Apply at least four months before the project starts; for long-term projects, six months is better. Applying late rarely works: if a project starts in June, applying in May is almost useless, because the host organisation has to allow for your visa process, which can take weeks. Our guide on what the European Solidarity Corps (ESC) is explains that programme, and our guide on what Erasmus+ is explains Erasmus+.
Last updated: November 2026.
How early should you apply before the project starts?
Apply at least four months before the project starts; for long-term projects, six months is better. Many calls circulating online are old: the deadline has passed, the place is filled or the project never started. Apply to calls with a current date on the official portal, and complete your portal profile fully. Most applications are rejected at the first screening because the applicant did not read the details of the call. In the European Solidarity Corps, 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. In Erasmus+ Youth Exchanges, participants must be between the minimum age of 13 and the maximum age of 30 at the start date of the activity, and must live in the countries of their sending and receiving organisations. Our guide on Erasmus+ and ESC age limits explains the age rules, and how to find Erasmus+ and ESC projects shows where the calls are.
What happens between your application and the answer?
In a cross-border ESC volunteering project, the support organisation does not choose or send you; the host organisation selects you. Host organisations select volunteers mainly by the volunteer profile the project needs and by the CV and motivation letter; the motivation letter should clearly state your personal qualities, what volunteering means to you, why you want to join that project and what it will give you. Hosting organisations often use a selection process with several steps to understand a candidate's real motivation. If you are applying for a position abroad, you may be invited to an online interview. When an organisation replies, it is usually talking to several candidates; a candidate who answers two days later is often eliminated. During your application period, check your email every day, including the spam folder; if a week passes without a reply, send a short, polite reminder. After you apply to an Erasmus+ youth project, you may or may not receive an email confirming that your application arrived. Selected applicants are always contacted, but rejected applicants are often not contacted at all. The time until the first answer varies; it usually becomes clear 3 to 4 weeks before the start date of the activity, but participants can also be included at the last minute. Our guide on how to apply for Erasmus+ or ESC explains the application, and what to do when you heard nothing covers the wait.
What do you do after you are selected for an ESC project?
After you are selected for an ESC project, these steps come before departure:
🔢 PRN: share your PRN (Personal Registration Number) by email with both the host and the sending organisation; it is needed, among other things, for the insurance enrolment. Without a PRN, you cannot be insured and cannot be officially registered in the project. Our guide on how to register on the ESC Portal explains where you find your PRN.
✍️ Volunteering agreement: you see the text before signing and you sign first. In practice the volunteering agreement is signed at least two weeks before the activity starts, and the fully signed agreement is needed for the visa application. Our guide on the volunteering agreement explains what you sign.
🛡️ Insurance: your insurance enrolment must be done before departure (usually 2 weeks in advance) and covers the duration of the activity, including travel days. After you accept the invitation from the ESC system, Henner emails the insurance within 5 to 7 working days. If the policy has not arrived by your visa appointment, email clientservice-ESC@henner.com and ask for your insurance certificate. Our guide on insurance for ESC volunteers explains the Henner insurance.
🛂 Visa: a visa is a personal procedure: you apply personally; the organisations provide the documents. It is strongly recommended that the authorisations are requested from the competent authorities well in advance, since the process may take several weeks. For the visa, the sending organisation gives a support letter confirming that you take part in an ESC project and that your costs are covered; ask for it at least 5 working days in advance. Our guide on visas and residence permits lists the documents.
✈️ Ticket: never buy your plane ticket before the visa is issued. Before buying, email the route, date, time and price to the host organisation and get its approval (this is required). Our guide on how flights are booked and reimbursed covers the ticket step by step.
🎓 Pre-departure training: the training is mandatory only for participants in cross-border volunteering activities and should take place at least one month before departure. Before departure, the support organisation holds a short online meeting that explains the general process. Pre-departure training lasts about 1 to 3 days face to face, or 1 to 2 hours online, and is organised in your own country. Our guide on before you go explains the preparation.
What happens when you arrive and during an ESC project?
On-arrival training is for participants in volunteering activities of at least 2 months; for individual volunteering of less than 2 months and for volunteering teams, the host or support organisation ensures it. The mid-term evaluation is only for volunteering activities of 6 months and longer. ESC volunteers work at least 30 and not more than 38 hours a week; the rest of the time is their own. ESC volunteers work five days a week and, in addition, have 2 days of leave per month, which they can combine. Ask your host organisation for your mentor's contact details before the activity starts, so the mentor can help you during preparation. Our guide on your first steps as an ESC volunteer explains the first weeks, and your ESC mentor explains the mentor's role.
What should you do before and after you go home from an ESC project?
Ask your host organisation for the Youthpass certificate at least one week before you return home; a Youthpass left to the last day is either incomplete or never issued. You receive a certificate of participation in the European Solidarity Corps portal at the end of your volunteering experience, provided that the activity is finalised and you have submitted your participant report. The participant report is filled in online through a link sent automatically after you return from the project. Staying in the country after the project ends must be agreed with the organisation; there is no standard practice. The European Solidarity Corps event takes place once a year and volunteers are invited, but not everyone can attend; long-term volunteers are given priority. After the volunteering activity, start a local Solidarity project or join Erasmus+ opportunities like Youth exchanges. Your total time in European Solidarity Corps volunteering activities must not exceed 12 months, and the activities must not overlap. Our guide on what Youthpass is explains the certificate, after your project covers what comes next, and doing ESC more than once explains a second project.
Is the timeline different for a Youth Exchange or a training course?
The info pack is shared at the application stage, so you already know all the conditions; you then fill in the application form and, if selected, coordinate the rest with the organisation. After confirmation, the process usually continues with the ticket and the ticket confirmation. In Youth Exchanges and training courses, the agreement is usually signed between the sending and the receiving organisation, not with the individual participants. For Youth Exchanges, Volunteering Teams, training courses, seminars and study visits, young people apply to the call itself; the call may ask you to apply directly, or it may name a sending organisation in your country through which you have to apply, so you must read the details of each call. In Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps projects, participants usually buy their own ticket first and the organisation reimburses them afterwards; for participants with limited financial means, organisations can also support them, so this should be agreed with the sending and host organisations before buying. When travel costs are reimbursed differs from project to project; it should be written in the info pack, and if it is not, you must clarify it with the organisation before the project. In Erasmus+ youth projects that ask selected participants for a participation fee, the fee is usually deducted from the travel reimbursement, not paid in advance. In Youth Exchanges, the learning period includes a planning period before the application, a preparation phase before the exchange, and evaluation and follow-up after the exchange. Our guide on Youth Exchanges explains that activity, and training courses explains the other.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to hear back after you apply?
The time until the first answer varies; it usually becomes clear 3 to 4 weeks before the start date of the activity, but participants can also be included at the last minute. Our guide on what to do when you heard nothing covers the wait.
Can you buy your ticket before the visa is issued?
No: never buy your plane ticket before the visa is issued. Our guide on how flights are booked and reimbursed covers the ticket step by step.
When do you sign the ESC volunteering agreement?
In practice the volunteering agreement is signed at least two weeks before the activity starts, and the fully signed agreement is needed for the visa application. Our guide on the volunteering agreement explains what you sign.
What if your ESC insurance has not arrived?
If the policy has not arrived by your visa appointment, email clientservice-ESC@henner.com and ask for your insurance certificate. Our guide on insurance for ESC volunteers explains the Henner insurance.
When should you ask for your Youthpass?
Ask your host organisation for the Youthpass certificate at least one week before you return home. Our guide on what Youthpass is explains the certificate.
Where to go next
Youth Works Hub has a Match page that finds projects suited to you; using Match requires an account on the site, and signing up with Google is available but not required. The Youth Works Hub pages below cover each step in detail.
Related pages: how to apply for Erasmus+ or ESC · the volunteering agreement · insurance for ESC volunteers · visas and residence permits · how flights are booked and reimbursed · before you go
👉 ESC projects: youthworkshub.org/?tab=esc-projects
👉 Erasmus+ projects: youthworkshub.org/?tab=erasmus-projects
