This UNHCR Internship Pays You. Here is How To Apply

Most humanitarian internships ask you to work for free and cover your own flights. UNHCR does neither. If you’re a student or recent graduate looking to work inside the world’s leading refugee agency, here’s what you actually need to know before you apply.

UNHCR’s Internship Programme is open to current students and recent graduates worldwide, runs two to six months (up to eight months full-time, twelve part-time), and pays an allowance based on UN salary scales – not a token stipend. Placements run at UNHCR headquarters in Geneva, at Global Service Centres in Amman, Budapest, and Copenhagen, or in field offices, with travel costs reimbursed. Here is exactly what qualifies you and what the pay actually works out to.

Quick Facts

Who Actually Qualifies

Four requirements, and all four have to be true at once:

• You are a current student in an undergraduate or graduate program, or you graduated within the last two years, at an institution accredited by UNESCO
• You have completed at least two years of undergraduate study in a field relevant to UNHCR’s work
• You don’t have an immediate family member (parent or sibling) currently working for UNHCR
• You haven’t already used up your internship time with UNHCR – 8 months cumulative for full-time, 12 for part-time, counting any prior UNHCR internships
• You are proficient in English at B2 level or above

There is no nationality restriction. UNHCR explicitly states it welcomes applications from candidates with a refugee or stateless background themselves, which is worth knowing if that applies to you.

What the Pay Actually Looks Like

This is the part most write-ups skip, and it’s the reason this internship is worth taking seriously compared to unpaid alternatives. If you’re not already funded by an outside sponsor, UNHCR pays you a monthly allowance calculated as a percentage of the General Service level 3, step 1 salary at your duty station:

• 50% of that salary at “H” duty stations (UNHCR’s classification for headquarters-type, typically higher cost-of-living locations)
• 70% of that salary at all other duty stations

Part-time internships are paid at 50% of the applicable full-time rate. Remote internships are compensated too – this isn’t limited to in-person placements. On top of the allowance, UNHCR reimburses return travel costs for interns coming from outside the duty station’s country, by the most economical route, regardless of how long the internship runs.

What it doesn’t cover: medical insurance. You are required to arrange and prove your own coverage before starting, and UNHCR doesn’t reimburse medical evacuation costs, so if you are heading to a field office with limited medical infrastructure, check that your policy actually covers emergency evacuation before you go.

Where You’d Actually Be Working

Placements aren’t limited to Geneva. UNHCR also runs Global Service Centres in Amman, Budapest, and Copenhagen, plus field country offices – and depending on manager approval, some interns telework from outside their duty station entirely. Availability depends on which offices currently have the capacity to take on and supervise an intern, so the specific roles open at any given time shift constantly. Check the live listings rather than assuming a particular office or region has a slot.

A Warning Worth Repeating

UNHCR states plainly that it never charges a fee at any stage of recruitment – not for the application, the interview, travel, processing, or training. If anyone contacts you claiming to represent UNHCR and asks for payment at any point, that’s not UNHCR. This is the exact pattern we cover in our guide to spotting scholarship and opportunity scams: a legitimate opportunity never asks you to pay to get paid.

How to Actually Apply

1. Create a profile on UNHCR’s official recruitment platform (Workday)
2. Search current internship listings – these are added regularly, so check back rather than applying once and waiting
3. Read UNHCR’s internship FAQ before submitting, since it covers process details specific to the platform
4. Apply directly through the platform only – never through a third-party requesting payment or personal financial information
5. Ready to apply? Search current openings on UNHCR’s official recruitment platform.

Building a Stronger Application

Since a UNHCR internship application runs through a competitive selection process just like the scholarships we normally cover here, the same fundamentals apply. Our guide to writing content that actually gets you selected covers the specificity-over-generic-language principle that matters just as much in a cover letter for a humanitarian internship as it does in a scholarship essay. If international work is the direction you’re building toward more broadly, our post on How to land the ICC Internship covers a comparable path into international institutions.

For more opportunities, browse our Careers coverage or check everything currently open in Education.

Getting Ready for a Field Placement

If your placement lands you somewhere outside a major headquarters city, a few things are genuinely worth having sorted in advance:

• A reliable daypack built for daily use in variable conditions, especially if you’re heading to a field office rather than a headquarters posting
• A water purification bottle for locations where safe drinking water access isn’t guaranteed
• A compact travel first-aid kit, given that UNHCR doesn’t cover medical evacuation and field-office medical infrastructure can be limited

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the UNHCR internship paid?

Yes. Interns without outside funding receive a monthly allowance equal to 50–70% of a GS-3, step 1 salary, depending on the duty station, plus reimbursed return travel costs.

Who is eligible for a UNHCR internship?

Current students or recent graduates (within two years of finishing their studies) at a UNESCO-accredited institution, with at least two years of completed undergraduate study and B2-level English.

How long does a UNHCR internship last?

Typically two to six months, with a cumulative maximum of eight months for full-time or twelve months for part-time internships, including any prior UNHCR internships.

Does UNHCR charge any fees to apply?

No. UNHCR never charges a fee at any stage of recruitment. Any request for payment is fraudulent.

Can refugees or stateless individuals apply for UNHCR internships?

Yes. UNHCR explicitly welcomes applications from candidates with a refugee or stateless background.

Does UNHCR cover medical insurance for interns?

No. Interns are responsible for arranging their own medical insurance, including coverage for emergency medical evacuation where relevant, before starting.

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