Spain's 2026 Erasmus+ call brings 409 million euros and record mobility applications, with extra support for disadvantaged students

Spain's Erasmus+ 2026 call by the numbers

Spain's national Erasmus+ agency published its 2026 call, worth close to 409 million euros, according to La Moncloa . The budget funds 163,097 mobility opportunities for students, teachers and staff to study, teach or train in another European country during the 2026-27 academic year.

Of the total, 376.8 million euros goes to mobility projects and 32 million euros to partnership and cooperation projects. Higher education receives the largest single share, 222 million euros, funding 1,374 projects and 76,559 individual mobility placements for university students and staff.

Record demand for mobility funding

Spain received 6,907 mobility project applications for the 2026 call, an increase of 8.12% over 2025, and selected 4,997 of them for funding. Spain leads the EU in the number of Erasmus+ mobility applications received, a position it has held for several years running.

Extra support for disadvantaged students

Students with fewer opportunities, including those from low-income households or with disabilities, receive a monthly supplement of 250 euros on top of their regular Erasmus+ grant. This supplement reaches around 27% of students doing intra-European mobility under the 2026 call, a share the government highlights as a sign the program is reaching students who would otherwise skip a term abroad on cost grounds. Intra-European mobility means exchanges within Programme Countries in Europe, a separate funding stream from Erasmus+ mobility to partner countries outside Europe.

What Erasmus+ mobility funds

Erasmus+ is the EU's program for education, training, youth and sport, running on a seven-year budget cycle through 2027. It funds mobility grants that cover a period of study, training or teaching at a partner institution in another Programme Country. Grants combine a monthly living allowance with a travel contribution, and amounts vary by destination country and mobility type. Universities coordinate the exchange agreements themselves and handle applications directly through their international relations office.

Two mobility types dominate the national call: study exchanges, where you spend a term or a full year taking courses at a partner university, and traineeships, where you complete a work placement abroad linked to your degree. Both count toward your home degree, and credits transfer through the European Credit Transfer System so you do not lose time toward graduation.

Spain's higher education sector alone accounts for 1,374 of the funded projects this year, spread across universities nationwide, so the practical opportunities depend heavily on which partnerships your specific university holds with institutions abroad. Note that Erasmus+ mobility is separate from Erasmus Mundus joint master's scholarships, which run their own application process directly through the European Commission rather than through your home university.

How to apply

• Contact your university's international relations or Erasmus+ office to check open calls for 2026-27 mobility.

• Ask whether you qualify as a student with fewer opportunities, since this determines eligibility for the 250 euro monthly supplement.

• Apply early. Spain's rising application numbers mean competition for popular destinations stays tight.

• Keep proof of income or disability documentation ready if you plan to request the additional support.

Sources

• La Moncloa: Spain to receive nearly 409 million euros from Erasmus+