Procedures
- Before leaving
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- Contact your host university
- Validate your registration with your host university
- Take the OLS pre-departure test for Erasmus+ stays (unless you are exempted)
- Register at ULB as soon as you pass
- Sign and return your scholarship contract to the Student mobility office
- On site
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Send your arrival certificate to the Student mobility office
Send the final Learning Agreement to your academic coordinator
Send your departure certificate to the Student mobility office - After your return
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- Take the OLS post-stay test for Erasmus+ stays (unless you are exempt)
- Complete the final report online
- Make sure that your results are received by your faculty
- Send your proof of sustainable travel* to the Student mobility office
* Except for UK, Belgica, Switzerland mobility.
Visa
- Visa application
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Exchange student status gives you a legitimate reason to stay longer than 3 months in another country, but you are not exempt from immigration laws during an exchange stay. While for most Erasmus+ students, an ID is sufficient for travel within the European Union, in some cases, for both European and non-European stays, students may need to apply for a student visa.
All non-European students will be required to apply for a student visa at the embassy of the destination country.
Visa requests might take some time, so you should start the procedures very early, otherwise you’ll have to leave your host university after 3 months because your passport will be invalid. Procedures vary from country to country, but it’s usually requested to provide an acceptation letter from the host university. They will help you on that matter.
Any doubts or questions? Do not hesitate to contact us: mobilite@ulb.be - Security
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When you go abroad, we advise you to visit the Foreign Affairs website for information on security in your host country:Travelling abroad | Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs (belgium.be)
Before you leave, we advise you to register to your national embassy. This allows your embassy to inform you and give you better support in case of crisis. For Belgian students, you need to register online : https://travellersonline.diplomatie.be/.
By default, ULB follows the same guidelines and recommendations as the Belgian government. We consider that students should make their own decisions about their stay, depending on the evolution of the situation in their host country
You should also think about data protection when you go abroad. To limit the risks, the State has published a flyer with several tips for each step of your stay - before leaving, during your stay and upon return. You’ll find it here : https://www.vsse.be/fr/publications/passeport-de-securite
COVID-19: Find all information about student mobility on Mobility OUT: https://actus.ulb.be/fr/actus/covid-19-etudiant-e-s#Mobout.
Insurance
What if I break a leg during my stay abroad? What if my luggage gets lost? Getting proper information on the insurances you need to take a few months before your departure is the key to a greater peace of mind when preparing your stay.- 1. The personal accident insurance
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Covered by ULB
Insurance company: Ethias Insurance Contract number: 45.045.747
a - Personal accident insurance for a student in the framework of a mobility for study:
All Insured are covered - within the limits of the insurance policy - against the consequences of an accident that occured abroad in the normal framework of the study programme conducted abroad in the places defined by the host institution.
The accident shall be recognised and accepted as such in the contract only according the definitions and jurisprudences applicable in Belgium under the Belgian legislation on work accidents of April 1971.
The insurance certificate is available as an annex of your grant agreement.c - Personal accident insurance for an intern remunerated by the host institution
The Student conducting a remunerated internship is normally covered by the insurance of the host institution.- Insurance Contract number: 45.045.747
b - Personal accident insurance for an intern not receiving compensation from the host institution
Insurance company: Ethias
All Insured are covered - within the limits of the insurance policy - against the consequences of an accident that occured abroad in the normal framework of the internship programme conducted abroad in the places defined by the host institution.
The accident shall be recognised and accepted as such in the contract only according the definitions and jurisprudences applicable in Belgium under the Belgian legislation on work accidents of April 1971.
The insurance certificate is available as an annex of your grant agreement. - 2- Insurance during the journey home-university/work place
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Covered by ULB
The Student is also covered on their normal way to their study/work place (from their home to their university/work place).
The definitions of the journey to the work/study place are those applicable in the framework of the Belgian law of April 1971 on accidents on the way to work. - 3 - Third party civil liability insurance
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Covered by ULB
What is third party civil liability? If someone suffers loss or damage as a result of error, carelessness or negligence on your part, then you are liable for this. That means that you are obliged to indemnify the victim: you will have to repair the damage or pay compensation.
The Insured are covered, within the limits of the contract, against the consequences of third party civil liability such as defined by the Belgian civil code (article 1382 and following) in the framwork of their study or internship activities (specified in the course/internship agreement) (damages to third parties).
The host institution cannot however deny its own liability on the matter. - 4 - Healthcare insurance
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Covered by the student (via his/her mutual insurance company) - MANDATORY: The student must be affiliated to a mutual insurance company in Belgium or similar organisation.
The Student must be affiliated with a mutual health fund in Belgium or a similar body.
Please note: healthcare systems differ largely from a country to another. Some services might be free in Belgium, but chargeable in other countries. Before leaving, get some information on the healthcare system of the country where you're going. The coverage offered by the European health insurance Card or by your mutual health funds card may not be sufficient, especially in case of a repatriation or in case of specific medical procedure. In that case, it may be useful to take a supplementary private insurance.
Students traveling within the EU: do not forget to request your European Health Insurance Card: the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) helps with healthcare coverage in Europe. It certifies that its ower is affiliated to a Belgian mutual health fund. The EHIC allows you to access health professionals and hospitals in the visited country, without preliminary request and at the same rate as the country's nationals.Students traveling outside of Europe: please be aware that some countries or universities may require that you take a health insurance in the country where you are staying. If the act of care/treatment is free for the country's nationals, it will also be free for you. You shall not have to advance any money. You may have to pay the co-payment rate (part of the fees that remains to be paid by the patient). If the act of care/treatment is a paid service, you will have to advance the money. You will then be able to ask for reimbursement:
- either in the country you are in, to the country's competent social security institution healthcare body. The contribution will depend on the social legislation and the applicable regulations in the country concerned.
- or when you are back in Belgium. You must keep your bills and healthcare receipts and hand them to your mutual health fund. - 5 - Other insurances
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Covered by the student: recommended
Students are warmly advised to take on - at their own expenses - the following additional insurances:
a - Supplementary healthcare and hospitalisation insurances: in particular to cover expenses in case of an illness or personal accident occuring outside of academic activities (including temporary or permanent disability).
b - Travel assistance abroad: in particular to cover for repatriation in case of illness or death abroad as well as to cover for additional expenses: baggage loss or damage, loss of personal documents, personal belongings...).
c - Personal third-party civil liability: in order to ensure your civil liability outside of academic activities. - 6 - What if I'm traveling to a "risk country"?
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Are you traveling to a "risk country" (please see: https://diplomatie.belgium.be/fr/Services/voyager_a_letranger/conseils_par_destination) ?
ULB's insurance covers students across the world but within the means available. The Student must therefore consider that there is a risk that the insurance may not intervene. In other words, the Student is covered even in risk countries, however, the insurance cannot be held responsible should there be delays or (diplomatic) hindrances that render the service provisions difficult or impossible.- It is the Student's responsibility to request information early enough from ULB's Insurance Department (Service Assurances) : assurances@ulb.be, in order to confirm the insurance's coverage applicable to your stay.
COVID-19
The expenses arising from a lack of insurance on points 5. a), b), et c) will remain the Student's responsibility.
Furthermore, students traveling with their own vehicle must have registered with the necessary mandatory insurances for this vehicle otherwise, they face the risk to lose the insurance benefits in case of an accident.