European Solidarity Corps (ESC) volunteering is a full-time unpaid activity with a duration of up to 12 months, and participation must be free of charge for you. Individual Volunteering is from 2 weeks to 12 months, excluding travel time. ESC volunteering is fully funded: technically you pay nothing, although you sometimes pay costs such as tickets and visas first and are reimbursed afterwards. Our guide on what the European Solidarity Corps is explains the programme, what ESC volunteering means for you covers the personal side, and the sections below cover the funded options in the European Solidarity Corps and Erasmus+.
Last updated: November 2026.
Which programmes can fill a whole year?
The options below can fill a whole year:
🔹 Individual Volunteering: Individual Volunteering is a solidarity activity that lasts from 2 weeks to 12 months, excluding travel time. You may volunteer in a country other than the one where you live (cross-border) or in the country where you live (in-country). Our guide on how long an ESC project lasts covers the durations.
🔹 Humanitarian Aid Volunteering: Humanitarian Aid Volunteering takes place in third countries where there are ongoing humanitarian aid operations. Young people aged 18 to 35 years old can contribute to society by short-term or long-term volunteering activities aimed at improving living conditions of people in need. Individual volunteering in the field of humanitarian aid lasts from 2 to 12 months, excluding travel time. In Humanitarian Aid Volunteering, each opportunity names the host country; the country is not fixed in advance. Our guide on Humanitarian Aid Volunteering explains this strand.
🔹 Erasmus+ traineeship for recent graduates: if you are a recent higher education graduate, you may participate in a mobility for traineeships of 2 to 12 months of physical mobility, excluding travel time. You must be selected by your higher education institution during your last year of study and must carry out and complete your traineeship abroad within one year of obtaining your graduation. Your university may opt out of recent graduate traineeships. Our guide on paid internships abroad covers the traineeship options, and Erasmus+ after graduation covers the route for recent graduates.
What does a funded gap year cover?
In the European Solidarity Corps, you are entitled to travel costs from your place of origin to the venue of the activity and return, free food and accommodation and subsistence costs such as local travel provided by the host organisation. Your accommodation must remain available to you throughout the entire activity period, including holidays. You will receive a small allowance (pocket money) for your personal expenses throughout the duration of the activity, including travel days and vacations. ESC volunteering is fully funded: technically you pay nothing, although you sometimes pay costs such as tickets and visas first and are reimbursed afterwards. Our guide on what makes ESC fully funded goes through each cost.
Can you fill the year with shorter projects?
Yes: you can take part in multiple individual cross-border volunteering activities lasting up to 2 months, multiple volunteering teams activities and multiple in-country volunteering activities. The shorter options are:
🔹 Volunteering Teams: Volunteering Teams are from 2 weeks up to 59 days, excluding travel days. In volunteering teams, European Solidarity Corps' volunteers carry out tasks for a project over a short period of time, usually, but not only, during holidays, breaks between study periods or the transition from education to work. Volunteering Teams can take place at any time of the year. Our guide on Volunteering Teams explains the format.
🔹 Youth Exchange: Youth Exchanges are meetings of groups of young people from at least two different countries who gather for a short period to implement together a non-formal learning programme on a topic of their interest. The duration of the activity is from 5 to 21 days, excluding travel days. In Youth Exchanges and youth worker activities, food and accommodation are fully covered for participants; this is mandatory, not an exception. In Erasmus+ Youth Exchanges, participants receive no pocket money or cash allowance. Our guide on what a Youth Exchange is explains how one works.
🔹 DiscoverEU: you can apply if you are 18 years old and a citizen or resident of one of the Member States of the European Union including its outermost regions, the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) associated with the European Union, or the third countries associated to the Erasmus+ programme (Iceland, Liechtenstein, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia and Türkiye). If successful, you can travel for up to 7 days in a period of maximum one month. If successful, you only receive the travel passes and the DiscoverEU discount card, and you cover accommodation, subsistence, insurance, travel supplements and any other expenses related to the travel yourself. Our guide on what DiscoverEU is explains the programme.
In the European Solidarity Corps, you can take part in a single individual cross-border volunteering activity longer than 2 months. Your total time in European Solidarity Corps volunteering activities must not exceed 12 months and your activities must not overlap. A second ESC project outside the normal rules is a very rare exception and is possible only if the National Agency approves it. For a second ESC project, it is the organisation that applies to the National Agency. There is no waiting period between two activities; the next activity can start even the next day. 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 second ESC project rules covers the combinations.
What can you not do during the year?
During a long-term European Solidarity Corps project you cannot continue formal education (university, master's, doctorate) in the host country, and you cannot do paid work during the project, even in your free time. ESC is not a temporary or part-time job, an internship or paid work, only fun, a tourist trip or a language course, cheap labour, or university study abroad. The aim of ESC is that the volunteer makes a concrete contribution to the community, develops personally and experiences intercultural solidarity. Our guide on what ESC volunteering means for you explains what you can expect.
What about your studies or university place?
Studies and work need planning: short-term projects fit summer holidays or semester breaks, while for a long-term project university students usually suspend their enrolment. The time is not lost: you use a foreign language daily, learn to live abroad and take responsibility in an organisation, and these are documented gains that count in job applications. Your level of education is not a barrier: someone who has only finished middle school can also take part in European Solidarity Corps projects. Our guide on short Erasmus+ options covers a single semester abroad.
Who can take a funded gap year?
Who can take a funded gap year depends on the programme:
🔹 Individual Volunteering and Volunteering Teams: you can take part if you are between 18 and 30 years, are legally residing in an EU Member State, a third country associated to the Programme or in a third country not associated to the Programme and have registered in the European Solidarity Corps Portal. You must have reached 18 and must not be older than 30 at the start date of the activity.
🔹 Humanitarian Aid Volunteering: you can take part if you are aged 18 to 35, are legally residing in an EU Member State or in a third country associated to the Programme and have registered in the European Solidarity Corps Portal to express your interest in Humanitarian Aid Volunteering. If you apply for individual volunteering, you must not have yet participated in the European Solidarity Corps' Humanitarian Aid individual volunteering. You must also have successfully completed the mandatory trainings organised by the European Commission. You must have reached 18 and must not be older than 35 at the start date of the activity.
Our guide on Erasmus+ and ESC age limits goes through the age rules, and options for adults over 30 covers what comes after.
Frequently asked questions
Do I pay anything?
No: participation in volunteering activities must be free of charge for the volunteer. ESC volunteering is fully funded: technically you pay nothing, although you sometimes pay costs such as tickets and visas first and are reimbursed afterwards. Our guide on what makes ESC fully funded goes through each cost.
Can I work part-time?
No: you cannot do paid work during a long-term European Solidarity Corps project, even in your free time. Our guide on what ESC volunteering means for you explains what you can expect.
Can I do two projects in one year?
Yes: you can take part in multiple individual cross-border volunteering activities lasting up to 2 months, multiple volunteering teams activities and multiple in-country volunteering activities. You can take part in a single individual cross-border volunteering activity longer than 2 months. A second ESC project outside the normal rules is a very rare exception and is possible only if the National Agency approves it. Your total time in European Solidarity Corps volunteering activities must not exceed 12 months and your activities must not overlap. There is no waiting period between two activities; the next activity can start even the next day. Our guide on second ESC project rules covers the combinations.
Is ESC an internship?
No: ESC is not a temporary or part-time job, an internship or paid work, only fun, a tourist trip or a language course, cheap labour, or university study abroad. Our guide on what the European Solidarity Corps is explains the programme.
Do I get a certificate?
Yes: if you take part in European Solidarity Corps activities, you are entitled to go through the Youthpass process and receive a Youthpass certificate at the end of the process. Youthpass identifies and documents the competences you developed during the project. Our guide on what Youthpass is explains the certificate.
Where do you go from here?
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 using Match requires creating an account on the site. Our guide on how to find projects shows where the offers are published. Our guide on what Eurodesk is explains where to look for more options.
Related pages: how to find projects · what makes ESC fully funded · short Erasmus+ options · second ESC project rules · what Eurodesk is
👉 ESC projects: youthworkshub.org/?tab=esc-projects
👉 Erasmus+ projects: youthworkshub.org/?tab=erasmus-projects
