Important documents
Main objective
To provide education and employment related support to the released Belarusian political prisoners and persons (both adults and students) who have suffered from political persecution and lost a source of income due to political repressions related with the presidential elections in Belarus in August 2020.
Specific objective
To support activities related to training and retraining, including distance learning, in pursuing individual learning and professional development in all sectors of economy.
Eligible applicants
To be eligible for a grant, the applicant must:
- be a natural person aged 18 and over, and
- be a citizen[1] of the Republic of Belarus, and
- at the time of submitting of application reside in an EU member state, EEA countries, or one of the Eastern partnership countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine). In case of residence outside Belarus, it should not start before August 2020[2], and
- to demonstrate that the applicant has been under threats by Belarusian regime and suffered from actual persecution/repression, or risks of threatening, persecution, repressions on political grounds/civil position/peaceful protests (based on official protocols or other documents, such as reference letters issued by independent human rights organisations, news articles, etc.) and lose opportunity to continue their studies or work, and
- having no signed support agreement under this support scheme.
Note: In case of awarding a support, the beneficiary must reside in the EU from the moment of signing a support agreement with Implementing Authority regardless a form of the activities (remote mode or in-person). The Implementing Authority cannot guarantee or provide legalisation support such as Visa or Residence Permit, and it should be sole responsibility of the applicant.
Eligible activities
The activities that can be included into application:
- Vocational education (up to 12 months),
- Training and retraining courses,
- Certified language courses and exams,
- Nostrification of diploma, academic degree or education certificates,
- Driving licence courses (all categories starting with C and above[3]),
- Qualification certificates and exams.
All education and training activities include all type of modes: in person, online and blended.
All the activities must be targeted to the career and professional development pursuit and take place in the EU.
Eligible costs
The following costs may be financed for implementation of training and retraining activities:
- Tuition and fees (for vocational education, training and retraining courses, language courses, driving courses, certification, nostrification, and exams),
- Documents translation costs,
- Public transport costs (for in person trainings not less than 1 month duration),
- Subscriptions to software and digital platforms necessary for training and retraining,
- Living costs (in a dormitory for vocational education up to 12 months).
Note: Only costs incurred (procured and paid) by the Implementing Authority are considered eligible. The Implementing Authority will not pay or compensate for the costs incurred by the beneficiary (applicant).
Application deadlines
Round 1: 1st April 2025 – 30th Sept 2025 at 17:00 EET/UTC+ 2[4] / 6 months
Round 2: 1st Oct 2025 – 31st March 2026 at 17:00 EET/UTC+ 2 / 6 months
Round 3: 1st April 2026 – 30th Sept 2026 at 17:00 EET/UTC+ 2 / 6 months
Round 4: 1st Oct 2026 – 31st March 2027 at 17:00 EET/UTC+ 2 / 6 months
The Programme Management Authority reserves the right to review and update the guidelines for applicants before each round.
Indicative budget of the calls
Round 1: EUR 150.000
Round 2: EUR 150.000
Round 3: EUR 150.000
Round 4: EUR 50.000
The Programme Management Authority reserves the right to redistribute the budget of calls between the rounds upon the requested amount in the selection round.
Submission of project applications
Contact us if you have any questions about the support scheme
Programme Contacts
[1] Applicants, who lost or renounced their Belarusian citizenship after August 2020, or do not have valid Belarusian passport at the time of Application submission, should present documental evidence of valid Belarusian citizenship at the time of August 2020.
[2] An exception may apply to the applicants who can prove that they left Belarus earlier than August 2020 because of the repressions and persecutions related to the presidential elections in 2020.
[3] Categories C1, C1E, C, CE, D1, D1E, D, DE, and all categories for driving trams, trolleybuses and tractors.
[4] Eastern European Time (EET): Vilnius/Riga/Tallinn/Helsinki time.
