Yes: having taken part in a European Solidarity Corps (ESC) project before is not an obstacle, and you can take part again as long as your total time in ESC volunteering does not exceed 12 months. Solidarity Projects are not included in the 12-month time limit. Which second activity you can do depends on the first activity you carried out. Our guide on ESC project lengths explains how the 12 months and each activity's duration are counted.
Last updated: November 2026.
Which ESC activities can you do more than once?
A volunteer can take part in:
🎯 Long term individual cross-border volunteering: a single individual cross-border volunteering activity longer than 2 months; a second individual cross-border volunteering activity longer than 2 months is allowed only if the National Agency approves it.
🔁 Short-term individual volunteering: multiple individual cross-border volunteering activities lasting up to 2 months, that is up to 59 days, excluding travel days.
👥 Volunteering Teams: multiple volunteering teams activities.
🏠 In-country volunteering: multiple in-country volunteering activities.
Volunteering may take place in a country other than your country of residence (cross-border) or in your country of residence (in-country).
Our guide on ESC Volunteering Teams explains the group format.
What can you do after your first activity?
The European Solidarity Corps Guide has a table of the possible combinations of activities: it shows the first activity carried out by a participant and the subsequent activities open to them.
✅ After short term individual volunteering (cross-border or in-country), volunteering teams, long term individual in-country volunteering, a Solidarity Project or humanitarian aid teams volunteering: you can do every activity in the table without exception: short term individual volunteering, volunteering teams, long term individual cross-border volunteering, long term individual in-country volunteering, a Solidarity Project, humanitarian aid individual volunteering and humanitarian aid teams volunteering.
⚠️ After long term individual cross-border volunteering: you can do short term individual volunteering, volunteering teams, long term individual in-country volunteering, a Solidarity Project, humanitarian aid individual volunteering and humanitarian aid teams volunteering, but a second long term individual cross-border volunteering is a very rare exception and is possible only if the National Agency approves it.
⚠️ After humanitarian aid individual volunteering: you can do short term individual volunteering, volunteering teams, long term individual in-country volunteering, a Solidarity Project and humanitarian aid teams volunteering, but long term individual cross-border volunteering is a very rare exception and is possible only if the National Agency approves it, and humanitarian aid individual volunteering is not open to you again.
Our guide on ESC Solidarity Projects explains the project you run with your own group.
Can you do a second long ESC project abroad?
A volunteer can take part in a single individual cross-border volunteering activity longer than 2 months. A second individual cross-border volunteering activity longer than 2 months is allowed only if the National Agency approves it. A second long-term project is approved only very rarely. For a second ESC project, it is the organisation that applies to the National Agency. Our guide on what National Agencies are explains their role.
Can you do Humanitarian Aid Volunteering after another ESC activity?
Yes: if you have already participated in a volunteering project or a solidarity project under the European Solidarity Corps, you can still apply for Humanitarian Aid Volunteering. To join the Humanitarian Aid Volunteering training, you must not have done more than 6 months of EU volunteering activities in total, because young people are limited to a maximum of 12 months of participation in the programme. If you have already done long-term individual volunteering in humanitarian aid once, you cannot do it again in another country. Our guide on Humanitarian Aid Volunteering explains that strand.
How soon can your next activity start?
There is no waiting period between two activities; the next activity can start even the next day. The total amount of time spent by a young person in European Solidarity Corps volunteering activities must not exceed 12 months and the activities carried out must not overlap. Erasmus+ and ESC durations are not counted together: Erasmus+ Youth Exchanges and training courses do not count towards the 12 months of ESC volunteering. Our guide on the difference between ESC and Erasmus+ compares the two programmes.
Frequently asked questions
Does a Solidarity Project count towards the 12 months?
No: Solidarity Projects are not included in the 12-month time limit. Our guide on ESC Solidarity Projects explains how they work.
Is there an age limit for my next activity?
Yes: participants must have reached 18 and must not be older than 30 at the start date of the activity. For participants in humanitarian aid related solidarity activities, the upper age limit at the start of the activity is 35 years old. Our guide on Erasmus+ and ESC options if you are over 30 covers the options after that age.
Plan your next ESC activity
Youth Works Hub has a Match page that finds projects suited to you: it asks 8 questions and shows the results as a swipeable deck of cards, and saved projects stay on your profile page. Using Match requires creating an account on the site; signing up with Google is available but not required.
Related pages: ESC project lengths · what the European Solidarity Corps is · Humanitarian Aid Volunteering · what comes after your project · leaving a project early
👉 ESC projects: youthworkshub.org/?tab=esc-projects
