Online application instructions for ERASMUS/EXCHANGE students

K.U.Leuven - Faculty of Business and Economics

Academic Year 2011 - 2012

The application deadlines are:

  • 15 May 2011 for students wishing to study at K.U.Leuven during the first semester of the 2011-2012 academic year (starting on Monday, 26 September 2011)
  • 15 October 2011 for students wishing to study at K.U.Leuven during the second semester of the 2011-2012 academic year (starting on Monday, 13 February 2012)

You can apply to study at K.U.Leuven as an exchange student by following the 8 steps below.

  • step 1: request and activate your guest account
  • step 2: download the application form
  • step 3: submitting the application form

Students - Faculty of Business and Economics - neglect step 4 go to step 5

  • step 4: upload of attachments (only for “Erasmus work placement” students)
  • step 5: follow-up of your file
  • step 6: acceptance of admission offer
  • step 7: pre-registration
  • step 8: arrival in Leuven

Step 1: Requesting and activating your guest account

Before you can start the actual application procedure, you must first request a guest account using the link below. Next, you will receive an email message with your guest account number (e-number). The message will contain an internet link which will enable you to activate your guest account and to provide your own personal, private password.

  • To request a guest account, use the GuestAccount link and fill in the required fields. Please note that 'number in the national register' applies to Belgian students only! Complete the process by clicking the 'Register' button.
  • To activate your guest account, open the email message you have received with your guest account number (e-number), which also contains the link to the activation page. Click on the link to activate your guest account. Then follow the instructions on the webpage on how to choose a password.

Make sure you have your guest account number and your personal password at hand at all times; you will be needing them regularly when going through the next steps.

Step 2: Downloading the application form

Preliminary information: Please read the following instructions concerning your application form carefully before you download it and fill it in:

  • Once you have downloaded the application form, you will notice that it has 9 pages. The first thing you should do is select "exchange student" from the drop down menu under status. Even if you are a Master's student at your home university, you will have the status of "exchange student" if you come to Leuven in the framework of one of the following programmes:
  • Erasmus (study) student
  • Erasmus (work placement) student
  • Erasmus Belgica student (this is only intended for students whose main registration is at a Belgian university. Erasmus Belgica is an exchange between the French speaking and the Dutch speaking regions of Belgium).
  • Tempus student
  • Faculty exchange agreement student

You will now notice that the application form shortens to 5 pages when you select "exchange student". These are all the pages you need to fill in. There are a few other points to remember while you do so:

  • On page 1/5, you have to fill in the correct/approximately correct date of arrival in Leuven and the correct/approximately correctdate of departure from Leuven.When you click on the box of the dates, a calender will appear. You can then select the correct date. These dates are very important as they will be printed on your student card and your letter of admission.
  • On page 3/5, you have to fill in your complete permanent address as well as your completecurrent address. If your permanent address and your current address are the same, you only need to fill in your permanent address. In the course of processing your application, we will need to send you post, so it is very important that we have your complete address.
  • Every language has its own special characters. Unfortunately, our computer system does not always display these special characters as they should be displayed. For example: “Ł” becomes "#". It is very important that the information (especially name, address, etc.) you fill in on the application form is clearly legible in our computer system, as it will be printed on your letter of admission. Some students (non-EEA students) need to apply for a visa, and will need a correct letter of admission to do so. We will also send you post via regular mail, so it is very important that we have a complete, correct address that does not display "#" characters. Therefore, please use “standard” characters. Instead of “Ł”, for example, please use “L”.

As soon as your guest account has been activated, you can surf to the K.U.Leuven web application Applicant and download the application form.

Make sure that the latest version of Adobe Reader (version 9) is installed on your PC.You can complete the form offline.It is absolutely necessary that you fill in all the fields in red. Please note that the application form is only valid for three months, even after it is saved on your local PC (i.e. it expires three months after it is downloaded).Consequently, you will need to go online again and send in the form before the validity period expires, otherwise you will have to download a new form and start all over again.

  • To download the application form, use the link Web application Applicant.

Step 3: Submitting the application form

Please save your application form as soon as you have completed it and send it online by using the 'submit' button at the end of the form.If all goes well, you will receive a confirmation pop-up.If sending the form fails, however, you are advised to save the completed form on your local PC and try to resubmit it by means of the 'submit' button at a later time.

  • Attention: Sending the application form is only possible if you are logged in on the internet.
  • Attention: Applicants using Adobe Reader 9.3 will need to take a few extrasteps to complete the application procedure.

Within two working days after sending the form, you will receive a second email message to confirm that your application form has been integrated into the K.U.Leuven system.If you do not receive this second confirmation email, please send your application form as a PDF-document to the Admissions and Mobility Unit, mentioning explicitly that you have not received any e-mail confirmation.

Step 4: Uploading attachments (only for “Erasmus work placement” students)

Students - Faculty of Business and Economics - neglect step 4 go to

Step 5: Following up on your file

As soon as you have successfully uploaded your application form (and your attachment(s), if applicable), you can follow up on the status of your application by using the same web application: Applicant.

  1. The first status of your file is ‘new’.Your file has been received by the International Office, but it is not being processed yet.
  2. The second status of your file is 'in process'.The approval process consists of several steps and may take some time. Once your file is being processed by the International Office, the status on your overview screen changes.

For technical problems with your application form or with the web application Applicant, please send an e-mail with a clear and detailed description of the problem to our technical helpdesk.

For content-related questions about the application procedure, please e-mail the Admissions and Mobility Unit

  • To follow up on your file, use the link Web application Applicant

Step 6: Accepting the admission offer

As soon as a decision has been made concerning your application, the status of your file will change to ‘Admitted’ or ‘Rejected’.

You will receive a confirmation of the decision via email. If your application has been approved, you must first accept the offer. Only after you have accepted will an official letter of admission be sent to you.You can accept the offer by using the web application Applicant.

As soon as your acceptance is received, the letter of admission will be issued and sent to you. You will receive an official admission letter. A PDF copy will be sent to you via email.

To accept the offer, use the linkWeb application Applicant

Step 7: Pre-registering

When you accept the offer, you will be pre-registered automatically: your name and data will be entered into the K.U.Leuven system.Consequently, your actual enrolment at the Registrar's Office upon your arrival in Leuven will take considerably less time.

Step 8: Arriving in Leuven

Upon your arrival in Leuven, you will need to pass by the Registrar’s Office (Naamsestraat 22) to confirm your enrolment and to obtain your student card.