Working Internationally

Eligible destinations

Students can pursue international work terms to countries that are deemed low risk by Global Affairs Canada travel advisories. Low-risk destinations are those with an advisory that states travellers should practice normal or increased security precautions.

Destinations with an advisory that states travellers should avoid non-essential or all travel will not be approved for work term experiences.

Most students opt to complete work terms in countries with similar conditions to Canada, or in a country where they have family or other established support network.

All co-op work term opportunities must be vetted by the Co-op Office and meet the criteria of a co-op position.

Requirements for working internationally

It is each student’s responsibility to ensure legal documents are attained in order to work in the country of their co-op work term. Be sure to research documentation for international work terms before starting your search.

Some countries require an internship agreement or other legal document that UBC may not be able to provide/sign.

Please check with your Co-op Advisor prior to accepting a role that requires an internship agreement or other signed document from UBC.

Each student completing a work term outside of Canada must complete registration on the UBC Student Safety Abroad Registry and review the UBC Safety Abroad information and modules at https://safetyabroad.ubc.ca/.

If you are working outside of Canada, you are required to submit and pay taxes in the country in which you are employed. You must also report your earnings to the Canadian government and may be required to pay additional taxes.

Working in the United States of America

If you’ll be working in the US for a co-op work term, you’ll need a J1 Visa before you can legally start working.

For information on how to obtain a J1 Visa please visit https://culturalvistas.org/, a non-profit organization that assists UBC Co-op with this process.

Working in Japan

The Canada-Japan Co-op Program is a Canadian university/college-based international co-op and internship. This program links some of the best science, business, arts and engineering discipline undergraduate students from across the country with highly committed Japanese businesses.

This program is open to eligible students from universities and colleges across Canada and is currently administered from UBC.

If you are interested in learning more about the Canada-Japan Co-op Program, please contact coop.japan@ubc.ca

If you are a current UBC Interdisciplinary Co-op student and would like to begin an international work term job search, please connect with a Co-op Advisor.