Your Help Guide

Everyone who is at least 18 years old can travel with us. You can already start planning while you are still 17 but have to turn 18 before you start your travel.

On the one hand, that depends on the country of your choice and, on the other hand, how specific and special your wishes are.

In general it can be said that the placement of a volunteer project is faster than the placement of an internship. However, depending on the country and the availability of the projects, placements can be completed within 4 weeks.

For an internship, you should apply 3-6 months before the start of the internship so we have enough time to organize everything. Especially in countries like Canada and America, the mediation can take a relatively long time. In countries such as Spain or Ireland, placements can usually be completed within 1-3 months.

Yes, you can change your booking and your profile at all times. You simply have to send an email to our SGA program manager. There are no extra fees or costs for making these changes.

Depending on the country you have chosen you need a visa. We can advise you on that if you like. You have to apply for the visa yourself by going to the respective embassy in your home country or, as in many cases, apply for it online on the website of the embassy.

You can find the testimonials of former interns and volunteers either on our blog, on the overview page of all testimonials or on the pages of the respective countries.

After registering for free, you can directly apply for a position from our database or fill in our registration form and let us know your expectations and requirements for your stay abroad. We will then individually search for your internship. The registration for an internship abroad should, if possible, take place 1-6 months before the desired start of the internship.

Your SGA account offers several advantages. First, you register for free and without obligation and fill in your travel dates and your desired country. By doing that we, the SGA Support Team, can directly check your booking and discuss your plans with you. Furthermore, you can upload your application documents in the registration process and view the status of your booking at any time.

If there is a problem with the login: create a new password. If it still does not work check with which browser you are surfing on the internet. Our system works best with the updated versions of browsers such as Google Chrome and Safari.

You do not have to be a student to participate in one of our programs! Once you have turned 18 years old, we can plan your trip together. If further qualifications are required, you will find them in the program description of your desired project.

Generally, your knowledge of English should be good, for certain countries like the US they even have to be very good. Always remember: you want to develop yourself professionally. Therefore, the language should not be the main obstacle in the first place. Nobody expects you to speak English perfectly but the companies do not like being seen as language schools. Thus, if you are not sure about your language skills you can do a language test or call us. We will try to guide you a little and help you with the assessment of your skills.

To start with, please check the validity of your passport before you travel. It must be valid for at least 6 months upon your arrival in the country. In addition, you should organize a private health insurance abroad.

At the beginning of your mediation you are going to tell us about your ideas concerning the internship, e.g. in which area you would like to develop your skills, how long you want to stay, when you want to start, and of course where you want to go. By doing so your internship search will be individually adapted to your wishes.

Register with us no later than three months before you would like to go abroad (USA 5 months) so that your internship and the trip can be organized accordingly. If the time frame is shorter, contact our customer service and so we can, for example, offer you many attractive last minute offers.

You need an English CV, a letter of motivation and an application photo. During the application check we will help you with the optimization of your documents. In addition, a police certificate of good conduct and references are required in some areas (social work, kindergarten, care for the elderly, administration in hospitals and public institutions).

We offer internships in various fields such as retail, marketing, administration, logistics, media and design, journalism, tourism and gastronomy, hotel industry, event management, environment, film and kindergarten. Most companies are small to medium sized businesses. Your field of activity will involve challenging and responsible tasks since you will be fully involved in all aspects of the company’s daily business.

Often, Skype or telephone interviews are arranged between you and your host company. This conversation offers you the opportunity to present yourself in person and get to know your contact person as well as talk about the tasks of your future internship position. The chances of getting the positions are very high since the company has shown interest in you and your application. Of course, we are going to give you tips for the interview and how to prepare the best way possible!

Sometimes there are also interviews for applicants who would like to take part in a volunteer program. This step is done to get to know you better and to assess whether you are suitable for your chosen project or whether another project might suits you better.

Our internships are professional training programs that are, of course, also recognized by universities. If your university has specific guidelines regarding the internship, please contact our customer service to discuss your options.

Higher education institutions usually have their own contracts which are signed in advance by the company. If not, we will jointly create a training agreement for your educational institution.

Yes, your Bafög (Germany), Promos (Germany) or Erasmus (EU) application can be signed by the host company ahead of your trip to help the funding of your internship. You can contact us if you need a signature for other international scholarship programs

As a rule, internships abroad are not remunerated. Only those who stay with the company for several months during their internship or have a very professional profile can count on being paid a pocket money. In addition, the visa rules of the respective country have to respected which oftentimes do not allow a compensation. A short professional internship is first and foremost a training program which is ought to benefit your career and is not comparable to a holiday job.

Yes, once you have successfully completed your internship, you will be issued a certificate. Upon request, preparing a qualified certificate is also possible. Please talk to your host company about that before your journey back home.

Yes, the local organization will gladly issue a certificate at the end of the program.

Depending on the desired country, internships can be done between a minimum of 4 weeks and up to one year. If you are planning on doing a fairly short internship there are fewer options as the selection of the branch of industry or the kind of activity is smaller. Conclusion: The longer the internship period, the more offers are available and are more valuable your experience abroad gets. Therefore, a 3-6 month internship duration is optimal.

Most of our internships are full-time from Monday to Friday, usually from 9am to 6pm. However, the companies might be able to adjust the working hours individually if you are doing university courses next to your internship or want to do a part-time job.

Usually, there is no vacation granted during the internship period. However, after consultation with the company, there is almost always a possibility for you to, for example, spend some more time on traveling in the respective country. The same applies to voluntary work: although your work is on a voluntary basis, you are obliged to work in the project as it counts on your help and schedules you into their daily routine.

Sustainably helping the community, engaging in meaningful social actions and all of that across borders. These are the core tasks of volunteer work which primarily support local communities and organizations, actively and proactively protect flora and fauna or open up new perspectives for the future. No matter what you use your abilities for, it should always be a matter of the heart. Motivated and confronted with new situations, being a volunteer is a unique journey into the history, cultural diversity and different lifestyles of our world.

Basically anyone that has reached the age of 18 years is suitable and feels ready for this challenge is eligible for doing voluntary work. Since there are also volunteer projects that do not require special skills or special training, high school graduates or apprentices can also take part.

Some programs are already available from 2 weeks onwards. In particular, if volunteer programs do not require special skills it is possible to travel abroad for a short time. These programs will give you a predefined task list that you can use to contribute within a tight schedule. Such programs are often limited to nature or wildlife conservation programs, simple crafting or teaching activities.

Yes, your Bafög (Germany), Promos (Germany) or Erasmus (EU) application can be signed by the host company ahead of your trip to help the funding of your internship. You can contact us if you need a signature for other international scholarship programs

The registration fee is the start of your internship / volunteering service. From now on, we at StudentsGoAbroad will take care of your registration, coaching and the placement of your desired internship. We support you from the first idea to the complete planning and organization of your trip.

The program fee can be paid, when the application process was successful and nothing stands in the way of your time abroad. The program fees depend on the type and length of your trip and cover the placement through our partners, as well as full support on-site, our assistance with visa processes, internship certificates and much more!

You can travel carefree with our add-ons, which you can book in addition to our standard service. These include accommodation, health insurance, language courses, introduction weeks, weekend trips, and much more! For most volunteer services, these are even included for free!

Yes, your Bafög (Germany), Promos (Germany) or Erasmus (EU) application can be signed by the host company ahead of your trip to help the funding of your internship. You can contact us if you need a signature for other international scholarship programs

The placement of an internship or voluntary work takes a lot of time. First of all, the SGA team will assist you in your decision and your registration, help optimizing your application documents together with you and providing you with important travel information. We are your contact persons during the whole process and are at your side helping and advising you.

Our partners on site start with the placement as soon as they receive your application documents. They are taking a lot of time to get to know each you personally during a Skype call and to discuss your project wishes with you. They then start with the mediation. Oftentimes, candidates are presented to up to 50 companies. All of this takes a lot of time because, after all, we want to place you the best way possible according to your ideas.

Once you are on site, you, of course have a contact person who will be available to you and assist you if you have any questions. To cover these services and working hours, the placement fee will be charged.

If you volunteer, we usually offer a program price which includes the accommodation, an airport transfer as well as the mediation. If you have questions about the prices, please feel free to contact us.

With the registration fee we want to ensure that you are interested in a serious manner since we put a lot of time and effort into the program organization as well as the booking.

The program fee must be paid after you have received the program confirmation or contract via email. Thereafter, you will receive an invoice for the amount to be paid. This amount must be paid within 14 days and before your departure.

As always, you have a statutory withdrawal period of 2 weeks after we have received your registration fee and you will receive your registration fee back if you do not want to book the program anymore (see §9 right of withdrawal). However, if we book your program with your consent and forward you to our partner, we will keep the registration fee as a processing fee. In some cases, we reserve the right to reimburse part of the registration fee at our sole discretion. For more information, please read our terms and conditions.

Our local partners are able to provide accommodations since they have valuable contacts. We recommend that you first secure the internship and then start with organizing the accommodation. For this, you will receive detailed information from the local coordinators.

Of course! If you do not like the accommodation we are happy to assist in finding a new one.

You can reach us from Monday to Friday from 8 am to 5 pm by calling +49(0)30 20238411 or +1 310 9283187 . Moreover, we are also available either via chat or support@studentsgoabroad.com.

Through the consultation - a non-binding service of Studentsgoabroad: We, the Studentsgoabroad team, advise you as precisely as possible about all programs available in advance and select the best option together with you. At the point of a binding application we have checked whether there are offers available in your chosen time frame and your country of choice. Therefore, the program coordinators in the desired country have already been informed about your application in advance and are ready to start with your placement.

In our trip finder you may find selected job and program descriptions. Our local networks are expanding regularly which means that, even if a program/internship has not been listed yet, it does not mean that it is non-existing. Just call us and we will do an individual and free of charge check for you and will make an inquiry concerning your options in the country of your choice.

The consultation with our team only takes place via phone or email from Monday to Friday between 8 am and 5 pm. After signing up you are going to get to know your agent “in person” through a Skype meeting as well as during the interview with your future internship company. In more than 10 years of working with this method we have always been able to discuss all questions and procedures with the candidates competently.

Your SGA account is a booking portal. After your registration you create your profile, indicate your travel and program dates and upload your application documents. By doing that we get an insight on your plans and can advise your the best way possible. In the first stages, creating an account is without obligation and free of charge.

Wanderlust. Itchy feet. An empty wallet. The popular "Work and Travel" concept comes in handy in that case: the long-awaited expedition through the land of your dreams can be financed by short-term work while on site. When doing work and travel on a ranch in the Australian outback, teaching English to a Chinese class, or being a supervisor in an American Youth Summer Camp you will get food and an accommodation as well as earn the necessary pocket money to finance the next milestone of your adventure. Thus, you decide about your time abroad yourself - an authentic travel experience and an intense period of your life are waiting for you!

For most work and travel programs, the Working Holiday Visa is the visa of choice. This applies to backpacking in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and China.

We will inform you about recommended vaccinations, flight offers, a foreign health insurance and visa formalities. Detailed information can be found on the respective pages on our website of the countries in which you would like to do volunteer or do your internship abroad.

EUROPE: With the European Health Insurance Card, you are covered in an emergency and treated by doctors free of charge. Make sure that you apply for it and that you take the EHIC (European Health Insurance Card) card with you on your trip.

A health insurance for your time abroad must be organized in any case. Our local partners have different offers and are happy to advise you on your options.

Your budget depends primarily on two main factors: which accommodation you choose and how you spend your free time. A room in a host family may seem more expensive at first glance but you should be aware of the fact that meals such as breakfast or dinner with the family are included. In contrast, in a student flatshare you have to pay for your own meals. Do not forget to include activities in your budget, such as attending a concert, dining out, pub visits or excursions.

That always depends on the destination. If you want to start super last minute you should call us directly in any case. Especially in Europe, we can arrange internships within 2 weeks. We are also able to book an adventure trip for you within a week. For these trips we do, however, have to comply with the country-specific visa requirements and, if necessary, set some time aside for the visa application.

The exact cancellation policies can be found in our terms and conditions.

10.1 Programs for internships abroad and volunteering

Cancellation prior to a successful mediation/booking:

• If the participant withdraws prior to contacting the partner organization, SGA retains a share of the registration fee for the administrative expenses incurred (processing fee of 75 euros). If the contact between the participant and the partner organization has taken place, there is no entitlement to a refund of the registration fee.

Resignation after a successful mediation/booking:

• The full program fee is to be paid by the participant or will not be refunded. 

• In exceptional cases, SGA reserves the right to reimburse a part of the program fee at its own discretion.

Resignation after the start date of the program (travel start):

• There is no refund of program fee.

• In exceptional cases, SGA reserves the right to reimburse a part of the program fee at its own discretion.

Note: A shortening of the program is generally possible after a consultation with the program partner and SGA. However, in the case the departure has already taken place, no partial refund of the unused program time is possible. 

Applies only to internships abroad: The participant is not entitled to a paid internship or project position. An unpaid internship position is not a valid reason for a cancellation.

10.2 Resignation for all other programs (language travel, adventure travel, etc.)

The deadline for the basis of the calculation is the day the receipt of resignation of the participant has been received by StudentsGoAbroad. In case of withdrawal before departure (cancellation) SGA can claim a cancellation fee for the program fee:

• up to and including the 90th day before departure 20%

• thereafter up to and including the 60th day before departure 30%

• thereafter up to and including the 30th day before departure 60%

• thereafter up to and including the the 4th day before departure 80%

• afterwards until departure or non-commencement of travel 90% 

Note: A shortening of the program is generally possible after consultation with the program partner and SGA, however, in the case of travel already begun, no partial refund of the unused program time is possible.

As a first step, we always recommend talking directly to your personal contact person at the company about your expectations and possible disagreements in order to maintain a professional impression of yourself. If you are unsure you may contact us and your internship coordinator at any time.

The internships and volunteer projects usually require that you speak English and possibly Spanish. However, it is always helpful to take a language course in the national language in preparation for your stay abroad since it cannot be assumed that everyone is able to speak English outside of the internship or the project.

Usually, other interns are on site. But it can also happen that you do not meet any other SGA candidates but there will certainly be other like-minded globetrotters.

You want to register together? That's definitely possible! In the past, we have been able to place many friends and couples together. Even if it wasn’t possible in the same internship or volunteer project it definitely worked out in the same city.

If you plan your stay abroad in Europe, you your driver's license is usually valid. As soon as you go overseas you should apply for an international driver's license.