Get sponsored on a tier 5 charity worker visa to volunteer at our UK processing centre in Canterbury

Who is the IVP programme for?

Books2Africa is a UK-registered charity (1152599) and an A-rated Tier 5 Charity Worker Sponsor that sponsors international candidates who are accepted into our International Volunteering  Internship Programme. Our International Volunteering Programme (IVP) is a 12 months programme designed for individuals who are looking to develop work experience in the charity/Non-Governmental Organisation sector in the UK. The program is a voluntary role and you’ll be required to get accommodation within Canterbury and fund your living expenses or live with a host family if you have relatives here.

International Volunteer Programme - UK Tier 5 Charity Worker Visa

Our International Volunteering Programme (IVP) allows you to gain first-hand experience in the practical operations of an international Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) and provides you the opportunity to develop transferable skills such as teamwork, fundraising and communication.

Interns on our International Volunteers Programme work primarily at our Processing Centre in Canterbury, in various support roles as Support Officers and are involved in a variety of tasks including but not limited to; processing (cataloguing, sorting and packing donated materials), charity shop sales (valuing and listing donated materials for sale) and tech refurbishing. You will also have the opportunity to complete a range of training and tasks in marketing, and fundraising during the duration of the programme.

Eligibility:

  • Age: Applicants must be aged 18 and above to apply.
  • Language: Desirable for candidates to be fluent in speaking, reading and writing in English.
  • Knowledge and skills: Demonstrate that you have relevant knowledge, skills or experience in the charity sector to contribute to this voluntary role.
  • Accommodation and Maintenance: As candidates are not permitted to do paid work on this visa, you must either have:
    • A host who will accommodate you within 10 miles of Canterbury, or
    • Evidence of funds available for your accommodation/utility bills (£3,500 for 6 months or £7,000 for 12 months).
  • Administration and Programme Fee
    • Admin Fee: You have to be able to cover the administration fee of the programme, which is broken down in different stages to enable you to cover this:
      • £10 is due at the application stage and is non-refundable regardless of the outcome of your application. We encourage you to read around our website and complete a strong application to increase your chances of being accepted as we receive a significant amount of applications for only 20 spaces. Only the strongest applications will be accepted.
      • £490 is due if your application is accepted by our team. This is a non-refundable fee. Afterwards, you can proceed to submit your visa application with the UK High Commission in your country and pay any fees required by the High Commission.
    • Programme Fee: A programme fee of £1,000 is payable when your visa is approved before you arrive to begin your programme and is non-refundable.  The programme fee is not required if your Tier 5 visa application is rejected.
  • Certificates and reference: Only issued after completing the programme.
  • Shifts: 20 hours per week, 9am to 5pm, Mondays to Saturdays.
  • Location: Unit 2, Barton Business Park, New Dover Road, Canterbury, CT1 3AA, United Kingdom.
  • Apply: Complete the online application form below.

Application Notice: We have now opened applications for 2024 batch. We’ll be reviewing applications as they come in and begin issuing COS for approved applicants in January 2024. Best wishes.

We have now received enough applications for 2024 batch. We’ll re-open the application if insufficient candidates scale the interview stage. We’ll begin accepting applications for 2025 batch in November 2024.