On this page

1. EU programmes

2. Other Programmes

3. Legal framework applying to foreign volunteers

EU programmes

The ESC programme offers young people - in the age group 18-30 - jobs, traineeships and volunteering opportunities, in their own country or abroad. The Italian National Agency for Youth monitors the number of incoming participants and their country of origin, as well as the number of outgoing participants and the topic of their activities through the European platforms and software.

Other programmes

Legal framework applying to foreign volunteers

There is no specific legal framework for young people participating in volunteering activities in the above-mentioned programmes. However, for the EVS and ESC programmes, the Italian National Agency for Youth made an agreement with the Italian Ministry for Foreign Affairs aimed at facilitating the access in Italy of incoming volunteers from non-Schengen countries. The Agency communicates the name of the incoming volunteer to the Italian consulate and requests the visa to enter Italy.

Also young people who are citizens of other EU member states as well as those who are from extra EU countries can apply for the Civic Service, as long as they are regular residents in Italy.

Since 2019 it’s possible to apply exclusively online, through the portal “Domanda on Line” (Dol) and italian citizens who are resident either in Italy or abroad and extra EU citizens regularly located in Italy, must be equipped with a SPID (Public System for the Digital Identity) in order to access it.

For those who are from an EU country different from Italy, Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein and for citizens of extra EU countries who are waiting for the issuing of a residence permit, it’s possible to access the Dol platform by requesting specific credentials to the Department of Youth Policy and the Universal Civic Service, following a dedicated procedure that is available on the homepage of the platform.