Volunteer with us
We are a volunteer-based organisation
The ELIL team consists of full-time lawyers registered with the Greek and Polish bar associations, as well as interpretation and project management staff. Our work would not be possible without the contribution of volunteer lawyers, legal assistants and volunteer interpreters. If you would like to get involved, check out the roles below to see which one fits your skillset and availability best:
Volunteer Lawyer
3 week placements for qualified lawyers around Europe with experience and knowledge of asylum and international protection law in their home country.
Volunteer lawyers support our staff lawyers to provide legal advice to asylum seekers in personalised interview preparations. Additionally, volunteer lawyers sometimes draft supplementary documents to support cases, including memos for caseworkers. Please note that knowledge of the Greek legal framework is not necessary to volunteer with us. We welcome anyone with experience and familiarity with asylum law in your home country.
Essential skills and experience:
Training/experience in asylum law and the law of International Protection
Written and spoken proficiency in English
Membership of a Bar association or law society in the EEA or Switzerland.
The minimum stay for volunteer lawyers is 3 weeks. Positions are available in our Athens and Lesvos offices. ELIL covers the cost of travel (a one-off cost of up to 400eur), as well as the cost of accommodation..
For more detailed information, please see this role description.
To apply, please fill in this form.
3-month placements for trainee lawyers to gain in depth experience in asylum law.
Legal assistants (including German referendare and French avocats stagaires) support lawyers with first instance interview preparation and family reunification cases under the Dublin III regulation. Tasks include researching and preparing memos, communicating and gathering evidence with applications, registering new and following up with existing cases.
Essential skills and experience:
Proficiency in English
Training/experience in asylum law and the law of international protection is an asset.
The minimum stay for a legal assistant is 3 months, although we prioritise applications who can commit to longer. Positions are available in our Athens, Lesvos and Thessaloniki offices.
For more information for prospective German referendare, please see here.
For more information for prospective French avocats stagaires, please seehere.
We are currently welcoming applications from potential legal assistants from September 2026 onwards.
To apply, please fill in this form.
Legal Assistant
Volunteer Interpreters
2 week placements for linguists looking to gain experience working as an interpreter and with vulnerable groups.
ELIL’s work would not be possible without our dedicated and skilled team of staff and volunteer interpreters. They support our legal team in every aspect of their work. Tasks include interpretation of first instance interview preparation and family reunification cases, and supporting communication with applicants by interpreting phone calls and voice notes and translating emails and messages. Please note, ELIL’s working language is English.
Essential skills and experience:
Proficiency in English and at least one other relevant language (e.g. Arabic, Dari/Farsi, French, Lingala, Somali, Sorani, Kurmanji)
Previous training/experience of interpretation in the legal field and/or vulnerable groups is an asset.
The minimum stay for volunteer interpreters is 2 weeks. Positions are available in our Athens and Lesvos offices. ELIL covers the cost of travel (a one-off cost of up to 400eur), as well as the cost of accommodation.
To apply, please fill in this form.
Volunteer Interpretation network
ELIL has created a volunteer based legal interpreters’ network to respond to the rising needs in legal interpretation in Greece and Poland. We are offering a training by our interpreter coordinator, and the network works based on the volunteer’s availability and in an ad hoc basis.
If this is something you would be interested in, we would be very happy to collaborate with you!
Our volunteer interpretation network is completely on-line based, no inperson presence is needed. Collaboration hours/days are agreed upon discussion on an ad hoc basis. Participation/Completion of the training does not translate to any obligation to participate in the network.
Essential skills and experience:
Proficiency in English and at least one other relevant language (e.g. Arabic, Dari/Farsi, French, Lingala, Somali, Sorani, Kurmanji, Urdu, Hindi etc.)
Previous training/experience of the EU asylum procedures is appreciated.
To apply, please fill in this form.
Other volunteering opportunities
We always welcome new ideas to strengthen our programmes and support. If you think you could contribute to our work in any way, for example as a social worker or in a creative role (as a photographer, videographer or graphic designer), please fill in this form.
Fundraising
To support ELIL remotely, we would love to support you to set up a fundraiser for our work.
We are so grateful for anyone who wants to amplify the impact of our work, be it by raising awareness, connecting us with people who can support our work or by raising funds. We welcome any and all ideas. For information about how to get started, check out our community engagement guide.