I have no idea about their criteria, application process or really anything except that this Foundation exists to support interns coming from developing countries.

http://www.genevawise.org/

Best of luck!

Allow me to ask the obvious question: what's keeping them from paying you? Sounds like a sound and, given the rather short timespan, minor investment into someone who's been shortlisted for a responsible position.

Just to chime in, assuming that your organisation is part of the UN system (I may be utterly wrong), did they literally tell you you will be considered as a paid candidate in your country or did you simply assume that? Don't fall for the trap, "do some unpaid work here, we are definitely paying later". It's full of unpaid interns in GVA and you really have to ask yourself what's next.

Thank you so much Dear Misskate, I have applied to Geneva wise 3 weeks ago and have send all the required documents but I never get any reply, there is no even a telephone number to contact them in their website, I am not sure if the organisation still exist because they don't reply to emails and they do not have any number to get in touch with them, if by any chance you may have their telephone number please help me with it.

thank you very much for your reply,they told me during the Interview that I am a shotlisted candidate for the country represntative position in the Democratic Republic of Congo but they want me to spend at least 3 months with them in Geneva for an unpaid internship for them to make the decision of the final offer, I really don't know what to do.

Dear Cristina, I would like to thank you for you time to reply, yes during the interview with the programme Director , he told me that I am shortlist candidate for a paid position in my country, the organisation is oparating already in 6 african countirs and they are now opening in Congo by June and I am a prospective candidate to take the post for the country Director, they organisation is not part of the UN System, but it is an International NGO, I really don't know how to go about it and I cannot afford the geneva city without a pay for 3 months . sometimes life is not fair

Pardon my French, but a Country Director position requires more than a 3-months internship. Presumably, you hold much more experience and you should ask them to pay for this trial period. I don't see how you can get funding within a few weeks. Best of luck

thank you very much once again Cristina

I agree with other posters that if you have the qualifications to be a candidate for a managerial position, you shouldn’t be required to undertake an unpaid internship. Furthermore, have you been offered any help in obtaining an entry visa for Switzerland?

I’m afraid the lack of the NGO’s reachability and transparency do not make good reading.

R.

Dear Ritchie, I would like to thank you for your reply, I was the one that applied for an unpaid internship to that organisation (not the other way around), when applying I knew one organisation that could sponsor the internship but since I received the offer of Intership I have no news .

The organisation assessed my application and proposed me as prospective candidate for a managerial position in my contry upon the end of the Internship period in Geneva. The organisation have applied for the visa already, thank you so much 

Dear John,

You are missing the point. If your experience already qualifies you as a shortlisted candidate for a managerial position, then doing an unpaid internship in the same organisation that thinks you are fit as a manager, becomes illogical. It's unethical that they ask you to do unpaid work if your experience already exceeds that initial level.

Best

once again thank you Cristina, I was the one that applied for an unpaid Internship with that organisation with hope to receive the funds from a geneva based organisation but when they accessed my application they prefer me to be working for the organisation in Congo. I do agree with you that considering the fact that they want me for a managerial position they should think of paying , I hope they could be also in this forum and read what I am writing, please tell them to pay me, I have a family.

What exactly stops you from telling them the exact same thing? That you need them to fund those 3 months. You have no formal written guarantee (contract) that you will be hired in Congo afterwards. Consider that before anything else.

Thank you Cristina for the advice, I will have to tell them that.

I’m not an expert but I have never heard that an NGO can arrange a UN internship for a national of a country in which that NGO is not yet officially accredited.  I could be wrong, of course, but if you are worried that you can’t obtain all the information you need, you could perhaps contact the office of the United Nations Development Programme in Kinshasa which will surely be able to give you some hands-on guidance.

You could also get in touch with the Permanent Mission of the DRC to UN Geneva.

Hope this might be of some help and best wishes,

R.

Dear Richie, I am not doing the UN Internship, I am doing the Internship at the head office of the NGO in Geneva and since the internship is unpaid I have applied to another organisation that is giving funds for interns in Geneva, it is that organisation called Geneva wise that I am worried about, it is not part of my organisation for internship it is a totally different organisation with the only mission to sponsor interns in Geneva. 

Did you already get your visa? Because normally to get the visa you have to prove that you can take care of yourself financially for the duration of your internship. 

Thank you for this useful additional information.

However, you say in post 4 that the Geneva wise website does not even give a telephone number, but I found the following:

Geneva wise

4 rue des Corps-Saints

1201 Genève

tel:

0041 (0)22 321 77 37.

Good luck!

R.

Hello Marcy, thank you very much for you reply , the visa is taken care off by the hosting organisation already .

Dear Rictchie, thank you so much but Wise is different than geneva wise, here is the website for geneva wise : www.genevawise.org

there is no telephone number there, only emails for application and they never responded, I wonder if the orgnanisation still exist .

Thanks 

The website states that applications without an acceptance letter and proof of accommodation will not be considered, so did you send both of these?

yes I have send everything

Well, try writing again by registered mail.

R.

thank you so much

Marcy has a point: how is your organisation in position to get the visa for you if the internship is unpaid? Sorry, I don't get this.

Hello Cristina, yes they are dealing with it, how? I don't know 

Let me break it to you: your organization has to provide some sort of financial gurantee for those 3 months. If they are not paying you, how exactly are they arranging your visa? Have you contacted your embassy yourself and see the applicable requirements? Perhaps you should do it.

thank you Cristina for the advice

If John is a national of the CDR and resident in the country, he will not have a CDR embassy to go to.  To obtain a visa for Switzerland he has to apply to the Swiss Embassy in the CDR.

If the application is being processed for him, that organization or person has to furnish proof of the funding of his stay in CH – and if he is being funded, why is he looking for further financial assistance?

So far, this story simply doesn’t hold water.

thanks  Ritchie, do I have to question the organisation how they are dealing with the visa? I am not sure I can do that, the internship is unpaid and the organisation choosed to apply for a visa on behalf of the candidate, the details on how they go about it may be at their own discretion.

Listen, friends, John needs help, and I am afraid some of these posts are not being helfpful. There is nothing unusual about his situation.

Even UN organizations engage in the practice of using the talent, work and time of enterprising, promising young people without remuneration, let alone many non-UN  international NGOs. This situation was brought to light last year by an intern from New Zealand (whose story or motives nobody questioned) but it is well known to those working within the UN and international NGO circles.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/unpaid-united-nations-intern-david-hyde-forced-to-live-in-a-tent-in-geneva-10451775.html

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/12/unpaid-un-intern-who-had-to-sleep-in-a-tent-quits-after-media-uproar

http://www.tdg.ch/geneve/actu-genevoise/stagiaire-onu-toit-prend-parole-derniere-fois/story/16541033

If you can provide some informed advice, that is great, but if not, please refrain from questioning John (as in "So far, this story simply doesn’t hold water....")

John has told us:

1. He applied for an unpaid internship with the understandable goal of expanding his experience and contacts. Such organizations take care of getting the necessary visas using their status in Switzerland.

2. He foresaw getting support from a separate organization "Genevawise" whose stated aims are "The aim of GenevaWISE is to provide financial support for young professionals and students from developing countries, so that they may do internships in Geneva. This will provide them with the necessary tools and expertise to more effectively implement development strategies and lasting change in their home countries." He tells us he has not received a reply, there is no contact phone number (I verified as well) and he is running out of time.

3. The organization where he will do the internship has seen an opportunity to use his skills and 3 months of training as an intern to then hire him afterwards. Nothing unusual here, it is common pratice by UN agencies, in fact. It is also not unusual that they have not committed to giving him that position. They would wait to see how it works out once he works with them. Again, nothing unusual in their making a decision "upon the end of the Internship period in Geneva."

All those practices may be questionable, but not unusual. Those engaging in them argue that they have limited resources which they prefer to use to further their mission and that interns should consider themselves lucky to get the opportunity. I disagree, but still, that is their position.

The only question, really, is, do you know any other source of support John can go to? Or anyone who can offer him a roof to stay under, maybe in exchange for something he could reasonably do and is willing to do?

Has this sponsoring organization asked you to provide any personal identification material, photograph, etc.?

If not, it might be wise to ask them how far they’ve got in the request procedure.

It is in any case somewhat unusual for all this paperwork to be handled without your having to go to the issuing authority in person at some point if only to sign some kind of paper in the presence of an official.

But perhaps the CDR is the exception that proves the rule.

I never heard of organisations processing visas for applicants. It's the applicant who does the entire process with relevant documents provided by the respective organisation. Obviously, I don't get it. Check with your embassy.

I think the reason people are asking the questions is because even when you apply for those unpaid internships, when it is time to apply for the visa you have to prove that you have sufficient funds for the duration of the internship. I guess the reason people are asking these questions is the fact that it just seems strange that the visa would be issued before he knows how he will survive.

thank you so much JR for the clarification, it is very much appreciated, I hope everyone could just assist if they can , maybe my english is not to good to be understood by many, but you have just given all the details , they you so much .

You probably have to ask them. At the risk of sounding a bit suspicious, unpaid interns usually have to prove to the embassy that they are able to financially take care of themselves either through a sponsorship or their finances. Good luck and just ask the organisation how they are applying for the visa.

Dear Cristina, the fact that you "never heard of organisations processing visas for applicants," does not mean that they do not. My organization does. All the time. I have been involved in hiring interns.

Marcy, I don't know what you base your opinion on. That may be the case with some organizations, they do not all have the same status in Switzerland, but UN agencies and those registered as Private Foundations which have an international scope, certainly do it.  John's case does not seem strange to those of us who have been involved in the process.

But this is all academic. John is asking for help, a very specific kind of help. If you are suspicious and do not want to help him, fine. But please, do not make it more difficult for him by casting doubts on his situation.

I have send all the necessary documents, passport etc, my first visa to Europe was also dealt with by the sponsoring organisation, it is not something new to me, they will go to all necessary steps and apply on behalf of the candidate and when the visa is approved the reference number and visa letter will be sent to the candidate and with that reference the candidate will go to the embassy to get the visa stamp in the passport, that is how it works.

thanks Cristina but the ca organisation  process visa for candidate and upon approval ,the letter will be sent to the candidate to go to the embassy and get the visa stamp in the passport(this process takes 2 days only to get the stamp). I have done it before with my previous sponsoring organisation

point taken, thanks Marcy

thank you very much JR

By the way, the organization I work for is one of the rare ones who pays "unpaid interns" an amount deemed to at least be sufficient for their living expenses. We take pride on that. Some interns have eventually found a job in the organization, but a prior commitment is never made. As I said, the diplomatic status of the organization allows it to submit visa requests to the Bureau Cantonale, which routinely approves them based on the fact that the organization vouches for them. It is one of the things Geneva does in order to establish and maintain its status as a global diplomatic center.

Please, at the very least look at David Hyde's story if you want to gain some insight:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/unpaid-united-nations-intern-david-hyde-forced-to-live-in-a-tent-in-geneva-10451775.html

http://www.tdg.ch/geneve/actu-genevoise/stagiaire-onu-toit-prend-parole-derniere-fois/story/16541033

Dear John,

I have been to the DRC, and grew up in a working class environment in a small seaside town in Mexico, working non-stop since I was 8, so I understand. Anyone who grew up in Mbujimayi, managed to study law, become bilingual and has the drive to try to connect to global realities, expand your training and horizons, has my respect.

Thank you so much JR, you understand my situation perfectly and I am gratefull, I will keep checking for my next opportunity if this one does not work out .

@JR M

I think I have read those articles last year and I also think you misread my point (I am aware of how the UN operates). Or Marcy's for that matter.

@JohnIn other words, please have a look at this, it's a part-time opportunity. Apply if you think it would help you once here.

I think you are reading into the questions being asked as an attack on John. We are simply or at least I am simply trying to let him know that the organisation should give him more information. Even when appyling for the internships it is usually indicated that to get the shenghen visa to enter switzerland you will have to show proof of support. I am getting my facts from the fact that I am currently helping my niece who got an internship to the UN to apply for a visa and to find accommodation. The first thing they asked for is proof that she has sufficient means to support herself and her parents had to give their bank statements to the embassy. 

thank you so much Cristina, I have just applied for the position and once again thanks for your help

For me, none of the posts was intended to discourage John but rather to alert him to the need for caution and verification because all of us here have known of scams in the matter of  internships and other so-called employment opportunities. Young people are promised a wonderful job at the heart of all the UN action in glamourous Geneva – “you’ll have such a ball”, etc., etc.

In the past two decades, I have hosted UN and NGO interns from all the hemispheres and I’ve heard quite a few horror stories.

So I genuinely believe that my fellow posters were simply wanting to ensure John was/isn’t being taken for a ride, especially as his particular circumstances are somewhat different from the more usual internship.

I certainly wish him all success in his quest and hope he will enjoy his stay in Geneva.

R.