Frequently asked questions – One-year exchange

Here is a general timeline for how the application process usually looks:

• Any time: You can show your interest in Rotary Youth Exchange at any point during the year through this link, and we'll get in touch.
• End of December: Your full application should have been submitted. It's important to apply in good time to secure your place.
• First quarter (January–March): The first admission notices with country placements are sent out. During this period a second round of admissions is also held for any remaining places, which may include late applications and students whose families, for special reasons, are unable to be a host family.

Departure takes place in August in most cases.

Absolutely. Your parents do not need to be Rotary members for you to apply.

The age limits are based on wishes or requirements from our colleagues abroad. In the USA and Canada they do not want to receive young people who have turned 18. This is due to the school systems in the different countries. In most countries you start school earlier than in Sweden, and in some countries this makes it difficult to place incoming young people with classmates of the same age. Are you too young, or have you turned 18? Contact us and we can discuss different solutions.

For the 2026–2027 exchange year, the following age limits apply:

• Australia & New Zealand: born 2009 or 2010
• USA & Canada: born between 15 August 2008 and 31 December 2010
• Other countries: born 2008, 2009 or 2010

No, it is not an absolute requirement for you to take part in Rotary Youth Exchange. However, we look very positively on it if your family is able to be a host family for a period. Hosting an exchange student yourselves gives a unique insight into what an exchange year involves and enriches the whole family's understanding of your experience.

If your family cannot host an exchange student, we greatly appreciate it if they can help find a suitable host family in your local area. Rotary Youth Exchange is built on the principle of reciprocity – in order to send Swedish young people out into the world, we also need to receive exchange students here in Sweden. Committed host families are therefore crucial for the whole program to work.

In the admission process we prioritise students whose families are host families. Your family becoming a host family thereby increases your chances of being placed in one of the countries you have wished for.

The program fee for Europe is SEK 65,000. Other countries are SEK 75,000. Insurance, administration and equipment such as a blazer, polo shirt, business cards etc. are included. In addition, you receive pocket money each month from the receiving Rotary club in the host country, which also arranges your schooling and accommodation free of charge.

No, we cannot guarantee that you can choose your own family. Rotary reserves the right to appoint host families itself, because there must be a Rotary club nearby that can host you.

The program fee for Rotary Youth Exchange is designed to cover the central parts of your exchange year through the voluntary work within Rotary. Some costs do, however, come on top and are not included in the program fee. You or your family are responsible for these costs:

Preparation and travel costs

• Costs for compulsory medical and dental check-ups.
• Costs for a visa and any necessary vaccinations before departure.
• Return flight between Sweden and your host country. The ticket is booked in cooperation with Tranås Travel Agency.

Personal costs during the exchange

• Pocket money for daily expenses, clothes and personal equipment.
• Money for leisure activities, trips and outings not arranged by Rotary.
• Any cost for a school uniform if this is required.
• Costs for extra medical care or medicines not covered by the group insurance.

Costs related to hosting (for your family in Sweden)

• Any cost for transport in connection with picking up or dropping off at the airport the foreign exchange student your family may host.

We offer you the chance to choose among many different destinations. Because we can only send a limited number of applicants to each country, we ask you to name three countries you could imagine travelling to in your application. Of these three, only one may be an English-speaking country. Bear in mind that it is not possible to choose a specific region or province within a country.

In the vast majority of cases you get a placement in one of the three countries you named in your application, provided it reached us in time and your family is able to be a host family. When you receive notice of your country placement, you also have the chance to get in touch with students who are on site or have come home from that country, should you have any questions.

In the vast majority of cases, a year of school abroad through an exchange program cannot be directly counted towards your Swedish upper-secondary diploma. Your exchange year formally counts as a study break from your Swedish upper-secondary education. To get exact information about what applies to your particular situation and school, we strongly recommend that you discuss this early in the process with the principal of your Swedish upper-secondary school.

The formal application deadline for Rotary Youth Exchange is 31 December, and we strongly recommend that you complete your full application before this date.

However, we do hold a second round of admissions with late applications, depending on which countries still have places available for Swedish students.

You'll need to check with CSN yourself whether you may be entitled to study support.

Rotary does not offer separate scholarships specifically intended to cover the program fee for Rotary Youth Exchange.

This is because the program fee is already considerably lower than the cost of equivalent programs at commercial organisations. This reduced cost is made possible through the extensive voluntary commitment of Rotary's members, Swedish Rotarians, who thereby subsidise the program for all participants.

No, you may not drive any motorised vehicle at all during the exchange year.

The goal of Rotary Youth Exchange is for you as an exchange student to have as rich and complete a cultural and social experience as possible. An important part of this is getting to know many different people and fully integrating into your host family, school and local community in your host country.

For that reason, the recommendation within the program is to refrain from starting exclusive romantic relationships during the exchange year. Our experience shows that focusing on a single relationship can limit your opportunities to build a broad network and fully explore every aspect of your new environment. By keeping your social contacts broad, you get more out of your time abroad and maximise your personal growth.

We appreciate that you have passionate interests and talents. The goal of Rotary Youth Exchange is broad cultural and personal growth through full integration into a host family and a local school in your host country.

Placements are made based on where in your host country there are available and suitable host families and school places. This means we normally cannot guarantee placement in a specific town, school or near facilities based on the possibility of practising a particular sport or hobby at an elite level.

Your local Rotary club and your host family in the host country will, however, be very helpful in supporting you to find opportunities to continue your leisure activity within the resources available in your local area.