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International Internships

Take a look at Work Placement Abroad: from Europemobility network http://europemobility4all.eu/home/

International internships require you to do everything for a domestic one plus a whole new set of considerations. An international internship requires a big personal investment in research and planning time. The following is offered as a checklist of some of the things to consider:

Legalities

• Do you need a work permit, entry visa or other legal permission? If so these can take some time to arrange, plan well in advance.

Money advice:

• Try to avoid carrying large amounts of cash.

• Try to take several forms of payment and don’t keep them all in one place.

• Contact your Credit Card Companies and tell them you are going abroad – this should stop them blocking your card.

• Foreign cash withdrawals and transactions can incur additional transaction fees, find out in advance what these are for your different payment methods and be smart about how you buy things.

• When will you be paid the first time? There can be a considerable delay in you being paid increasing your need for upfront money. Will local tax be deducted and if so can you reclaim it at the end of your internship? If so how?

Dress code:

• There are multiple dress codes to be aware of:

  • Business dress code – the code of attire for the Company and work environment you will be working in. In some countries there are health and safety and/or hygiene restrictions on wearing certain items, including jewellery in some work places.

  • Climate dress code – the code dictated by the usual weather conditions.

  • Casual/Informal dress code – the normal code for the Country or place you are going to. These days this is the least important as casual dress code means much the same thing in most places.

  • Special locations dress code – the code dictated by places you may be visiting or may wish to visit is a ‘tourist’. This can include Religious or cultural buildings or site, other companies, tourist attractions, etc.

• Check on the typical range of weather conditions for where you are going and take appropriate clothing. There is no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing.

• If you are unsure about the business dress code for the Company you are undertaking your Internship in ask them. They would much prefer this that having to speak to you about a wholly inappropriate attire.

Packing and Travel

• Plan what you will be taking well in advance. Make a checklist for packing and important documents, for example.

• Don’t forget chargers for your electrical appliances (mobile phone, etc.).

• Do you need an electrical plug adaptor to allow you to connect your devices to the power socket?

• Take your University and/or Student card – you may be able to enjoy some unexpected and welcome student discounts.

Gifts

• Is it customary to give gifts where you are going?

Mobile Phones & Wireless Access

• Add at least one ICE (In Case of Emergency) number into your mobile. It would also be sueful to add in the contact details of your personal academic supervisor and/or person responsible for your internship from your home Institution so you have a ‘back to base’ connection.

• Most of the more modern Smart GSM phones are multi-band devices meaning they will work almost anywhere in the world. You might want to check on the cost of using your phone abroad. Check whether you have any content pushed to you by your mobile operator, if you do these will continue to be pushed to you costing you additional (sometimes quite a lot) while you are abroad. You may want to turn some of these off!

• If you need to access files you have back at home, consider going through a VPN to avoid transferring your data across unsecured wi-fi networks.

• Turn off autofill for your personal details, be careful about identity theft.

Documents

Some of the documents you should consider whether you need to take are:

• Passport, visas and work permits.

• University Certificates, Proof of study – these should be originals and confirm your status as a student to the National Border Agency, local security services and the company.

• National Insurance Number.

• Personal tax ID.

• University Card/ID.

• Student Card.

• Drivers license.

• Photo ID card.

• Copy of your travel itinerary.

• Spare passport photos.

• Insurance Certificates and conditions.

• Emergency phone numbers, such as:

  • Banks & Credit card emergency numbers.

  • Academic Supervisor.

  • Local Embassy.

  • Host company local contacts.

Insurances

You may need a range of insurances:

• Travel insurance – to cover change of flights, missed connections, loss of luggage, delays, etc.

• Health & medical insurance – what happens if you are ill for a while during your internship? – how do you make a claim and who to? What proof of insurance do you need?

• Insurance for your personal possessions – how do you make a claim and who to?

• Accident insurance – In some countries, for example Germany, employers will not employ until they see proof of insurance against accidents.

Safety

• What should you do in the event of an emergency? What are the local emergency telephone numbers – programme them into your mobile before you leave.

• Get some advice on the local risks and any precautions you should take.

• You might need to register your presence with your embassy and/or the local Police Station.

• Keep your passport and other personal identity documents safe – have a scanned copy accessible (but not stored on your mobile phone or a device that could be stolen), a good place is stored on a secure server back home that you can access from the Internet when you need it.

Medical

• Do you need any immunisations for where you are going, either to work or where you might go on site-seeing trips? Again some of these need a course of treatment over a period of time. Do your research and plan sufficient time.

• If you take prescription medicines are you taking enough for the entire duration of your internship? If no where can you get them from? What documentation do you need? If the country speaks a different language it might be worth getting the full name of what you need prepared in the local language before you go.

Culture and Language

To avoid embarrassing situations it is well worth learning about the culture of the country you are going. If you cannot already speak the language of the country to which you are going consider the following:

• Take a printed card with the address of your first night’s accommodation in the local language so you can show it to people when you arrive.

• Take a few printed cards with key phrases including “I don’t speak X, do you speak Y please?”

• Learn a few key phrases but be prepared to not understand the answer!

On arrival

On arrival you may need to register with the local Police Station, Embassy or other Official Body. Find out what you need to do and build this into your plans.

Research

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