How old do you need to be?
The European Solidarity Corps Guide 2026 sets three age rules:
- You can register on the Portal from 17, so you can prepare your profile before you are old enough to leave.
- To take part in volunteering you must be at least 18 and not older than 30 on the start date of the activity. What counts is your age on the first day: if you turn 31 during a 12-month placement, you can finish it.
- For humanitarian aid volunteering the upper limit is 35 on the start date.
If you are 30, check the start date of a project before applying: a project that starts after your 31st birthday is not open to you, even if the call is published earlier.
Which countries can you join from?
You must legally reside in one of these groups of countries:
- The 27 EU Member States.
- Countries associated to the programme: in 2026, Iceland, Liechtenstein, North Macedonia and Türkiye.
- Other partner countries, such as Norway, the Western Balkans, the Eastern Partnership countries (including Ukraine) and the Southern Mediterranean. Young people from these countries can join projects in Europe, but each project can spend only up to 25% of its grant on them, so places are more limited. Young people from Ukraine are exempt from this limit until at least March 2027.
What matters is where you legally live, not your passport. A young person with a residence permit in Italy, for example, takes part as a resident of Italy. Humanitarian aid volunteering is open only to residents of EU Member States and associated countries.
Do you need a degree, experience or a language?
No. The quality standards of the Corps say that no previous qualifications, educational level, specific experience or language knowledge can be required. Organisations must select volunteers in a fair and transparent way, without discrimination.
A host organisation may describe a more specific profile only when the tasks justify it: a project with young children may ask for a background check, and a project that needs a driving licence will say so. Most projects simply look for motivation, curiosity and willingness to learn.
For language, you will get free Online Language Support on the EU Academy platform if your activity lasts 2 months or more, and the host country language is often part of your training.
Can you take part more than once?
Yes, within a total limit of 12 months across all your volunteering activities, which must not overlap. Inside that limit:
- you can do several short individual placements (up to 2 months each), several volunteering teams and in-country activities;
- you can do one long-term individual placement abroad (over 2 months); a second one needs the approval of the National Agency;
- you can do humanitarian aid individual volunteering only once, and to start the mandatory humanitarian training you must not have more than 6 months of EU volunteering behind you.
Time you spent in the former European Voluntary Service (EVS) counts towards the 12 months.
What if you have fewer opportunities?
The Corps is designed to include young people who face obstacles: a disability, health problems, economic difficulties, living in a remote area, or a migrant background, for example. Projects that involve them receive extra funding for reinforced mentoring and tailor-made support, and they can cover costs such as an accompanying person or reasonable adjustments. Short formats like volunteering teams are often a good first step.
If this applies to you, say so to your sending organisation when you apply. It is not a reason to be excluded; it is a reason for the project to get more resources to support you.
What should you do first?
- Check the two basic requirements: your age on the start date and your country of residence.
- Create your profile on the European Solidarity Corps Portal. Organisations select volunteers among registered young people, so without a profile you cannot be selected.
- Find out what is covered and what you might still pay in Is the European Solidarity Corps free?
- Follow the steps in How to apply to the European Solidarity Corps and browse the open opportunities.
For an overview of the whole programme, go back to our European Solidarity Corps guide.