Portugal! Sunshine, beaches, picturesque cities that blend the old and new, friendly people and prices that are lower than most of Europe. All this makes it a great destination for volunteer and internship programs. Don't speak Portuguese? English is the second language of a large portion of the population, and we've found that many businesses and volunteer organizations welcome English speakers.

As the capital, Lisbon is the a logical choice for an internship; so much going on. From its historic European port, great food, more sunshine annually than any capital in Europe (edging out Athens), and beautiful panoramic views from its many hills, the quality of life makes it a great place to visit. You may never want to leave!

History abounds in Porto, where we have teamed up with some great volunteer organizations. As you stroll its winding, historic streets you'll feel the authenticity of this Portuguese gem. Throw in the hip riverfront, beautiful beaches and its outdoor café life, and you'll see why many travelers count this as their favorite city in Portugal and even Europe. See the Tourism Board Video CLICK

Volunteer and Internship Programs

• Neighborhood Revitalization - Construction

  In Portugal, over two million people are in danger of living in poverty, including 500 thousand children and their families. This program directly helps these families by giving them a decent home. We mobilize national and international volunteers to rebuild and repair their houses so they have a healthier and happier place to live.

  The students will have the opportunity to be integrated into a team of volunteers from all over the world that have a common mission. Painting doors, repairing the rooms’ floor or fixing the bathroom wall will be part of your daily tasks. You don’t have to be an expert in construction as there will always be a supervisor explaining how to perform the tasks and making sure everything you do is correct.The results of your work are tangible and truly meaningful from day one and the smiles on the family faces when moving in again are priceless. Questions? Click here

  • "Had a wonderful time repairing housing for folks who would not otherwise be able to do it themselves. It really is a great way to meet genuine friendly locals, see parts of the country one would probably overlook on the well trodden tourist routes and feel like you are contributing something to improving the quality of life for others. Would highly recommend this for someone who is looking for a wonderful, positive travel experience. " Phil, Australia 
  • "My experience was beyond what words can describe. (...) I learned a lot about the field, about the local culture -since I was working with local students volunteers. I met amazing men and women with whom it turned out that I had a lot in common although we all come from different environments. I made both local and foreign friends, adapted to a totally different city (an amazing one by the way) and made memories that I will keep forever." Tania, France

  Apply Now

  After you fill out the Application Form on our website, our Application Advisor will be in touch to help you with the next steps.

  

• Fighting food waste and hunger

  This kind of program is catching on all over the world. Volunteers will actively contribute to fight food waste and hunger in a structured system that feeds over 3000 people every day. You will help the local teams collecting, organizing and distributing the food excess from restaurants and cafés to fight food waste in the city.

  Volunteers will support a network of centers which recover perfectly fine excess food from local restaurants, supermarkets and cafés and re-distribute it among families, elderly and homeless people in need. Tasks will include collecting the food from local providers, assisting with packaging it, assisting with sorting and storage of any food left for the next day, distributing it to the families and clean up at the end of the shift. Questions? Click here

  • "I stayed in this program for about a week. I was able to help a local food redistribution center during my time which did feel like I was doing some good for the locals. Part of that meant helping package up and storing/distributing food as well as going to collect food from the different restaurants involved with the program. Apart from the volunteering aspect, there were some local excursions offered and also plenty of free time to go explore the city. I would recommend this program to anyone who wants to help people and who wants to learn about a great city." Tom, Belgium

  • "The mornings are available for sightseeing in and around Porto and in the evening we would volunteer. Every help in storing, labeling and portioning food is needed there. The local volunteer teams are very dedicated and warmly welcome the foreign volunteers. The work was a lot of fun. (...) The projects were very instructive and are definitely recommended." - Peter Löckelt, Germany

  Apply Now

  After you fill out the Application Form on our website, our Application Advisor will be in touch to help you with the next steps.

  

• Education Support for Under-Priviledged Children

  Take it from us, nothing is more fulfilling than working with kids to enhance and enrichen their education. Perhaps you remember visitors to your classes when you were a kid. Maybe a special teacher's aid. Even the best teacher can't make class exciting all the time!

  Even in Europe with its strong support of education, some children are left behind. Although all Portuguese children have access to school, there is no guarantee school will provide the kind of stimulation that will lead to success as adults. Our volunteers help different NGOs promoting several and diversified extra-curricular educational initiatives for underprivileged children and teenagers. As a volunteer, you can propose and implement new extra-curricular activities or work with ones that are already in place. Do you have a skill or passion that you would like to share? Sports? Crafts? Languages? Music? Dance? Here's your opportunity! Questions? Click here

  Apply Now

  After you fill out the Application Form on our website, our Application Advisor will be in touch to help you with the next steps.

  

• Internships in Lisbon (overview)

  Lisbon

  Brief explanation of the Internships:

  We work closely with a network of over 250 social and environmental organizations who fight daily for their mission. These organizations want to innovate and improve their ability to have a greater positive impact on the lives of the people they support every day. To achieve that, they are looking for the expertise, technical knowledge, international perspectives and dedication that international interns bring.

  Our role is to help connect students and recent graduates seeking to apply the skills they have learned during their studies, on meaningful projects with organizations who have those problems and would appreciate their support.

  • Business
  • Marketing
  • Graphic Design
  • IT
  • Tourism
  • Hotel management
  • Special Education
  • Veterinary
  • Women

  Questions? Click here

  Apply Now

  After you fill out the Application Form on our website, our Application Advisor will be in touch to help you with the next steps.

  

• IT/Technology Internship

  IT developers / Web developer / Web designer / Website programmer

  It’s more and more important to be digitally connected, even for the social sector. The organizations we work with recognize the importance of taking advantage of the digital world and the potential of the technology to maximize the benefits for their beneficiaries, as well as to raise awareness of the public for the cause they are fighting for. There are internship opportunities for Web Developers in coding and optimization of the website of non-profits in Portugal. Some of the projects also require making their website accessible for people with disabilities such as blind or deaf users. Some of the opportunities also involve creating or restructuring databases, which can help the organizations to reach a wider audience in a more systematic manner as well as to improve their internal processes.

  Duration: 1 to 6 month

  Type of internship: Part-time or full-time

  Responsibilities: Some tasks can be but are not limited to:

  • Write well designed, testable, efficient code by using best software development practices
  • Create a user-friendly website layout/user interface
  • Design stable, reliable and effective databases
  • Optimize and maintain legacy systems
  • Modify databases according to requests and perform tests
  • Solve database usage issues and malfunctions
  • Decide on the best technologies and languages for the project
  • Gather and refine specifications and requirements based on technical needs
  • Create and maintain software documentation
  • Cooperate with web designers to match visual design intent
  • Fixe bugs in existing projects
  • Run performance benchmarking tests

  Questions? Click here

  Apply Now

  After you fill out the Application Form on our website, our Application Advisor will be in touch to help you with the next steps.

  

• Veterinary Internship

  Veterinary

  We currently partner with 2 non-profits that give medical care to abandoned and mistreated animals. Interns and professionals in the field of veterinary medicine are welcome. In this program interns can practice in real clinic cases the skills they have acquired during their studies. The program is open to both current veterinary and vet-tech students as well as licensed veterinarians. Pre-vet students will be considered based on previous experience. You will be working side by side with English speaking staff, and overseen by licensed veterinarians.

  Duration: 1 to 6 month

  Type of internship: Part-time or full-time

  Responsibilities: Typical tasks are (but not limited to):

  • Monitoring and discussion of clinical cases
  • Monitoring and support in the consultations
  • Monitoring surgeries
  • Support in treatments (blood samples, treatment of wounds, administering IVs , etc.)

  Questions? Click here

  Apply Now

  After you fill out the Application Form on our website, our Application Advisor will be in touch to help you with the next steps.

  

• Tourism/Hospitality Internship

  Tourism/Hospitality Internship

  It’s more and more important to be integrated into one of the most dynamic sectors in Portugal: the tourism sector. The social and environmental organizations we work with recognize the importance of taking advantage of their resources, know-how and infrastructures to maximize the benefits for their beneficiaries, as well as to raise awareness of the public for the cause they are fighting for. There are opportunities for tourism students to be responsible for helping our partners to develop their tourism business plan, improve their operational processes, create new programs based on the local reality of the partner, among many other tasks that aim at improving the financial sustainability of the institution.

  Duration: 1 to 6 month

  Type of internship: Part-time or full-time

  Responsibilities: Some tasks can be but are not limited to:

  • Develop completely new programs
  • Develop tourism business plans
  • Contact potential commercial partners
  • Conduct surveys
  • Implement training programs
  • Develop new itineraries
  • Improve the existing tours
  • Learn how to behave as a tour guide
  • Gain experience as a tour guide
  • Manage Hotel reservations in a real context
  • Learn and manage the processes and the operations of a Hotel/hostel
  • Give improvements suggestions

  Questions? Click here

  Apply Now

  After you fill out the Application Form on our website, our Application Advisor will be in touch to help you with the next steps.

  

Cost and Details

• Cost - Portugal

  Volunteer or Intern in Portugal

  Cost

  Length of Program	Volunteer Fees	Internship Fees
  2 Weeks	US$1549	N/A
  3 Weeks	US$1879	N/A
  4 Weeks	US$2209	US$1900
  5 Weeks	US$2539	US$2300
  6 Weeks	US$2869	US$2700
  7 Weeks	US$3199	US$3100
  8 Weeks	US$3529	US$3500
  9 Weeks	US$3859	US$3900
  10 Weeks	US$4189	US$4300
  11 Weeks	US$4519	US$4700
  12 Weeks	US$4849	US$5100
  Longer	Inquire	Inquire

   

  Programs require at least a two week commitment with a 3 month maximum stay.

  Application Fee: $200
  (Please see our application fee refund policy here)

  Credit card payments: Payment by credit card will be assessed a 3.5% surcharge. This is the fee that we will be charged for the transaction. Contact us about alternative forms of payment.

  All prices are listed in US Dollars. The program fees reflect the costs ELI faces when setting up a program. We work hard to keep our costs as low as possible. ELI is a registered 501(c)3 non profit. US taxpayers may be able to deduct some or all of the program fees. If you are outside the US and wondering what these costs translate to in your currency, click here for an online conversion tool that will give you the approximate current exchange rate.

  Apply Now

  After you fill out the Application Form on our website, our Application Advisor will be in touch to help you with the next steps.

  

• What's Included/What's Not

  Porto

  Program Includes: *Airport Pickup *Accommodation *Meals (3 meals daily) *Free Wi-Fi *Orientation Upon Arrival *Work Placement *In-country coordinator available 24/7

  Program Does Not Include: *Round-trip Airfare *Return Trip to Airport  *Required Travel and Medical Insurance  *Visa Fees

  Lisbon

  Program Includes: *Airport Pickup *Accommodation *Meals (3 meals daily) * Orientation + guided city tour *Suggestions for activities with the other participants *In-country coordinator available 24/7 *Local tips to discover the city *Insurance *Internship Placement

  Program Does Not Include: *Round-trip Airfare *Return Trip to Airport  *Required Travel and Medical Insurance *Daily transportation *Visa Fees

  Apply Now

  After you fill out the Application Form on our website, our Application Advisor will be in touch to help you with the next steps.

  

• Accommodations

  Accommodations in Porto

  The accommodation is a guest house operated by a local non-profit organization. The default accommodation is in a dormitory with 7 beds with basic furniture and natural light. It is located in Vila Nova de Gaia, just one kilometer from Porto city center. There are small shops and restaurants in the area. All rooms have shared bathroom. There is a fully equiped kitchen for use of all the guests where you can store and prepare food as they wish. There is free wi-fi in all the rooms. You may upgrade to a private room for 20€ / day upon request and subject to availability.

  Accommodations in Lisbon

  Interns are accommodated in a centrally located sustainable hostel. It has dormitory-style rooms accommodating from 4-10 participants (single gender) and private rooms are available for upgrades upon request. Bathrooms are shared. Bedding and towels are provided and changed regularly. Wi-fi is freely available in the hostel, and of course in many cafe's and restaurants. There is a big sunny terrace and big common areas for interns to relax and meet other people from all over the world-. This accommodation was specially chosen due to its sustainable concept that an integrated part of how this hostel works and the experience that you will have.

• Why Portugal
  Wondering what Portugal has to offer? Take a look at our "Why Portugal" page.