Assistance abroad

Assistance and resources when living abroad

The following websites can be very useful when it comes to everyday issues you may have to deal with while abroad.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

General

• http://www.thirdyearabroad.com
• MONETOS
  Provides general advice on living and working abroad including information on health and finances.

Health care

Health care

Before you go, you need to apply for a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC).

Applying for a European Health Insurance Card

• Online
  www.dh.gov.uk/travellers (cards delivered within 7 days)
• By phone
  Call EHIC Applications on 0845 606 2030 (cards delivered within 10 days)
• By post
  Using the application form and pre-addressed envelope available at the post office (cards delivered within 21 days)

Emergencies

The EHIC should be accepted by most doctors or at any hospital in case of an emergency. See our country specific sites for more information on health issues in these countries.

Working abroad

Working abroad

Working in Germany

• Just landed

Working in France

• Travailler en France

Working in Spain/Latin America

links will be added soon

Finances

Finances

*Please Note: All the information on financial aspects of the year abroad are under review and might change depending on government decisions and how much funding will be available for Erasmus and assistantships. The information stated below applies to the academic year 2010/11. Updated information will be added as soon as it becomes available.

Tuition fees

More information

For further information and up to date information on changes in regulation please refer to the University's Erasmus funding site.

Also see the University's Study Abroad website.

As a language assistant you will receive a salary (BC) or a grant (Comenius) and as an Erasmus student with one of our partner universities you will receive an Erasmus grant.

Erasmus students

As a rule Erasmus students will have to pay no tuition fees for their year abroad, and normally you would not be expected to pay tuition fees at the university abroad, apart from a general registration fee (which may include your travel card if you are staying in Germany).

Comenius assistants

Students going on their year abroad in 2013-14 who spend half the year as Comenius assistant and the other half at university or on a work placement in Germany will have to pay a partial fee for the year abroad. Please refer to the Study Abroad Pages for details.*

*Note: All information on finances and tuition fees is under review and might change.

Notes on funding

Make sure your local education authority/student finance direct and the student loan company (SLC) know your address abroad and do not forget to notify them of any change of this or of your bank account details.

Grant and loan assessment

The grant/loan is normally assessed on a notional period of 30 weeks' tuition plus an allowance for the short vacations. You get an increase for each week or part-week of term time over 30 weeks and three days.

Cost of living

Cost of living overseas is deemed to be higher than in the UK and you will be eligible for the maximum loan of £5375.

Local education authority correspondence

If your LEA writes to you about term dates or tuition fees, please use one of the Templates for LEA letters (PDF , 40kb), fill in the appropriate details and send it to one of the year abroad coordinators to sign. Please note that you will have to adapt the letters including your personal details.

If you have any non-routine correspondence with your LEA try to keep a copy of it all. The University will do its best to help you but must know exactly what was said in earlier correspondence.

Financial issues

If you have any serious problems, please contact Student Financial Support (SFS), Sally Baldwin Buildings, Block B or email sfsu@york.ac.uk. It would be useful if you also kept the year away coordinator(s) informed of any such problems.