Internship UK

An internship is a paid or voluntary (unpaid) position within a company where you are constantly learning and training under a mentor. Internship placements must not be made up of manual or administrative tasks, but should show clear progression – enhancing the skills you have, learning new skills, and getting exposure to different areas of the department or business.

You can intern in almost any industry, other than hospitality and the healthcare sector. Past interns have worked in marketing, the fashion industry, banking, architecture, publishing, legal, finance and many more. With this visa type, you can find an internship in any industry you wish – it doesn’t have to be connected to what you study or studied in school. This can be a great way to gain new professional experience and build a futureproof career!

You are responsible for finding your own internship placement. Many students find placements through their university careers office, study abroad departments or family contacts, etc. If you don't have an internship lined up, we can recommend placement partners who will help you to secure an internship in the UK. You’ll also find free resources on our Intern Hub to help with your search, including a step-by-step guide to finding an internship, downloadable templates for resumes and cover letters, and a database of UK employers where past interns have worked.

When reaching out to UK employers, your internship offer must meet these requirements. This is to meet UK Government criteria for this visa, protect you as an intern, and ensure your experience is a valuable one:

• Be a maximum of up 12 months in duration and at least 25 hours per week
• Must be a supernumerary position, meaning that the role is designed for an intern and not a permanent employee
• Your internship must include complex activities rather than routine tasks, and have a good level of rotation and clear objectives backed up by a detailed training plan
• It must include enough supervision from your employer. We recommend the company can demonstrate a full-time staff member to intern ratio of 5:1, and no less than 3 
• If it’s a paid internship, it must meet the UK National Minimum Wage legislation; and for voluntary internships, the UK Volunteer Rights legislation
• All internships longer than six months must be paid
• The company you intern with should be registered with Companies House for at least the last 12 months.
• At least 30% of a hybrid internship must be based in the company’s registered office.
• We do not offer sponsorship for fully remote internships.

You can be sponsored to do either a paid or voluntary (unpaid) internship. See the 'What must my UK internship include' above.

If you do an unpaid internship, this will be a voluntary arrangement between you and your employer and your status would then be that of a 'volunteer'. However, being a volunteer does not simply mean that you are willing to work for no pay. Specifically, you and your employer must agree that you have no contract or formal arrangements and that you are under no obligation to perform any specific work or carry out instructions. You're able to come and go to work as you please and will have no expectation of, and will not receive, any payment or tangible benefit (including accommodation) for the work you do. This will be verified with your employer before issuing the Sponsorship Reference Number.

BUNAC will consider the training plan and contact the employer to discuss the nature of the internship. They will look for good rotation around various departments/areas of an organisation and strong objectives for each period. BUNAC are happy to consider a training plan before you apply for Intern UK.

All internships over six months must be paid.

You're not limited to summer internships on this visa, so you can start your internship at any time of the year. Once you’ve found your internship, it can take 4-6 weeks to sort your paperwork. We’ll always work as quickly as we can on your application – with additional options for priority processing along the way. Each application is different and we are subject to government immigration processes and wait times, so please allow yourself as much time as possible to get through the process.

You are not permitted on this UK visa to get a casual, evening or weekend job alongside your internship.

Internships can last up to 12 months, and your visa is only valid for the duration of your internship. This cannot be extended.

However, Canadians are eligible for a 24-month working holiday visa if you'd like to extend your stay after your internship is complete. This would require a separate visa application. Ask the SWAP team for more information about how this might work!