Erasmus+ Key Action 1 is the mobility strand of the programme — the funding stream that sends learners, educators, youth workers and staff across Europe for training, job shadowing, study periods, volunteering and professional development activities. It is the most widely used Key Action in the programme and, for many organisations, the natural entry point into Erasmus+.
KA1 is also the Key Action where the most applications are submitted and, consequently, where competition is highest. A strong KA1 application is not simply a list of mobility activities — it is a strategic document that demonstrates organisational capacity, a clear development plan, and a credible link between the proposed activities and the organisation’s long-term goals. This guide explains how KA1 works in 2026, what each activity type involves, how the budget is calculated, and what separates funded applications from rejected ones.
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Education sectors covered by KA1: school education, VET, higher education, adult education and youth
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Application routes for KA1: accreditation (rolling access) and standard project (call-based deadline)
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Budget calculated automatically by the form — you enter activity data, the form generates the grant amount
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Organisation ID — every organisation must have an OID from the EU Funding and Tenders Portal before applying for KA1
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📋 In This Guide
1. What Is Erasmus+ KA1
Key Action 1 — Learning Mobility of Individuals — funds organisations to send their staff, learners or members abroad for structured learning and professional development experiences. The fundamental idea is straightforward: people develop skills and gain perspectives through direct experience in another country that they cannot acquire at home.
KA1 is organised by sector. Each sector has its own application form, its own activity types, its own unit cost rates and its own National Agency contact. The five sectors are school education, vocational education and training (VET), higher education, adult education and youth. An organisation applies in the sector that matches its primary mission — a secondary school applies under school education, a VET provider under VET, a youth NGO under youth.
Unlike KA210 and KA220, KA1 does not require a transnational partnership of multiple applicants. A single organisation applies, manages the grant and sends its own participants abroad. Host organisations in the destination country receive participants but are not co-applicants and do not receive a budget share directly through the grant.
2. KA1 Activity Types by Sector
Each sector offers a defined set of activity types. Not all activity types are available in every sector — and the duration, participant profile and funding rules differ between them. The table below covers the most widely used activity types across the five sectors.
| Sector | Activity Type | Who Participates | Typical Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| School Education | Job shadowing / observation period | Teachers, school leaders, education support staff | 2 days – 2 months |
| Course or training abroad | Teachers and school staff | 2 days – 2 months | |
| VET | Learner mobility — work placement abroad | VET learners (initial or continuing) | 2 weeks – 12 months |
| Staff mobility — teaching or training assignment | VET teachers, trainers, managers, staff | 2 days – 2 months | |
| Job shadowing | VET staff, managers | 2 days – 2 months | |
| Higher Education | Student mobility — study period | HE students (undergraduate, master’s, doctoral) | 2 months – 12 months |
| Staff mobility — teaching or training | HE academic and administrative staff | 2 days – 2 months | |
| Adult Education | Staff mobility — job shadowing or course | Adult education teachers, trainers and staff | 2 days – 2 months |
| Adult learner mobility | Adult learners (18+) enrolled in adult education programmes | 2 days – 1 month | |
| Youth | Youth exchange | Young people aged 13–30 from at least 2 programme countries | 5 – 21 days |
| European Voluntary Service (ESC) | Young people aged 17–30 | 2 weeks – 12 months | |
| Youth worker mobility — training or networking | Youth workers, youth leaders, youth organisation staff | 2 days – 2 months |
💡 Higher Education KA1 Works Differently
Higher education KA1 (formerly Erasmus+ Student and Staff Mobility) is managed through Inter-Institutional Agreements between universities — not through open calls in the same way as school, VET, adult education and youth KA1. Universities must hold an Erasmus Charter for Higher Education (ECHE) and manage their own bilateral agreements. This guide focuses primarily on the school, VET, adult education and youth sectors where the standard and accredited KA1 routes apply.
3. Accreditation vs Standard Application: Which Route Is Right for You
For school education, VET, adult education and youth sectors, there are two distinct routes to accessing KA1 funding. Understanding which one applies to your organisation is essential before you begin any application preparation.
| Criterion | Erasmus Accreditation | Standard KA1 Project |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A long-term quality label that gives accredited organisations simplified access to KA1 funding on a rolling annual basis | A project-based application submitted in response to a specific annual call deadline |
| Who it suits | Organisations with a clear, long-term Erasmus+ strategy who plan to run mobility activities every year | Organisations applying for KA1 for the first time, or those with specific, one-off mobility needs |
| Application process | One-time accreditation application (assessed once); annual grant requests submitted thereafter without full re-evaluation | Full application submitted each year to the call deadline; evaluated competitively each time |
| Erasmus Plan | Required — a detailed multi-year organisational development plan must be submitted with the accreditation application | Not required — but the application must describe the organisation’s development needs and how mobility addresses them |
| Grant access | Simplified annual grant requests; less competitive pressure once accreditation is awarded | Competitive evaluation each call; award not guaranteed; priority given to accredited organisations in some NAs |
| Best for | Schools, VET providers and youth organisations planning sustained, multi-year mobility programmes | First-time applicants; organisations testing KA1 before committing to accreditation; specific project needs |
⚠️ Accreditation Is Not a Grant — It Is Access to Grants
Many organisations confuse the Erasmus accreditation with a grant award. Accreditation grants simplified access to KA1 funding — but you still need to submit annual grant requests and be allocated a budget by your National Agency. Accreditation does not guarantee a specific grant amount. The advantage is that your organisation no longer needs to go through full competitive evaluation each year.
4. Eligibility Requirements
KA1 eligibility requirements are checked at the admissibility stage before evaluation begins. An application that fails any eligibility criterion is rejected without assessment. Verify all of the following before submission.
Organisation eligibility. The applicant must be a legally constituted public or private organisation active in the education, training or youth sector, based in an Erasmus+ programme country. Informal groups, unregistered associations and private individuals are not eligible as applicants. The organisation must have a valid OID (Organisation ID) from the EU Funding and Tenders Portal before submitting.
Sector alignment. The applicant must apply in the sector that matches its primary mission. A school cannot apply under the youth sector to access youth exchange funding; a youth NGO cannot apply under school education. Mismatched sector applications are rejected at eligibility screening.
Participant eligibility. Participants must meet the age and status requirements for each activity type. Youth exchange participants must be aged 13–30; VET learner placements must involve enrolled VET learners; staff mobility must involve employed staff of the applicant organisation. Participants who do not meet the profile requirements for their activity type create compliance risks during implementation.
Host organisation requirements. For most KA1 activities, a host organisation in the destination country must be confirmed before the activity takes place — though not always before the application is submitted. For accredited organisations, host agreements should be formalised before participant departure. For standard applications, host organisations should be identified and contacted during the project preparation phase.
Activity duration. Each activity type has minimum and maximum duration requirements. Activities that fall below the minimum or exceed the maximum eligible duration are not funded for the out-of-range days. Check the Programme Guide for the specific duration rules applying to each activity type in your sector.
5. How the KA1 Budget Works
The KA1 budget is calculated automatically by the application form — you do not manually enter a grant amount. Instead, you enter the activity data: number of participants, destination country, duration and activity type. The form applies the applicable unit cost rates and generates the grant figure. Understanding how unit costs work is essential for planning realistic activities.
Travel costs are calculated using distance bands based on the distance between the participant’s home city and the activity location. Band A covers trips up to 99km; Band F covers 8,000km or more. For most intra-European mobility, Band B (100–499km), Band C (500–1,999km) or Band D (2,000–2,999km) applies. The travel unit cost is paid per participant per trip — not per kilometre.
Individual support (accommodation and subsistence) is a daily rate paid per participant for each day of the activity, including travel days. The rate varies by destination country — staying in Denmark costs significantly more per day than staying in Romania, and the unit rates reflect this. Check the current rate tables in the Programme Guide for the 2026 call year before planning activities.
Organisational support is a lump sum that covers the applicant organisation’s costs of managing the project — staff time for coordination, preparation activities, participant support and administrative tasks. The rate and calculation method vary by sector and activity type. It is not calculated per participant but per project or per activity, depending on the sector.
Preparation costs are available for some activity types — particularly youth exchanges and longer learner mobilities — to cover pre-departure preparation activities such as language preparation, cultural orientation and logistical planning. These are unit costs paid per participant.
Exceptional costs can be claimed for participants with fewer opportunities — covering higher travel costs for participants from remote areas or with disabilities that require special travel arrangements. These are real costs up to a defined ceiling and must be justified in the application.
💡 Unit Cost Rates Change Every Year — Always Use the Current Programme Guide
KA1 unit cost rates for travel, individual support and organisational support are updated annually. Using rates from a previous year’s guide will produce a budget figure that does not match what the form calculates — and may mean your planned activities are not financially viable at current rates. Always download the Programme Guide for the specific call year you are applying to and verify rates before planning activities.
6. What Makes a Strong KA1 Application
KA1 applications are evaluated on four criteria: relevance, quality of project design, quality of project team and implementation arrangements, and impact. The following elements consistently distinguish funded applications from rejected ones.
A clear organisational development need. The application must explain why the organisation needs these mobility activities — not in general terms, but in relation to a specific gap in staff competences, a strategic development priority, or an identified need among learners. “Improving the quality of our VET programmes by exposing trainers to innovative workplace-based training methods in Germany and the Netherlands” is a development need. “Internationalising our organisation” is not.
Specific, justified activity selection. Each activity must be linked to a specific need and a specific expected outcome. Why job shadowing rather than a course? Why Germany rather than another country? Why five participants rather than three? Every choice should be justifiable. Applications where activities appear to be selected for convenience rather than developmental logic score poorly on project design.
A credible dissemination plan. What will the organisation do with the knowledge and experience gained? How will it be shared with colleagues, applied in practice, and documented? Evaluators look for evidence that the mobility activities will produce lasting organisational change — not just individual experiences that disappear when the participant returns.
Inclusion of participants with fewer opportunities. Applications that include participants facing socioeconomic, geographic, educational or other barriers score higher on the inclusion dimension of the Relevance criterion. This does not mean all participants must face barriers — but a credible inclusion strategy, with specific measures to support these participants, strengthens the application.
7. Most Common KA1 Mistakes
No Erasmus Plan for accreditation applications. The Erasmus Plan is the centrepiece of an accreditation application — it demonstrates the organisation’s long-term development vision and how KA1 mobility contributes to it. A vague, generic Erasmus Plan that could apply to any school or youth organisation will not be accredited. The plan must be specific to the organisation’s context, challenges and goals.
Activities not connected to organisational development. KA1 is not a travel grant. It is a professional development and organisational improvement programme. Applications that describe mobility activities without clearly explaining how they address a specific organisational need or contribute to a strategic goal consistently score below the funding threshold.
Insufficient preparation and follow-up described. The application must describe what happens before and after each mobility activity — language preparation, cultural briefing, task assignment, debrief, knowledge-sharing sessions, documentation. Applications that describe only the activity itself, with no preparation or follow-up, suggest the organisation has not thought seriously about learning transfer.
Host organisations not identified or contacted. Submitting an application without confirmed or at least identified host organisations is a significant risk. If the project is approved and you then fail to find suitable hosts, activities cannot take place and the grant must be returned. For standard applications, host organisations should be contacted before submission; for accreditation applications, a plan for identifying and vetting hosts is expected.
Using incorrect unit cost rates. As noted above, unit cost rates change annually. Planning activities around last year’s rates — particularly for individual support in higher-cost destination countries — can produce a budget shortfall that makes activities financially unviable. Always verify rates for the current call year before finalising activity plans.
8. KA1 Application Checklist
- ✅ Organisation has a valid OID from the EU Funding and Tenders Portal
- ✅ Correct sector confirmed — application submitted under the sector matching the organisation’s primary mission
- ✅ Correct route selected — accreditation for long-term mobility programmes; standard project for first-time or one-off applications
- ✅ Erasmus Plan drafted (accreditation route) — specific to the organisation’s context, needs and development goals
- ✅ Organisational development need clearly stated — specific gap, strategic priority or learner need identified
- ✅ Each activity linked to a specific development need with a justified expected outcome
- ✅ Activity types, participant profiles and durations checked against current Programme Guide eligibility rules
- ✅ Unit cost rates verified from current 2026 Programme Guide — not previous year
- ✅ Host organisations identified and contacted for all planned activities
- ✅ Preparation and follow-up described for each activity type
- ✅ Inclusion strategy included — participants with fewer opportunities identified with specific support measures
- ✅ Dissemination and organisational impact plan described — how learning will be shared and applied
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