About

Ready for a live-changing adventure and the chance to make a real difference? Joining the European Solidarity Corps can be your next big move! Whether you want to travel across and beyond Europe or work on cool projects in your community, here’s what you need to know to get started: 

Who can join?

• You can sign up as early as 17, but the action only starts when you hit 18!
• You can participate until the age of 30 (or 35 if you’re applying for Humanitarian Aid Volunteering).
• You can register if you’re a resident in one of the eligible countries.
• You can only apply to activities open to people from your country of residence. 

What can you do?

• Choose between:
  • Volunteering activities
  • Solidarity Projects
  • Humanitarian Aid Volunteering
• Projects run from 2 weeks up to a whole year.
• Dig into fields like culture, environment, health, sports, and many more. 

Any rules to follow?

• For projects funded from 2024 onwards, all your volunteering activities combined can’t go over 12 months (time limit). Volunteering activities, Humanitarian Aid Volunteering and European Voluntary Service (EVS) count toward your time limit, but Solidarity Projects don’t.
• Projects funded between 2021 and 2023 (and still running) follow the rules from those years, so the time limit doesn’t apply. You can find the funding year in the project number.
• Your volunteering activities cannot overlap.
• You can only do one Long-term individual cross-border volunteering activity (2 months - 12 months). Exceptions can be allowed but only in rare and justified cases.
• You can participate only once in Humanitarian Aid individual volunteering.
• After a Humanitarian Aid individual volunteering you can no longer participate in a Long-term individual cross-border volunteering activity, but if you start with a Long-term individual cross-border volunteering, you can then do a Humanitarian Aid individual volunteering.  
• You can do multiple Short-term volunteering activities (2 weeks - 2 months).
• You can also take part in multiple Solidarity Projects (2 months – 12 months), which don’t count towards the time limit.

How to get started?

1. Register on the European Solidarity Corps portal.
2. Get access to a personal dashboard filled with opportunities.
3. If you are into volunteering, apply to opportunities - organisations can also contact you if you match with their projects.
4. If you're up for Humanitarian Aid, there’s a special test and training you’ll need to complete.
5. If you want to start a local Solidarity Project, you’ll need to apply for direct funding. 

Remember, the European Solidarity Corps wants everyone to get a shot at volunteering, so even though there are some limits, there’s a ton of opportunities out there.  

If you need a hand, reach out to your National Agency or regional SALTO — or EACEA if for Humanitarian Aid volunteering — they’re your go-to for help.

So, are you ready to dive into this adventure and create some incredible stories along the way? Let’s get started!