Refugee & Migration Internships in Cape Town

CAPE TOWN CONTEXT

Understand migration and human rights within South Africa’s distinctive social and political landscape.

WHY CAPE TOWN?

A distinctive context for understanding migration and human rights

South Africa is an important regional destination for people moving for work, safety, family, education and opportunity.

Cape Town is home to organizations working around inclusion, social cohesion, access to services, rights education and community participation.

For students interested in refugee and migration issues, an internship in Cape Town can provide a useful window into how questions of movement, belonging, rights and inclusion are addressed within a society shaped by migration, inequality and constitutional protections.

Migration-related work may arise within organizations focused more broadly on human rights, social cohesion, youth development, community advocacy, inclusion or access to services.

Depending on the organization’s current priorities, interns may encounter work involving migration research, community education, inclusion, employment access, communications, advocacy, stakeholder engagement or program development.

The exact focus will depend on the host organization, the participant’s background and the work available at the time.

WHAT YOU MAY DO

What might you do during a Refugee & Migration internship?

Your responsibilities will depend on your skills, experience and the host organization’s current work.

ADVOCACY & COMMUNICATIONS

Support awareness work, communications, social media, stakeholder engagement, fundraising materials or public-facing educational content.

Some roles may also involve monitoring and evaluation, data systems, administration, event coordination or other behind-the-scenes work that supports the organization’s wider mission.

A Human Rights Law placement may involve legal research, legal protections, asylum or refugee-status issues, documentation, access to justice or supervised support with legal matters.

The organization may work across both areas. What matters is the nature of the participant’s actual responsibilities.

For students whose interests are broader than migration alone, VAC’s Human Rights & Community Advocacy internships provide a wider view of rights, inclusion, participation and advocacy in Cape Town.

WHO THIS IS FOR

For students interested in migration, inclusion and human rights

GRADUATES & POSTGRADUATES

Participants with stronger research, writing, policy, legal, data or professional skills may be suited to more defined research, advocacy, communications, monitoring or organizational projects.

WHY VAC FOR REFUGEE & MIGRATION INTERNSHIPS?

Start with the issue you want to understand

Some students come to VAC with a broad interest in human rights. Others already know that migration, refugee rights, inclusion or social cohesion is the area they most want to explore.

VAC has been developing internships in Cape Town since 2006. The placements team looks at your academic background, skills, experience and interests, then explores what suitable current host organizations may be able to support.

If migration or refugee issues are an important part of your goals, tell VAC during the placement process so the team can take that interest into account when exploring appropriate options.

INDIVIDUAL PLACEMENT DEVELOPMENT

Tell VAC which migration, refugee or human-rights issues interest you most.

CAPE TOWN EXPERIENCE

VAC’s team is based in Cape Town and develops placements locally.

A ROLE THAT FITS YOUR BACKGROUND

Placement development considers your interests, skills, experience and current host capacity.

PLAN YOUR INTERNSHIP

Program options, dates and practical details

GAP YEAR INTERNSHIP PROGRAM

A fixed-date cohort program with one- or two-term options.

Program Cost →   Arrival Dates →   Gap Year Program Details →

UNPAID INTERNSHIPS

VAC internships are unpaid professional learning experiences rather than paid employment.

Why are VAC internships unpaid? →

ACADEMIC CREDIT

Optional academic-credit pathways are available. Credit fees are separate, and transfer is determined by your home institution.

Explore academic credit options →

REFUGEE & MIGRATION INTERNSHIP FAQS