Culture Moves Europe – Call for Individual Mobility 2025-2026

Culture Moves Europe is a programme aimed at supporting cultural and artistic mobility across all countries participating in the Creative Europe initiative. It facilitates creative exchange by providing financial support for travel and the implementation of cultural or artistic projects in another Creative Europe country.

The programme includes two types of calls: the Call for Individual Mobility, designed for artists and cultural professionals (either individuals or groups), and the Call for Residency Hosts, intended for legal entities wishing to host participants as part of residency projects. If an artist or cultural professional legally resides in one of the Creative Europe countries, they may apply for Individual Mobility to travel independently or as part of a group to another participating country and carry out a project in cooperation with an international partner.

Culture Moves Europe aims to ensure gender, geographical, regional, and sectoral balance, and promotes sustainability and inclusion. The programme is strongly guided by the fundamental values of the European Union. All applicants, grantees, and projects implemented within the Individual Mobility action must fully comply with EU values: respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law, and human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities.

• The call is open to artists and cultural professionals. You can submit an application by yourself or as part of a group.
• You must legally reside in one of the Creative Europe countries, including the OCTs and ORs.
• You must be 18 years of age or older.
• You must be active in one of the following sectors: Architecture, Cultural Heritage, Design and Fashion Design, Literature, Music, Performing Arts, and Visual Arts.

Applications are welcomed from people with all educational backgrounds and levels of experience. 

Culture Moves Europe supports free artistic creation, expression and circulation. Artists and cultural professionals living in exile, legally residing in a Creative Europe country, and with a refugee or humanitarian protection status, are encouraged to apply.

The grant is made up of three key components: travel allowance, daily allowance, and any applicable top-ups or accessibility support (or both).

Travel allowance

There are two different levels of travel allowance, depending on the distance between your place of legal residence and the destination:

• under 5.000 km = 400 €
• from 5.000 km = 800 €

The travel allowance is designed to contribute to the cost of travel from your place of residence to your project’s destination, and back again.

The travel distance is measured as the distance one-way from your place of residence to the destination, on a straight-line basis. The application form includes a distance calculator for this purpose. If the travel distance of your mobility is less than 600 km, you must travel via green means of transport (any means other than airplane), unless you have a disability which prevents you from travelling differently, or you reside in, or plan to travel to, an island which is only accessible via airplane. If the travel distance of your mobility is 600 km or more, you are eligible to apply for the green top-up.

Daily allowance

The daily allowance is the amount that you receive for each day of your project’s implementation, to support with expenses such as accommodation, meals, etc. This is paid at a rate of 85 € per day spent working on the project in the destination.

Top-ups

Top-ups provide additional financial support, at fixed rates, to grantees who meet the conditions outlined below. You will need to provide supporting documents, both at the application and the activity report stage, to demonstrate you meet these conditions.

Green mobility top-up

• Designed to support those choosing more sustainable means of travel. You can apply for this top-up if the straight-line distance between your place of residence to the destination is 600 km or more, and you travel by any means of transport other than airplane.
• Amount: 400 €

OCT/OR top-up

• For applicants who legally reside, or have their destination, in an OCT/OR
• Amount: 175 €

Family top-up

• Designed to support applicants with children under the age of 18 years old at the time of project implementation.
• Amount: 200 € per child

Visa top-up

• Provides extra financial support for applicants who require a visa to undertake their mobility.
• Amount: 120 €

Grant calculation for virtual projects and hybrid mobility projects

• For a virtual project, a daily allowance is paid to contribute to daily expenses during the implementation of the project, for the requested duration. The rate is 40 € per day. For a virtual project, you can request the family top-up and accessibility support, if required. However, since no travel is involved, the travel allowance, as well as the green mobility top-up, visa top-up, and the OCT/OR top-up cannot be requested.
• For hybrid projects, the duration of the project implemented virtually will be paid at the above rate, and the duration implemented on- site will be paid at the standard rate for physical mobilities.

Payment of the grant

The grant is paid in two instalments, in Euro, to the account displayed in the grant agreement (this has to be the personal account of either the individual grantee, or the group leader).

The first payment is processed within 30 days after you’ve returned the signed grant agreement, and includes:

• 75% of the travel and daily allowance;
• 75% of the accessibility support (if applicable).

The second payment is processed within 30 days after the Culture Moves Europe team reviews your activity report. Subject to full approval of your report, this includes:

• The remaining 25% of the travel and daily allowance;
• The remaining 25% of the accessibility support (if applicable);
• 100% of the requested top-ups (if applicable).

Sectors and activities – grants cannot be awarded:

• retrospectively for actions and projects that start before the relevant earliest start date, or are already completed;
• for projects exclusively covering the audiovisual sector, connected to the film industry and with the aim of being prominently displayed in public on different media, such as TV, cinema, paid streaming or gaming platforms;
• for literature projects focusing on non-fiction works, including: autobiographies, biographies, essays without fictional elements; tourist guides; leisure and personal development-related works; scientific and academic works (including the humanities, social and other sciences);
• for any project considered as contributing to an academic degree (including post-graduate qualification);
• to purely fund travel for applicants to present their previously created work in a professional setting (exhibition, concert, performance, vernissage).

Supported activities are those that pursue at least two of the following objectives:

• To Explore – conducting artistic or creative research, investigating ideas, drawing inspiration, or developing a new concept.
• To Create – engaging in a creative process aimed at producing a new artistic or cultural work.
• To Learn – enhancing skills and competences, for example through collaboration with a specialist.
• To Connect – developing a professional network, strengthening professional development, or engaging with new audiences.

The Call for Individual Mobility 2025-2026 is a rolling call with monthly deadlines from 1 October 2025 to 30 April 2026 (excluding December 2025). At the end of each calendar month, applications submitted in that month are reviewed and either approved or rejected. You must submit your application no later than 23:59:59 CET/CEST on one of the following deadline dates:

2025:

• October deadline: 31 October 2025
• November deadline: 30 November 2025
• No deadline in December 2025 

2026:

• January deadline: 31 January 2026
• February deadline: 28 February 2026
• March deadline: 31 March 2026
• April deadline: 30 April 2026

Project date periods for each application deadline:

• October deadline: 1 January 2026- 30 June 2026
• November deadline: 1 February 2026 - 31 July 2026
• January deadline: 1 April 2026 - 30 September 2026
• February deadline: 1 May 2026 - 31 October 2026
• March deadline: 1 June 2026 - 30 November 2026
• April deadline: 1 July 2026 - 31 December 2026

Culture Moves Europe – Application Timeline

Steps After Being Selected for the Grant

• Provide personal bank details: after receiving confirmation of selection, you must enter your personal bank apcount details via the Goethe-Application Portal. For group applications, the account must belong to the group leader.
• Sign the Grant Agreement: once bank details are submitted, the Culture Moves Europe team will prepare and send the grant agreement. You have 15 days to sign and return it via the portal. If not returned within this period, it is considered a rejection of the offer.
• Receive the grant and gegin mobility: after signing, the first instalment of the grant will be transferred within 30 days. Once received, you may begin travelling to your project destination.

After signing the grant agreement, you have up to 6 months to:

• start your travel from your place of legal residence; 
• travel to your destination country;
• implement your project, in collaboration with your international partner, without interruption (you need to be in the destination for the full duration of your project);
• and submit your activity report within 30 days after completing your project.

To apply for support from Culture Moves Europe, you need to create an account and submit an online application via the GoetheApplication Portal (GAP).

• Your application must be in English. The level of English is not taken into consideration, and you are free to use online translation tools. Please make sure your application is written clearly so that the external evaluators can understand the project.
• You need to write and submit the application yourself. Applications that are written or submitted by someone other than the applicant, will not be accepted.
• Make sure to apply using the form for the Call for Individual Mobility 2025-2026 in the Goethe-Application Portal.
• You can edit and save the draft application before making a final submission. Draft applications can be worked on for the whole duration of the call.

Once you submit your application, it cannot be changed. The application will only be evaluated after the monthly deadline.

After each monthly deadline, each application is checked to make sure that it is eligible to be supported by Culture Moves Europe. If your application does not meet the eligibility criteria, it will be considered ineligible for support, and you will receive a notification email. Two independent evaluators will then evaluate the eligible applications. Your application will be evaluated on the basis of the following criteria:

Evaluation Criterion

• Project relevance: Does the project follow 2 of Culture Moves Europe’s objectives and allow you to pursue them? 4/20 Points
• Mobility relevance: Are the travel and duration necessary to achieve the desired outcome of the project? 5/20 Points
• Preparation: Is the mobility sufficiently well-planned with the international partner? Does each group member have a clear role in the project? 5/20 Points
• Outcome: What will be the longer-term outcome? E.g. on your career or the local community. 4/20 Points
• Sustainability: Does your project consider environmental sustainability? E.g. the topic (biodiversity, climate crisis, etc.), materials, energy management, etc. 2/20 Points

Due to the available budget, the Individual Mobility call is divided into three duration categories, with the estimated distribution of selected applications as follows:

• Approximately 68% for short-term projects (7 to 21 days)
• Approximately 20% for medium-term projects (22 to 39 days)
• Approximately 12% for long-term projects (40 to 60 days)

The application form invites you to upload the required supporting documents. You need to upload these in PDF format.

Official national identification

• ID card or other official document that proves one’s identity.
• In any language (short explanatory note in English may be requested)
• For group applications, provide one document for each group member.

Proof of legal residence

• Document proving you’re legally registered in your country of residence, indicating your name and full address at the time of applying.
• Must be the same address as in ‘Applicant Details’.
• For group applications, provide one document for each group member.

Short curriculum vitae (CV)

• A one-page document summarising personal information, contact details, relevant education, and professional experience.
• For group applications, provide one document for each group member.

Artistic and creative portfolio

• This focuses more on your artistic and creative work, including examples of personal creations, projects, ideas, etc.
• For group applications, you should provide a single portfolio combining the work of all group members, even if you haven’t previously worked together.

Letter of invitation from your international partner. This must include:

• confirmation of their collaboration with you;
• a brief description of the international partner;
• the name of the applicant and each group member, if you’re applying as a group;
• the duration of project implementation, including the expected start and end dates;
• the date and signature of the international partner.

Visa

• If you need a visa to travel to the destination country of your project, in addition to the visa top-up, the Culture Moves Europe team can provide, on request, a letter confirming your status as a recipient of a Culture Moves Europe grant. The letter will outline the financial support provided for your project in the destination country, and the dates on which you plan to travel.
• You can request this letter from the Culture Moves Europe team by sending a message via the Goethe-Application Portal.

Online sessions

• Several times a month, usually on Fridays, Culture Moves Europe team hosts a Question Time for Individual Mobility session, where a member of the team presents the call and answers questions from future applicants.
• If you are selected, Culture Moves Europe team hosts, monthly, an Info Session for Grantees that covers the next steps and answers any questions about being a grantee.

The activity report is a short form on the Goethe-Application Portal, which you have to complete after implementing your project. The form will become available on the Portal about a month after you send back the grant agreement. Once available, you can check the form under the ‘Reports’ section. The essential information you must provide is proof that you travelled to the project destination and carried out your project with your international partner for the duration requested in your application. You must submit the form within 30 days after you have completed the project. For group projects, the group leader is responsible for completing the form and collecting the necessary documents from the group members.

In the report, you do not need to provide proof of all project expenses. In addition to answering a few questions about your expectations and achievements during your mobility, you need to include the following documents and information: 

Proof of transportation

• Proof of the entire journey (from your place of residence to your project destination), as written in your application form. Make sure to include all steps of your journey.
• The documents you submit must clearly state the dates, names of grantees, and itinerary of the travel undertaken. It can include e.g. train, bus, ferry or airplane tickets/boarding passes; petrol/toll tickets; or car-sharing confirmations.

Proof of project implementation 

• A signed letter from your international partner, confirming that the project was implemented as planned. The letter should include the name of the international partner, the names of the participating grantees, and the dates and duration of implementation.
• Five files (JPG, PNG or PDFs) that prove and illustrate the implementation of your project. E.g. photos from the project implementation, event programme, travel and environmental sustainability highlights, etc.

Green mobility top-up proof

• Green mobility top-up: travel tickets or receipts demonstrating that the entire journey from your place of residence to the destination was completed via green means of transportation.
• Visa top-up: any document that proves you applied for and received a visa, e.g. proof of payment, stamped visa, etc.
• Family top-up: official document (birth certificate, family book, child’s identity card, legal guardian’s document, etc.) proving custody of a child below the age of 18 during the implementation of your mobility project.
• OCT/OR: top-up travel tickets or receipts showing travel from or to an OCT/OR. 

Proof of virtual project implementation: 

• Proof that the virtual project took place. This can include a timeline of the project, email exchanges, screenshots from online meetings, event programme, pictures, etc.
• Five files (JPG, PNG or PDFs) related to project research and activities, creation process, or work with the international partner. E.g. photos or screenshots from the project implementation, event programme, etc.
• A signed letter from the international partner, confirming that the project was implemented as planned. The letter should include the name of the international partner, the names of the participating grantees, and the duration of implementation.

When you apply to this call, some of your personal data (such as name, address, CV, and any other personal data contained in the submitted information and documents) will be recorded and processed. Regarding requests for accessibility support, sensitive health data may additionally be recorded and processed. All your data will be processed according to Regulation (EU) 2016/679 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and replacing Directive 95/46/EC (Data Protection Directive).

Unless indicated otherwise, any personal data requested to evaluate the application in accordance with the specifications of the call will be processed solely for that purpose by the Culture Moves Europe team and the external evaluators from the Culture Moves Europe Evaluators’ Pool.