Careers, Employability and Skills
Contact Info
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Duty Adviser hours are 10.30am-4.30pm
Practical Matters
Study Placements
The Exchange and Study Abroad team (Careers, Employability and Skills) will forward the names and contact details of selected Queen's students to the Erasmus/International Office at the partner university. We request that they send each student information about admission to the university, and with regard to accommodation. However, it is your responsibility to ensure that you have completed any required application forms in time. Please check the website of the destination university for information/application forms and/or a contact email, and ask your Queen's Erasmus Programme Director, for advice if necessary.
Work Placements
Your School Placement Co-ordinator will notify your employer of your nomination and advise you on accommodation issues.
Accommodation
This is the area which is likely to give you the most concern. Please note that if you return early from your placement (before three months) because you cannot find suitable accommodation, it is very unlikely that the British Council will allow you to keep any of your Erasmus grant.
NOTE!!! Queen's University does not organise accommodation on behalf of outgoing Erasmus students. Each student is responsible for his/her own application. Please check the website of the destination university for information/application forms and/or a contact email, and ask your Queen's Erasmus Programme Director for advice if necessary.
Your host university may offer no student accommodation, or there may be purpose-built student accommodation which is owned and administered by a quite separate body. In the end, it is your responsibility to find acceptable accommodation at a price you can afford. You might want to consider an accommodation website such as Casaswap which helps to facilitate the exchange of rented accommodation. CasaSwap is a free international housing network, where you can rent, sublet and swap accommodation with other members from all over the world. You can find a place to stay, get a roommate, and exchange your own room, apartment or house.
It is the responsibility of any student in Queen’s University accommodation to discuss with the Student Accommodation Office if they wish to leave their accommodation in order to undertake a study placement. Unless replacements can be found for the rooms, it is possible that students may be liable for the cost of the accommodation during their absence.
Insurance
Another area which you should check is insurance and health cover. As a full-time registered student of the University, you will be covered by insurance against accidental damage to property during your period abroad - download the University's Insurance Policy Details. In addition, you should obtain a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC); this entitles the bearer to receive aid in case of urgent medical necessity in any EEA country or Switzerland. You are eligible to obtain an EHIC if you are ordinarily resident in Great Britain or Northern Ireland and you are a national of the UK, Ireland or any other EEA country.
When you apply for the EHIC, you will need to give your full name, UK address, date of birth, National Insurance number (if you have one), nationality, country you'll be studying in and dates of study (eg Sept to June). Information on how to apply for an EHIC is available at www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthcareabroad/EHIC/Pages/about-the-ehic.aspx.
For further information, please also visit the Department of Health's website: www.dh.gov.uk/travellers.
You are advised to take out additional health insurance and travel insurance for the duration of your placement. Before booking flights, check out websites like expedia.co.uk which show which airlines fly between which cities.
Taxe d'Habitation - Students going to France only
In France taxe d’habitation (equivalent to UK Council tax) is due from an individual who on 1 January is registered as officially renting a flat (furnished or unfurnished) or living in property that they own. The liability for the taxe d’habitation is not related to the amount a person earns or to whether he/she pays income tax. This means that overseas students are liable as much as any French citizen in France.
NB the French authorities are often late in issuing the demand notice which may reach you after your return to the UK, even a year later. The French authorities issue bills for the taxe d’habitation in October. To avoid the possibility of being charged interest, you are strongly advised to settle the account before you leave France. Should you rely on the tax office to bill you after your departure, you must ensure that you pay promptly, or you will be charged 10% interest on each subsequent bill. If you delay payment, you run the risk of court action or ending up an international credit backlist.
Translation of Birth Certificate - Students going to France only
If your host university asks you for a translation of your birth certificate (some universities do not require this) - they will want an official translation which has been officially stamped - French and English with 4 copies of each. The certificate must be the long version with the names of both your parents and your mother's maiden name. This costs quite a lot of money in France and it is advisable to get this done before departure. You can try the French consulate in London or Alliance Française in Manchester.
Mme Anne Rassindrame
Service Culturel
Ambassade de France
23 Cromwell Road
London SW7 2EL
Tel: 020 7073 1300
Fax: 020 7073 1326
Website: http://www.ambafrance-uk.org/
To obtain the certification of your birth certificate's translation, you must first translate your birth certificate yourself on to the form available here. You should then send the translated document to the above address, together with the original full length certificate in English and proof that you are going to France for studies. Also enclose a stamped, self-addressed envelope (to cover the cost of registered post). The French Consulate will check and stamp the translation.
Alliance Française de Manchester
Bridgewater House
58 Whitworth Street
Manchester
M1 6LS
Tel: 0161 236 7117
Fax:0161 236 7997
email: info@alliancefrancaisemanchester.org
Website: www.alliancefrancaisemanchester.org
Alliance Française de Manchester also offers a translation service. The cost is £15 to £30 depending on the type of certificate. Contact details are above.
Sources of Advice
Before you go, you should use all the sources of information which are open to you. Obviously, the key source, and channel, of information is the Erasmus Programme Director for your subject - see subject tables. Other sources include:
- The website of the university you wish to attend.
- Students of your host university who are currently at Queen’s. If there are none in your own department, the Exchange and Study Abroad team can put you in touch.
- Queen’s students who have previously spent a period at your intended host university. If there are none in your own department, consult the International Office.
- The UK Erasmus National Agency website at www.britishcouncil.org/erasmus
- The Foreign and Commonwealth Office 'Know before you Go' website.
- Details on studying in each of the eligible countries are available at the www.study-in-europe.org website.
- Information for students going to France can be found at Egide: www.egide.asso.fr
- The Erasmus website at: http://ec.europa.eu/education/lifelong-learning-programme/doc80_en.htm