Accepted for an exchange period abroad

You will be invited to an information session for admitted students.

It is important that you participate and actively engage in the information provided.

Attendance is mandatory unless you are studying in another location or have similar circumstances. Please inform us if, for any reason, you are unable to attend and explain the reason for your absence.

Studies
If you are going to study abroad, we will nominate you to the partner university – so that they know you will be studying there.

Once we send them your details, they will contact you directly with information on application process and deadlines, as well as information about their courses offered in English.

When you receive this information, you can prepare your Learning Agreement in consultation with your departmental coordinator. You will complete this in our mobility system, Mobility-Online, and we will send you instructions on how to proceed.

Please note that the time it takes to hear from the partner university can vary significantly. Do not worry—this is quite normal. If you feel uncertain, you can always contact them directly – thas is also quite normal.

Internship
If you are going abroad for an internship, you will receive your learning agreement form from us to fill in. Some fields will already be pre-filled, and the remaining sections must be completed by you in consultation with your departmental coordinator and the host organisation (in that order).

Once you have obtained all required signatures, you can upload the docuent in your Mobility-Online workflow.

Regardless of whether you will be studying or doing an internship abroad, you are required to complete the OLS language assessment.

OLS stands for Online Linguistic Support and is developed by the European Commission. It is a self-assessment test that you complete on your own. It is not a test that you fail or pass - the purpose is simply to evaluate your level of knowledge and understanding in the language you will be studying in. Students at Swedish universities in general score quite high.

Please note that you also have the opportunity to take language courses in different languages through the platform before your stay abroad - if you wish to learn some basic phrases in a new language or improve your existing skills.

You will receive information from us about this, and once you have received your result, you will report it in Mobility-Online.

You will receive information from us regarding the processing of your scholarship. For starters, you will need to enter your bank details or payment information in Mobility-Online, after which we will calculate the funding you are entitled to through the Erasmus+ programme. Once this is done, you will receive a Grant Agreement for review and signature (which you sign digitally in Mobility-Online). Make sure to read the agreement carefully and double-check that your bank details are correct. The information you enter yourself is what will be used—so please ensure everything is entered correctly.

Once you have signed the Grant Agreement, we will process the first scholarship payment, which amounts to 70% of the preliminarily calculated total grant. The remaining amount will be paid once you return home and all documentation and required data have been submitted.

Additional funding – required documentation

• Students with funcional disabilities (regardless of the extent of everyday impact) are entitled to extra funding. We require a NAIS decision as documentation. You can upload this in Mobility-Online, if you have indicated in your application that you hold such documentation.
  If you did not do  this, please notify us by email (but do not send the NAIS decision in the email). We will enable you to upload it in Mobility-Online instead. If you need your NAIS decision translated into English or have other questions, please contact the coordinator for students with disabilities at riktatstod@hv.se
• If you are a parent of a child under age 15, you are also eligible for additional funding (regardless of whether the child accompanies you abroad or not). You will need to submit documentation confirming this (from Försäkringskassan, Skatteverket, or similar).
• Green travel. If you travel sustainably, you may also receive extra funding and additional travel days if needed. This must also be documented. It could be bus- or train tickets, or other proof showing that you used the means of transport you reported.

Funding conditions
You must be aware that if you interrupt your studies or fail to fulfill your obligations to submit documentation and required data, you may be required to repay the full amount that has been paid out to you.

Studies
You will receive information from us when you can register for your exchange semester in Ladok. Once you complete this registration, CSN will also receive this information if you are applying for additional financial support for studies abroad.
Your registration functions as an “empty container” that will later be filled with the courses you complete abroad. Therefore, it is important that you apply for credit transfer once you have returned home (and received your academic transcript from the host university).

Internship
You must register for the course that includes or corresponds to your internship period abroad. Since this course is part of your study programme, you may need to submit additional information to CSN if you wish to apply for extended student loans. You can find more information about this on www.csn.se.

If you pay tuition fees for your studies at University West
In order to register for your exchange period or internship course in Lado, you must first have paid your tuition fee to University West, as the period abroad is included in the programme studies for which you pay tuition fee.

Once you have registered in Ladok (for studies abroad or for the course that includes your internship abroad), you are covered by the Swedish Legal, Financial and Administrative Services Agency’s Kammarkollegiet insurance, Student OUT.

You will receive documentation and information on this from us, including a link to the full insurance terms and conditions. It is important that you read through these so you understand when the insurance applies in case something happens.

It may also be a good idea to purchase additional travel insurance through your home insurance provider, if you have one—so check this with your insurance companyif applicable.

If you are completing your period abroad in a country within the EU/EEA, you also need to order a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) from Försäkringskassan. This only takes a few minutes, and you will receive the card within about a week. You will receive instructions on this from us when we send your insurance certificate.

Visa
If you are travelling to a country outside the EU/EEA, you need to find out early what applies in visa application process, as processing times may vary greatly from country to country. Be sure to check requirements such as passport validity, and ensure that your passport does not need to be renewed. You can find more information on Sweden Abroad.

If you are travelling within the EU/EEA, you will need to apply for a residence permit if you are staying for longer than three months. You apply for this after you arrive, but you can read more about the rules on Your Europe.

Vaccination
If you are travelling to countries outside the EU/EEA, vaccinations may be required in some cases. Contact 1177 for advice, but first consider which regions of the country you are likely to stay in—and whether you plan to visit neighbouring countries during your trip.

If you are travelling to a country outside the EU/EEA, you need to inform the embassy of the country you are travelling to that you will be staying there and specify the duration of your stay.

Read about the requirements for your destination country on Sweden Abroad. For example, it is important that your passport is valid for the entire duration of your stay abroad. Many countries require that your passport be valid for six months after your return.

Studies
You will receive information from your partner university regarding start of  semester/studies and course registration. The details and timing can vary significantly depending on where you will be studying.

Regarding accommodation, some partner universities (usually in smaller cities) provide support, while others do not. In all cases, however, partner universities will provide instructions and advice. You will receive information from them about this. If you feel uncertain or think you are missing information, contact them directly. They are there to help you with your studies at their university.

Internship
You will coordinate with the host organization/company to agree on your start date. Make sure your Learning Agreement for Traineeship is signed by your contact person there.

For accommodation, you usually need to arrange this yourself, but check with them if they have tips or advice on finding suitable housing.

High housing standards in Sweden
Be aware that Sweden has a high housing standard in general, and part of the purpose of spending time abroad is to experience different parts of the world—where conditions may be different. Make sure you know who to contact if there are issues with your accommodation, so you can get help if needed.

Have you needed to seek medical help or in other ways needed to use the Student-UT insurance? Here you can find information on how to submit an insurance claim to the Swedish Legal, Financial and Administrative Services Agency (Kammarkollegiet).

If you need to change your course selections, you must update them in the "During the Mobility" section in Mobility-Online and confirm the changes so that your home institution coordinator receives a notification and can process the updates.

However, it is recommended to wait until you are certain about which courses you will take. The most important thing is that your course selections in Mobility-Online match what will appear on your Transcript of Records when you return home.

If, for any reason, you need to interrupt your studies, it is important that you maintain ongoing contact with one of your contact persons at University West and that you inform the International Office.

It is common to feel overwhelmed in a new environment abroad and uncertain about how things will turn out. Do not hesitate to contact us with any questions or concerns before making a decision.

If you have been awarded funding through the Erasmus+ programme or Swedbank Ownership West (Swedbanks Ägarstiftelse Väst), please be aware that you are required to repay the full scholarship amount that has been paid to you if you choose to interrupt your studies.

Once you have received your transcript of records from your host institution, you need to apply for credit transfer with our Degree Office. You can find more information on how to proceed on their web pages. If you have any questions regarding the credit transfer process, please contact examen@hv.se

If you receive funding from the Erasmus+ programme for studies or a traineeship abroad, the Confirmation of Stay is a mandatory document.

Towards the end of your mobility period, we will send you the document together with further instructions. It is important that you ensure to get it signed by the host organization so that you can upload it to Mobility-Online.

At the end of your mobility period, you will also receive an email from the European Commission regarding a so called EU participant report, which you are also obligated to complete.

Once we have received this documentation, we can process the payment of remaining Erasmus+ grant if applicable.

We are always looking for students who have previously studied or completed a traineeship abroad to help us share information about the Erasmus+ programme and support students who are interested in applying.

So sign up! You can read more on our Erasmus+ Ambassador page.