European Solidarity Corps (ESC)

Verified 10 September 2026 - Public Service / (Prime Minister)

Are you between 18 and 30 years old and would like to take part in solidarity actions (fight against exclusion, help for people with disabilities, etc.)? The European Solidarity Corps (ESC) offers you missions in the countries of the or in partner countries. You are taken care of but the missions are not paid. We present you the information to know.

The European Solidarity Corps (ESC) allows you to carry out solidarity activities in France or in a foreigners country.

It replaced the European Voluntary Service (SVE).

You can participate in solidarity actions concerning in particular the following areas:

  • Combating exclusion
  • Education and training
  • Citizenship
  • Reception of refugees and migrants
  • Environment and nature protection
  • Support for people with disabilities
  • Health, culture, sport
  • Disaster prevention and reconstruction.

This volunteering allows you to acquire skills that can be useful for your professional integration.

It is also a personally rewarding experience.

Please note

You must commit to respecting the principles of the european solidarity corps.

The tasks of the European Solidarity Corps are of 3 types:

Volunteering

You are going on a solidarity mission to a country different from the one in which you are legally resident.

To leave, you have to go through a accredited body (an association for example) that offers missions (and pre-departure training).

Volunteering can be individual or team.

Solidarity Project

You have a local solidarity project (local, regional or national).

You must constitute a group of at least 5 people aged 18 to 30, legally residing in France.

If your project is selected, you will be able to benefit from direct funding.

The project can last from 2 to 12 months.

You can participate in your free time.

Humanitarian aid

You can participate in a humanitarian aid operation in a country outside the l'.

For example, disaster relief or protection of refugees and displaced persons.

Volunteering can be individual or team.

One pre-training (online and in-person) is mandatory.

FYI  

There are many applicants for humanitarian aid volunteering. You can therefore complete the mandatory training, without being selected for a mission afterwards.

Volunteering occupies a full-time (30 to 38 hours per week).

The duration of the mission depends on the type of volunteer chosen:

Individual volunteering

Short-term volunteering

The mission lasts for 2 weeks to 2 months (excluding travel days).

You are part of a group of at least 5 volunteers from at least 2 different countries.

FYI  

You can do as many individual and team volunteers as you like, up to a maximum of 12 months cumulatively.

Long-term volunteering

The mission lasts between 2 and 12 months (excluding travel days).

FYI  

You can do as many individual and team volunteers as you like, up to a maximum of 12 months cumulatively.

Volunteering as a team

The mission lasts for 2 weeks to 2 months (excluding travel days).

You are part of a group of at least 5 volunteers from at least 2 different countries.

FYI  

You can do as many individual and team volunteers as you like, up to a maximum of 12 months cumulatively.

The European Solidarity Corps does not impose a foreign language diploma or level requirement.

Other conditions exist.

Age

To join the European Solidarity Corps, you must be 18 to 30 years (35 years for volunteering in the field of humanitarian aid).

You can apply from the age of 17, provided you are 18 at the beginning of the project.

Residence

You must reside legally in a member country of l'.

A young person may also join the European Solidarity Corps if he or she resides in one of the following countries: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Turkey, North Macedonia.

Please note

For some projects, more stringent residency requirements are imposed.

The majority of volunteer missions take place in the following countries:

  • Member countries of the (UE)
  • Participating non-UE countries (Iceland, North Macedonia, Turkey, Liechtenstein).

Some European Solidarity Corps projects may also take place in countries neighboring partners of (Albania, Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Egypt, Georgia, Israel, Jordan, Kosovo, Lebanon, Libya, Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, Norway, Palestine, Russia, Serbia, Syria, Tunisia, Ukraine).

FYI  

You must apply for assignments outside the country in which you legally reside.

The organizations hosting volunteers are certified by the European Commission.

These may include:

  • Associations
  • Non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
  • Local authorities
  • Public non-profit institutions or bodies
  • Companies.

To participate in the ESC, you must register on the European Solidarity Corps portal:

Register on the European Solidarity Corps portal

The portal publishes offers of recognized organizations to which you can apply.

These organizations can also contact you directly after viewing your profile.

Please note

A delay of at least 3 months, which varies according to the sending organizations, is to be expected between the start of the procedures and the actual departure.

When your application is accepted, you sign a activity contract with your host organization.

The European Commission will then send you your European Youth Card. It's a digital map.

This card allows you to justify your status as a volunteer and to benefit from various benefits.

Before you leave, you will receive training (called preparation for sending).

It is organized by the recognized organization (association for example) that sends you on a mission.

During your volunteering, you benefit from the following support:

  • Training courses (called seminars, online or in person depending on the country concerned)
  • Language support (at least one access to an online learning platform)
  • Tutoring.

Training is mandatory if you carry out a mission of more than 2 months.

If your volunteering lasts more than 2 months, you must attend a seminar upon arrival (during the first weeks of volunteering).

If your volunteering lasts more than 6 months, you also participate in another seminar, at mid-term.

You benefit from the coverage of your costs, including the following costs:

  • Round trip
  • Visa
  • Accommodation.

You benefit from a insurance coverage, including medical and civil liability.

You receive a compensation, said pocket money, which varies from €4 à €12 per day depending on the country.

In addition to this pocket money, you are fed (or you receive a financial allowance to feed yourself).

Please note

If you have specific costs, for example due to a disability, they can also be covered.

Back to work allowance (Are)

You can be a jobseeker and volunteer ETUC.

During your assignment, you remain enrolled in France Travail (formerly Job center), but you change category in the classification of jobseekers.

You will be classified in category D. It corresponds to people who are unemployed but not immediately available.

The payment of your unemployment benefits is suspended during the duration of your mission and resume after it.

Warning  

Remember to update your situation before the start of your mission. You will avoid having to repay an overpayment to France Travail.

Your mission does not affect the amount and duration of your unemployment benefits.

At the end of your mission, you must update your situation with France Travail.

(RSA)

If you receive the RSA or the activity bonus, its payment is suspended for the duration of your ETUC volunteering.

It resumes at the end of the mission.

Remember to report your change of situation to your Caf: titleContent or your MSA: titleContent.

Caf

To report your change of situation to your Caf: titleContent, you can use an online service.

Family allowance fund (Caf) online

MSA

To report your change of situation to your MSA: titleContent, you can use your personal space online.

MSA - Private spaces

If your parents perceive the RSA or the activity bonus, you stay counted in their household.

Your allowance said pocket money shall not be taken into account in the calculation of their entitlements.

Volunteering with ETUC does not affect the amount of compensation received by your parents.

Disabled adult allowance (AAH)

The allowance and the AAH are cumulative.

The so-called allowance pocket money shall not be taken into account in the AAH calculation.

However, AAH payments stop if you stay more than 3 months abroad.

Student Grant

Being on a voluntary ETUC does not no impact on your right to a student scholarship, or on its amount.

The so-called allowance pocket money is not taken into account in the calculation of the scholarship.

You receive a certificate of participation which attests that you have taken part in activities of the European Solidarity Corps.

You can also valuing skills that you have acquired using the Youthpass.

It is a skills development tool created and recognized by the Agency in the youth and sport sector.

Your tutor will accompany you in your efforts.

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