Participants in Erasmus+ projects may need to obtain a visa for staying abroad in the Programme or Partner Country hosting the activity. It is a responsibility of all the participating organisations to ensure that the authorisations required (short or long-term stay visas or residence permits) are in order before the planned activity takes place. It is strongly recommended that the authorisations are requested from the competent authorities well in advance, since the process may take several weeks. National Agencies and the Executive Agency may give further advice and support concerning visas, residence permits, social security, etc. The EU Immigration Portal contains general information on visa and residence permits, for both short-term and long-term stays: https://ec.europa.eu/immigration/

Protection and safety of participants involved in the Erasmus+ projects are important principles of the Programme. All persons participating in the Erasmus+ Programme should have the opportunity to take full advantage of the possibilities for personal and professional development and learning. This should be assured in a safe environment which respects and protects the rights of all persons, their physical and emotional integrity, their mental health and wellbeing. Each organisation participating in the Programme must have in place effective procedures and arrangements to promote and guarantee the safety, protection and non-discrimination of the participants in their activity. When necessary, adults should accompany underage participants (pupils, VET learners, youngsters) in mobility activities. Accompanying adults should ensure sufficient quality of the learning component of the mobility as well as the protection and safety of the underage participants. In addition, all pupils, students, trainees, apprentices, adult learners, young people, and staff, involved in a mobility activity under all Key Actions of the Erasmus+ Programme, must be insured against the risks linked to their participation in these activities. The Programme leaves it up to project organisers to seek the most suitable insurance policy according to the type of project carried out and to the insurance formats available at national level. Furthermore, it is not necessary to subscribe to a project-specific insurance, if the participants are already covered by existing insurance policies of the project organisers.

In either case, the following areas must be covered:

• wherever relevant, travel insurance (including damage or loss of luggage);
• third party liability (including, wherever appropriate, professional indemnity or insurance for responsibility);
• accident and serious illness (including permanent or temporary incapacity);
• death (including repatriation in case of projects carried out abroad).

Finally, if projects involve young people under 18, participating organisations are required to obtain the prior authorisation of participation from their parents or those acting on their behalf.

If applicable, it is strongly recommended that participants in transnational activities are in possession of a European Health Insurance Card. This is a free card that gives access to medically necessary, state-provided healthcare during a temporary stay in any of the 27 EU countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, under the same conditions and at the same cost (free in some countries) as people insured in that country. More information on the card and on how to obtain it is available at http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=559.