On 1 October 2026, the call for individual mobility of Culture Moves Europe opened; this is the European Union programme that funds artists and cultural professionals to develop a project with a partner in another participating country. It is managed by the Goethe-Institut on behalf of the European Commission.
It is a rolling call with six monthly deadlines: 31 October and 30 November 2026; 31 January, 28 February, 31 March and 30 April 2027. There is no deadline in December. Each application must be submitted before 23:59:59 Central European Time on the chosen deadline. Results are communicated via the portal within the following eight weeks.
There is no need to wait for the final deadline. The Goethe-Institut recommends submitting applications at least four months prior to the planned travel and warns, based on previous calls, that competition tends to increase towards the final closing date.
Eligibility
Applications are open to adults who are legal residents of one of the Creative Europe countries and work in architecture, cultural heritage, design and fashion design, literature, music, performing arts, or visual arts. This also includes the overseas countries and territories and the outermost regions of the European Union, such as the Canary Islands.
No specific qualifications or level of experience are required. Applications may be individual or for a group of up to five people. Even in the latter case, registration on the portal is completed as an 'individual' and a single person submits the application on behalf of the group.
The project must be carried out in another Creative Europe country, in collaboration with an international partner chosen by the applicant. The partner may be an individual or an organisation. The proposal must address at least two of these four objectives: to learn, to create, to explore, or to connect.
Individual mobility projects last between 7 and 60 days. For group projects, the duration is reduced to between 7 and 21 days. In both cases, the project takes place in a single destination country. Travel related to formal education is not eligible, nor is travel intended solely to present previously created work at an exhibition, concert or other event.
What it funds
The grant is calculated based on several components:
- Daily allowance: 85 euros for each day of project execution.
- Travel: 400 euros for distances of less than 5,000 kilometres and 800 euros for distances of 5,000 kilometres or more. The portal calculates the distance as a straight line and for a one-way journey.
- Sustainable mobility: a 400-euro top-up when the call's sustainable travel conditions are met.
- Family: 200 euros for each child under 18 years of age.
- Visa: 120 euros, where necessary.
- Outermost regions and overseas countries or territories: 175 euros.
Top-ups are not granted automatically upon request; applicants must meet the relevant conditions and provide the required documentation. Requesting these does not negatively affect the evaluation of the project.
Accessibility support
Persons with disabilities may request 30 euros for each day of execution. The call also provides, depending on the case, for the actual cost or a fixed amount for personal assistance or sign language interpretation, based on the professional situation of the person providing the support, as well as certain exceptions related to travel.
The full document includes a specific section on how to request this support and how to justify it upon completion. The requirement is explained in the form and may necessitate documentation and a cost estimate. It is not advisable to reduce this section to an automatic checkbox or to leave it until after the application has been submitted.
The call for applications expressly states that requesting top-ups or accessibility support does not influence the evaluation. This design is significant: it acknowledges that mobility does not cost the same for everyone and incorporates part of that difference into the grant calculation.
What to prepare
Applications are submitted via the Goethe-Institut portal and must include, among other documents:
- Official identification.
- Proof of legal residence.
- Brief curriculum vitae.
- Artistic or creative portfolio.
- Letter of invitation from the international partner.
The letter is not a mere formality. It must demonstrate that a genuine collaboration exists and that the partner is aware of the project, the dates and their role. The evaluation considers the relevance of the mobility, the planning with the partner, the anticipated long-term impact and sustainability aspects.
It is also advisable to verify eligibility before drafting. Culture Moves Europe does not fund every professional trip: it requires a project, an international collaboration, and a clear relationship between the travel and the selected objectives.
Language
Applications are submitted in English, the working language of the programme. The level of English is not assessed, and machine translation tools may be used. This reduces the barrier, but does not eliminate it: the proposal must remain clear, coherent, and comprehensible to the evaluators.
For guidance in Spanish, you may contact the Creative Europe Desk Culture of the Ministry of Culture. Those who use screen readers or other assistive technologies and encounter difficulties with the document, the portal or the website may write to the Culture Moves Europe team, which has dedicated accessibility staff.
Previous results
Between October 2025 and April 2026, the previous call received 7,831 applications. 1,596 projects were funded, benefiting 2,542 artists and cultural professionals. The ratio of selected projects to applications was 20.4%.
This ratio should not be interpreted as an individual probability of success. Applications may be individual or group, proposals compete in distinct deadlines, and the selection process considers, in addition to the score, the duration, geographical and sectoral balance, and other inclusion criteria. It does, however, allow for the measurement of the difference between the volume of demand and the projects that the available budget was able to fund.
An additional data point helps to understand the scope of the programme: 76 % of those who requested the grant had no prior experience with other European funding lines. Culture Moves Europe thus functions as a potential gateway, yet it still requires the preparation of a project, the finding of a partner, and the thorough documentation of the mobility.
Before selecting a deadline
Before submitting, I would check at least the following:
- That the country of residence and the destination country participate in Creative Europe.
- That the work belongs to one of the seven eligible sectors.
- That there is an international partner and a coherent letter of invitation.
- That the project addresses at least two objectives of the call.
- That the planned duration fits within the individual or group margin.
- That the trip is not limited to presenting work already produced.
- That the applicable top-ups and support have been requested.
- That the chosen deadline leaves sufficient time before the trip.
- That all documents are complete and legible.
- That an exact copy of the submitted application has been retained.
The existence of six deadlines allows you to choose the most suitable moment. It does not extend the eligible period of a single project nor does it turn each month into a new opportunity to repeatedly submit the same proposal. Before reapplying for the grant or submitting another project, one must check the call's rules regarding previous applications and grants already received.
About the open conversation
This text is a service note regarding an open call. It summarises the main conditions but does not replace the full document or the frequently asked questions. If you have obtained a Culture Moves Europe grant and can share how you prepared your application, write to me.
Sources
European Commission, "Call for individual mobility 2026-2027".
Goethe-Institut, "Culture Moves Europe – Individual Mobility".
European Commission, "Culture Moves Europe: 2,542 grantees selected", 14 July 2026.