Grants are paid exclusively to Swiss institutions and organisations.
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8. Carry out the exchange
- You decide who takes part in the Youth Exchange. These can be young people who are already taking part in your activities or you can involve new young people in your exchange project.
- Prepare the participants for the exchange so that they can benefit as much as possible from the experience.
- Implement the project in accordance with the application. Please note this information sheet.
During the project period you can apply for additional funds for participants with physical or mental impairments by submitting a request for persons with special needs.
- Please make sure to keep a correct and complete list of participants.
- Ensure that the non-formal and informal learning outcomes of young people are recognised. Find out more about the recognition of competences.
You can use a separate form to notify us of any changes to your project (e.g. duration, project partner, budget). From the 2025 funding period onwards, modifications can be made directly in the login area during the project period.
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9. Submit final report
Submit a final report 60 days after the end of the project term via the online platform.
- This final report must be accompanied by a declaration of honour, the list of participants and the final report of the Erasmus+ project.
- Reserve 2-3 hours for appropriate reporting.
- Depending on the number of mobilities carried out, we will pay out any remaining amounts or issue a reclaim.
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10. Report about the project
Other organisations and institutions can benefit from your exchange experience. Therefore, report on the exchange project via your channels, e.g. newsletter, social media, blog, etc. Make sure you mention Movetia as a funding partner. We provide the logo and text modules for this purpose.
Q & A
Are Swiss participants allowed to take part in Erasmus+ Youth Exchanges?
Movetia can fund the participation of Swiss young people in Erasmus+ Youth Exchanges. To do so, a Swiss organisation or institution must be invited by the project coordinators from Europe to send young people. Movetia will pay for the participation of the Swiss young people if the European project is carried out and the participation of the young people from Europe is funded.
What happens if I want to take part in an Erasmus+ Youth Exchange but my European application is rejected?
With the rejection in Europe, the project and any participation in it is cancelled. It is not possible for the planned Swiss participants to receive funding for a trip abroad without a connection to the planned European project.
Can Swiss young people participate in «European Youth Together» or «Youth participation activities»?
These options only exist in the Erasmus+ programme and have no equivalent in Switzerland. In principle, the participation of young people from Switzerland is not ruled out. However, as their format differs greatly from that of Youth Exchanges, please contact us for a consultation before submitting your application so that a suitable solution can be found to ensure that your participants can be funded within a framework that is both appropriate and in line with Movetia's preconditions and funding criteria.
Why is no organisation fee paid for a participation project?
The organisational tasks lie mainly with the coordinating organisation in Europe, while the Swiss organisation is responsible for sending participants. However, if a planning meeting is organised as part of the Erasmus+ project, Swiss participation can be funded.
