One key aspect of the activities carried out under the European Solidarity Corps is that the participant must at all time be under a safe environment. The training and evaluation that the European Solidarity Corps provides guides young participants through a non-formal learning process before, during and after their period of activity. Participants in European Solidarity Corps projects may need to obtain a visa for staying abroad in the EU Member States and third countries not associated to the Programme hosting the activity. Our guide on how to apply for Erasmus+ or ESC takes the application steps one by one, and your first steps as an ESC volunteer picks up where this page ends. The Before You Go guide covers the preparation for a European Solidarity Corps volunteering activity, and the visa section also covers Erasmus+ projects.
Last updated: October 2026.
What do you sign before a European Solidarity Corps volunteering activity?
Prior to their departure, each young person participating in individual or team volunteering activities supported by the European Solidarity Corps must sign a volunteering agreement using the template provided by the European Commission, an agreement that includes at least the following provisions.
📄 Rights and obligations: the rights and obligations of the parties to that agreement, the duration and location of deployment and a description of the tasks involved.
🩺 Insurance: reference to the terms of the participants' insurance.
💶 Financial contribution: financial contribution from the Corps.
🧰 Tasks: tasks to be carried out during the activity.
✅ Clearance: where appropriate, reference to the relevant clearance requirements, in accordance with applicable national law.
Our guide on the agreement you sign before starting goes through the document clause by clause, and whether ESC is fully funded explains what the programme pays and what it does not.
Do you need a visa or a residence permit for Erasmus+ or the European Solidarity Corps?
Participants in European Solidarity Corps projects may need to obtain a visa for staying abroad in the EU Member States and third countries not associated to the Programme hosting the activity. Participants in Erasmus+ projects may need to obtain a visa for staying abroad in the EU Member States and third countries associated to the Programme or third countries not associated to the Programme hosting the activity. Requesting the authorisations from the competent authorities well in advance is strongly recommended, since the process may take several weeks.
In Humanitarian Aid Volunteering, you can request and should receive help from the participating organisations in obtaining a visa, for example by providing you a supporting letter. In Humanitarian Aid Volunteering, issuing a visa or residence permit is however the ultimate decision of a country's authority. The EU Immigration Portal contains general information on visa and residence permits, for both short-term and long-term stays.
Our guide on visa and residence for ESC and Erasmus+ walks through the paperwork country by country, and which countries can take part shows where you can apply from.
How are you insured as a European Solidarity Corps volunteer?
The European Solidarity Corps supports insurance coverage, when needed, either through the insurance provided by the European Commission for cross-border activities or through reimbursement of the costs linked to insurance for in-country activities. The European Solidarity Corps provides insurance coverage from the moment participants leave their residence to the host country until their return home after finishing the activity. Information about the coverage and support available through the insurance for participants, as well as instructions for enrolment, is available on the website of the insurance company. Our guide on insurance for ESC volunteers goes through the claims and the paperwork in detail.
Which trainings do European Solidarity Corps volunteers take part in?
The training and evaluation cycle is for volunteers, including those volunteering in Humanitarian Aid, and participants in Solidarity Projects can take part only in annual events.
🌍 Specific training for candidate volunteers in humanitarian aid volunteering: managed by the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) and implemented by a contractor.
🎒 Pre-departure training: for participants in cross-border volunteering activities, ensured by support organisations for individual volunteering or host and support organisation for volunteering teams, for those volunteers coming from countries other than the one where the activity takes place.
🛬 On-arrival training: for participants in volunteering activities of at least 2 months, ensured by National Agencies in case of volunteering in EU Member States or third countries associated to the Programme, SALTOs in case of volunteering in third countries not associated to the Programme, host or support organisations in case of individual volunteering activity of less than 2 months, volunteering teams and Humanitarian Aid volunteering.
🔄 Mid-term evaluation: for long term individual cross-border volunteers and long term individual in-country volunteers, the mid-term evaluation is mandatory for activities longer than 6 months.
🎉 Annual event: an annual European Solidarity Corps event is foreseen for all participants taking part in Volunteering, including Humanitarian Aid volunteering and those implementing Solidarity Projects.
Our guide on your first steps as an ESC volunteer explains each session of the training and evaluation cycle, and what comes after your project covers what follows the activity.
How do you prepare the language for a European Solidarity Corps activity?
Participants in volunteering activities including Volunteering Teams in High Priority Areas and Humanitarian Aid Volunteering and Solidarity Projects are eligible to receive language learning support through the Online Language Support (OLS). Our guide on what Online Language Support is shows how the free courses work, and what being fully funded means sets out which costs the programme carries.
What else should you sort out before you leave for Humanitarian Aid Volunteering?
The Info Kit for Volunteers in Humanitarian Aid has a checklist for before the activity.
📘 Info Kit: in Humanitarian Aid Volunteering, read the Info Kit and go through it with your support organisation.
🛂 Visa: in Humanitarian Aid Volunteering, apply for visa and/or residence permit if required.
💉 Vaccinations: in Humanitarian Aid Volunteering, make sure that you have the necessary vaccinations and medical certifications.
🩺 Insurance enrolment: in Humanitarian Aid Volunteering, make sure you are enrolled for the Henner insurance and read the Henner insurance guide.
✍️ Agreement: in Humanitarian Aid Volunteering, sign the volunteering agreement.
🎒 Training: in Humanitarian Aid Volunteering, take part in the pre-departure training provided by the support organisation.
🗣️ Language: in Humanitarian Aid Volunteering, consider taking language courses with Online Language Support.
💻 General Online Training: in Humanitarian Aid Volunteering, explore the General Online Training.
The European Youth Portal offers European and national information and opportunities that are of interest to young people who are living, learning and working in Europe. The European Youth Portal provides information in 28 languages. Our guide on how to register on the ESC Portal covers the account itself, and how to find Erasmus+ and ESC projects shows where opportunities are published.
What happens after you arrive at your European Solidarity Corps project?
In Humanitarian Aid Volunteering, during the activity you take part in on-arrival training and mid-term evaluation if applicable, enjoy your volunteering activity and meet your peers, meet regularly with your mentor, learn languages using OLS, take advantage of the General Online Training and establish your Youthpass learning path with your host organisation. In Humanitarian Aid Volunteering, after the activity you fill the volunteer survey, request your Youthpass certificate, check out the General Online Training after-activity modules, attend events or post-volunteering meet-ups if organised by EACEA, the Commission or National Agencies, and check the European Solidarity Corps community on the European Youth Portal. In addition to the Training and Evaluation Cycle, participants receive continuous counselling and guidance before, during and after the activity period, while training for project managers, mentors and trainers adds up to a complex set of measures accompanying participants and participating organisations throughout the European Solidarity Corps experience. Our guide on what comes after your project covers the months that follow, your ESC mentor and what they do describes the person who supports you on site, and how to put Youthpass on your CV and LinkedIn turns the certificate into something employers read.
Frequently asked questions
Is the pre-departure training obligatory?
The pre-departure training is only mandatory to participants in cross-border volunteering activities. The preparation should take place at least one month before departure. Our guide on your first steps as an ESC volunteer explains each training session.
Do you need a European Health Insurance Card?
If applicable, it is strongly recommended that participants in transnational activities taking place in EU Member States or some third countries associated to the programme are in possession of a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). The European Health Insurance Card is a free card that gives access to medically necessary, state-provided healthcare during a temporary stay in any of the 27 EU countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. Our guide on insurance for ESC volunteers explains how the card works with the European Solidarity Corps insurance.
When does your insurance start and end?
The European Solidarity Corps provides insurance coverage from the moment participants leave their residence to the host country until their return home after finishing the activity. The insurance also covers follow-up medical treatments until 2 months after finishing the activity. Our guide on insurance for ESC volunteers covers the full insurance period.
Does the insurance cover your free time?
Your insurance plan covers you 24 hours a day, worldwide during both private and project related activities. In countries other than your home and hosting country, you are covered only for unplanned treatment, meaning emergency treatment, and emergency treatment is the consequence of an accident or an unexpected illness. Our guide on insurance for ESC volunteers explains what the cover includes.
Is the mid-term evaluation mandatory for a six month activity?
No, for long term individual cross-border volunteers and long term individual in-country volunteers, the mid-term evaluation is mandatory for activities longer than 6 months. Our guide on your first steps as an ESC volunteer covers the mid-term evaluation with the rest of the training cycle.
Can you get the language grant for a short activity?
The 150 EUR contribution is only for activities lasting 60 days or more. For cross-border activities the support is only for languages and/or levels not offered by the Online Language Support. Our guide on how long an ESC project lasts shows the duration of each activity, so you can check whether yours reaches the 60 days.
Sort it out once, then go
Work through the list in order and the weeks before departure stop feeling like a race. The related pages below from Youth Works Hub cover each part of this guide in more detail.
Related pages: your first steps as an ESC volunteer · the agreement you sign before starting · insurance for ESC volunteers · visa and residence for ESC and Erasmus+ · what Online Language Support is · what comes after your project
👉 ESC projects: youthworkshub.org/category/esc-projects
👉 Erasmus+ projects: youthworkshub.org/category/erasmus-projects
