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.

How to apply

To apply for financial aid, you must submit a project via the Aquimob platform (in French) and send the signed application with all the supporting documents by e-mail to your Mobility Office (address mentioned on your Aquimob application or below) before the start of your mobility period in compliance with the deadlines below.

Only one grant can be awarded for any given mobility period. It is strictly impossible to combine the Erasmus+, Regional Council and international mobility government support grants.

Applying for financial aid does not guarantee it will be allocated. An internal allocation committee meets to award grants based on allocation criteria for each specific grant (student's socioeconomic status, merit, mobility programmes, length).

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. 

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

All applications not completed within 2 months after submission via Aquimob (for mobility periods over 4 months) or within 15 days (for mobility periods under 4 months) will not be examined by the allocation committee.

When submitting an application via Aquimob, you must provide a certificate of mobility (start and end dates) to the grant manager in the International Office,  whether you are receiving financial aid or not.

The Aquimob platform (in French) covers several types of grants: Erasmus+, the Regional Council and the international mobility government support grants. 

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. 

It is important to note that the programme classifies countries into 3 separate groups based on their standard of living:

 

Host countries

Group 1

Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden

Programme country with a high cost of living

Group 2

Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain

Programme country with a medium cost of living

Group 3

Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia,  Slovenia, Turkey

Programme country with a low cost of living

Each year, partner institutions set monthly grant amounts for each of the three groups they belong to.

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 information purposes, the amount of Erasmus+ study grants for student mobility will be in the following ranges for the 2023-24 academic year:

- 390€/month for mobility periods in Group 1 countries

- 340€/month for mobility periods in Group 2 countries

- 290€/month for mobility periods in Group 3 countries

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 information purposes, the amount of the Erasmus+ internship grants for student mobility periods will be in the following ranges for the 2023-24 academic year:

- 540€/month for mobility periods in Group 1 countries

- 490€/month for mobility periods in Group 2 countries

- 530€/month for mobility periods in Group 3 countries

Students who receive the Erasmus+ grant and meet one of the inclusion criteria defined by the programme may be eligible for a financial "inclusion" supplement of 250€/month.

Financial aid paid by the University of Bordeaux.

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.

Aid paid by the University of Bordeaux.

Regional Council 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 3600€ for non-CROUS beneficiaries and 4500€ 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.

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

CROUS aid

As part of your Erasmus+ programme, you can apply for an international mobility grant of 400€. The application must be completed on the etudiant.gouv.fr website.

Download the Aquimob deadlines (in French)

Last update:

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Useful documents

Other financial aid

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.

The Mobility Office provides an emergency number, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 

International week

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.

Semaine internationale
International week © University of Bordeaux