Our International Volunteer Programme (IVP) is a programme of up to 12 months, launched in 2018, for international applicants who wish to volunteer with Books2Africa in the UK and require a UK Temporary Work – Charity Worker visa. Applicants must meet our eligibility requirements, have sufficient funds to support and maintain themselves in the UK for the full programme, and submit an online application for review by our Recruitment Team.
We hate waste but love education. Books2Africa is a UK-registered charity (1152599) based in Canterbury, Kent and a charity in consultative status with the UN working on SDG 4 and SDG 12. We are also an A-rated Charity Worker visa sponsor. Our mission is to improve access to education and promote environmental sustainability through the redistribution of books and computers that reduce waste and empower people to achieve their full potential. Our readcycling goal is to collect, process and ship 1 million books and 1,000 computers every year, reducing waste and improving education. Our international volunteers make a significant contribution to achieving our mission through the International Volunteer Programme (IVP).
As an International Volunteer, you will support Books2Africa’s mission through voluntary fieldwork: joining readcycling awareness activities locally, collecting donated items that would otherwise go to landfill, and preparing donated books and computers for schools and education projects across Africa. In line with the Charity Worker visa, this work is unpaid, with only reasonable expenses reimbursed.
As an International Volunteer, you will gain professional skills and experience with an international non-governmental organisation (INGO), valued by development organisations worldwide. Alongside your fieldwork, you will attend professional training and monthly seminars on the role of NGOs and development in Africa. Volunteers who complete the programme receive a Certificate of Completion.
As an International Volunteer, you will prepare to lead change in your home country when the programme ends. Through our seminars on starting an NGO or social enterprise, you will learn to identify a problem in your community, define a clear mission, build a team, and develop a sustainable funding model. By graduation, you will have a practical plan to tackle challenges such as access to education back home.
Featured photos of past international volunteers during their fieldwork trips, trainings and socials.
International Volunteers are based at the Books2Africa UK Processing Centre in Canterbury for up to 12 months, carrying out unpaid voluntary fieldwork under the Charity Worker visa. Volunteers take part in readcycling awareness activities in the local community, collect donated items that would otherwise go to landfill, and help prepare donated books and computers for schools and education projects across Africa. Alongside this fieldwork, volunteers attend professional training and monthly seminars. The role does not include retail, fundraising or routine office work. Volunteers must live in Canterbury or Kent and cover their own living costs, including accommodation and food, with only reasonable expenses reimbursed.
Volunteer Expenses: Volunteers can claim back up to £10 a day for lunch and £25 a week for travel, with receipts, paid monthly. For five days a week, that’s up to £75 a week (£50 lunch + £25 travel), or about £325 a month.
The IVP is an unpaid volunteering role, so applicants must show how they will cover their living costs through one of the following arrangements:
Applications for the IVP open once a year, from 1 to 30 November, and are for the programme starting in April of the year after next. For example, applications made in November 2026 are for the programme starting in April 2028. We now recruit a year in advance to give successful applicants time to save, find accommodation and prepare their visa documents.
We accept up to 40 volunteers each year. Applications are reviewed and approved as they arrive, so we encourage you to read our website and submit a strong application early. Borderline candidates may be invited to a short interview on Zoom.
Key dates (November 2026 intake):
Programme fee – £3,000: approved applicants must pay the programme fee in full within 14 days of their offer, and no later than 25 December. It is made up of a £1,000 enrolment fee and a £2,000 delivery fee, and covers the full cost of the IVP as set out in the IVP prospectus. It does not cover sponsorship or visa costs, the Immigration Health Surcharge, flights, accommodation or living costs in the UK.
Refunds:
The IVP programme is an incredible opportunity that allows volunteers not only to give their time to promoting education, but also to make new friends from around the world, learn the ropes on managing an NGO, explore new cultures and grow together, all the while experiencing one of the best work environments, supported by amazing staff and a truly exceptional work culture. Watch all our IVP Impact Stories on YouTube.
The International Volunteer Programme (IVP) is an unpaid volunteering programme of up to 12 months at the Books2Africa UK Processing Centre in Canterbury. Volunteers come to the UK on the Charity Worker visa to Give, Learn and Lead: support our mission, gain professional skills with an international NGO, and prepare to lead change in their home country.
You will carry out voluntary fieldwork: joining readcycling awareness activities locally, collecting donated items that would otherwise go to landfill, and preparing donated books and computers for schools and education projects across Africa. You will also attend professional training and monthly seminars. The role does not include retail, fundraising or routine office work.
No. There is no salary or stipend. Volunteers can claim back reasonable expenses only (see "Can I claim any expenses?").
Up to 12 months. Volunteers who complete at least 11 months or 950 hours receive a Certificate of Completion.
The IVP is right for you if you want to spend up to 12 months volunteering for an education charity, gain experience with an international NGO, and take what you learn back home to lead change in your community. It is not right for you if you are looking for a paid job, a way to stay in the UK long term, or retail, fundraising or office work. The IVP is unpaid, you cannot take paid work while on it, and the Charity Worker visa cannot be extended.
Applicants must be 18 or older, fluent in spoken and written English, have previous volunteering experience, and have no adverse immigration history. They must not have been in the UK on a Charity Worker or Religious Worker visa in the last 12 months. The full criteria are in the Eligibility Criteria section above.
No. The only age requirement is that you are 18 or older.
Previous unpaid volunteering with an organisation. You show this in your CV and a reference letter from an organisation you volunteered with, or from a Books2Africa Ambassador (a former IVP volunteer or sponsor).
Applications open once a year, from 1 to 30 November, for the programme starting in April of the year after next. For example, applications made in November 2026 are for the programme starting in April 2028. We recruit a year in advance to give successful applicants time to save, find accommodation and prepare their visa documents.
Up to 40 each year. Applications are reviewed and approved as they arrive, so we encourage you to submit a strong application early.
Not always. Borderline candidates may be invited to a short interview on Zoom.
Yes. You are welcome to apply again in the next November application window.
No. Books2Africa has no recruitment agents. Apply only through our online application form, trust only emails from [email protected], and never pay anyone claiming to act for us. Please report them to [email protected].
The Temporary Work – Charity Worker visa (formerly Tier 5). Books2Africa is a licensed sponsor and issues a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) to each volunteer whose place is confirmed. Read more on GOV.UK.
In February before your April start, together with your acceptance letter and the IVP Prospectus, so you can apply for your visa.
No. Once you meet our Accommodation and Living Costs requirements, by living with a host or showing proof of funds, we certify your maintenance on your CoS. This means you do not need to show the visa's own savings requirement.
The Charity Worker visa allows a partner and children to apply as dependants, but each must make their own visa application and show their own funds. Books2Africa does not provide accommodation, income or support for family members, and our requirements cover the volunteer only.
No. The IVP is unpaid, and taking paid work breaks the conditions of the programme and will put your visa at risk.
Your official start date is the one on your acceptance letter and CoS. The curriculum in the prospectus is a general guide to the year.
Contact us straight away at [email protected] and we will arrange a video call to help you prepare. Study your visa documents beforehand.
£3,000, made up of a £1,000 enrolment fee and a £2,000 delivery fee. Approved applicants must pay in full within 14 days of their offer, and no later than 25 December. There is no fee to apply.
The full cost of the IVP as set out in the prospectus. It does not cover sponsorship or visa costs, the Immigration Health Surcharge, flights, accommodation or living costs in the UK.
Yes, in two cases. If you withdraw before your CoS is issued, you receive a full refund of £3,000. If your visa is refused, you receive a refund of the £2,000 delivery fee.
Email [email protected] and complete our IVP Refund Request Form. If your visa was refused, include your refusal letter. If you asked for an Administrative Review, also send its outcome or confirm you have withdrawn it.
Refunds are processed in batches after the November application window closes, and paid in the first week of December.
No. Volunteers must live in Canterbury or Kent and arrange their own accommodation, either with a host or in rented accommodation.
The host's full address and contact details, a letter from the host confirming they will provide accommodation and food for the full programme, and the host's proof of address, such as a council tax letter or utility bill dated within the last three months.
Bank statements in your own name showing at least £3,000 (£1,000 a month for three months), dated within the last month, and a signed declaration confirming how you will cover your living costs for the rest of the programme.
Yes. Volunteers can claim back up to £10 a day for lunch and £25 a week for travel, with receipts, paid monthly. For five days a week, that is up to £75 a week (£50 lunch + £25 travel), or about £325 a month.
Popular websites include OpenRent, SpareRoom, Rightmove and Zoopla. Always get a written tenancy agreement before you pay anything.
Please go to your accommodation first. Do not come straight to the warehouse. Once you have settled in, email [email protected] to let us know you have arrived, and we will arrange your induction date.
Yes. Volunteers who complete at least 11 months or 950 hours receive a Certificate of Completion, and those who reach 1,000 hours or more also receive a VIP Award. References are provided as required.
The programme lasts up to 12 months, the maximum the Charity Worker visa allows, and the visa cannot be renewed. The IVP is designed to prepare you to lead change in your home country, and we do not support applications to stay in the UK afterwards.
We try our best to get your order to you as soon as possible. After dispatch, our standard delivery (Royal Mail First Class) typically arrives the next day in the UK (but can take up to 7 days), in 6 days to the EU and 10 days worldwide. It is important to note that delivery times are out of our control, as we do not deliver the goods ourselves.
If the error is ours, we will reprint free of charge. If the error is yours, we will reprint for 25% of the original amount. If we have sent you the wrong size garment, we will absolutely remake it for you in the right size when you return it.
The guidance measurements given next to the shirts are supposed to represent what size person they fit. They are not the actual measurements of the garment itself, which naturally need to be larger than the person they are designed to fit.
Firstly, please ignore the washing instructions in the garment itself. These are for blank garments and not printed ones.
Wash your shirts at 40 degrees or less. Iron on reverse (cool). Do not tumble dry.
Whilst Royal Mail normally deliver all first class post within 1-2 working days, they can on occasion take longer. In the unlikely event that your goods do not arrive, allow 7 days before calling us. We cannot authorise any remakes before this time has passed as Royal Mail have been known to deliver within this time.
However, if you paid to have Express delivery, contact us immediately as we can provide you with the tracking reference to chase it with the carrier.
