The Ins and Outs of Working Abroad

Do you dream of working on a dive boat on the Great Barrier Reef, waiting tables at a cafe in Paris or teaching skiing in Canada? Working while traveling can be a great way to offset expenses and get closer to the local community, but cutting through the red tape to get legal permission can be a challenge. Fortunately, there are services that can help students and young travelers make these types of adventures possible.

Council Travel, which is owned by the nonprofit Council on International Educational Exchange, has been operating work-abroad programs for students for 30 years. Staffers won’t get you a job, but they will arrange your documentation to seek work legally, and through associations with foreign student/youth travel services they’ll arrange information and advice when you arrive that will help you find work and accommodation, and deal with taxes. Program participants get a pre-trip planning handbook and an orientation program upon arrival, plus ongoing support services. Budget accommodation can also be arranged. Council Travel claims that 98% of its participants have found work; 86% have found suitable jobs within 10 days.

The program in Ireland costs $225 and enables you to work any time of the year for up to four months. The Canadian program (also $225) enables you to work for up to five months. You must be under age 31 when you enter Canada. The French program costs $300 and is available at any time of the year for working up to three months, but only at jobs paying the legal minimum hourly wage. To participate in the German program, you must be enrolled in a U.S. college during the spring semester. You are permitted to work for up to three months between May 15 and Oct. 15.

The Australian program ($350) enables you to stay and work for up to 12 months, but you can’t stay at any one job for more than three months. To be eligible you must be under 26 when you enter Australia, and you’ll have to pay an additional $95 visa charge. You’ll also need at least $3,500 in funds when you enter the country. Space on this program is limited. The New Zealand program also costs $350, but that fee includes two nights’ accommodation at Auckland Central Backpackers Hostel when you arrive. You can work any time between April 1 and Oct. 31. A combined Australia/New Zealand program is also available.

Costa Rica is the only Spanish-speaking country with a program. It costs $350 and allows you to work up to three months between June 1 and Oct. 1.

To participate in any of the programs, you’ll need an International Student Identity Card and a minimum of $750 to carry you until you start to receive wages (Council Travel does, however, recommend that you take at least $1,000).

You can get more details by calling (888) COUNCIL, visiting the Internet site https://www.counciltravel.com or reading the current (fall-winter) edition of Student Travels magazine, which is free at the 60 campus Council Travel offices nationwide.

The student travel service STA Travel can assist students with arrangements for working in Britain and can help both students and nonstudents with Australia. When you book one of these programs you must also book your flight with STA. STA uses student tickets, which are valid up to one year. Return dates can be changed for a $25 charge.

The Work in Britain program costs $225. It enables students who are U.S. citizens 18 and older to work for up to six months in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The Britain and Australia programs are coordinated (including orientation programs) with the British Universities North America Club (BUNAC), which has operated student travel programs for 36 years and has arranged work-in-Australia programs for 10 years.

The Australian program costs $550. In addition to the documentation to work legally for up to one year, the fee includes two nights’ accommodation upon arrival, a $95 visa, a Lonely Planet guidebook to Australia and a two-day orientation program. Arrival dates are March 6, May 8, June 12 and July 17. This is open to any American 18 to 25 (you do not have to be a student); you will, however, have to satisfy entry requirements that include having $3,500 and a prepaid round-trip ticket that is valid for more than six months. You can arrive on the flight of your choice, but attendance at the orientation is compulsory. Space is limited.

For information, call STA at telephone (800) 925-4777 or (323) 934-8722, Internet: https://www.sta-travel.com.

If you’re interested in working in Japan, consider the Jet Program, which is sponsored by the Japanese government. It was developed to create closer contact between Japanese youths and young people from other areas of the world. The United States is among the 34 countries whose citizens are welcome to apply. Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree. The program places you in a school as an assistant language teacher (you do not need to speak Japanese) or in a government office as a coordinator for international relations (you will need Japanese language skills). Remuneration is about $2,600 per month, and round-trip air fare is provided. Contracts are for 12 months, with the possibility of being renewed up to two times. Applications are accepted each fall.

For information, contact the Embassy of Japan, Office of the Jet Program, 2520 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20008; tel. (202) 238-6772 or (800) INFOJET.