People from the European Economic Area (EEA) are free to volunteer in the UK. The EEA countries are the countries of the European Union (EU) plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. If you are from outside this area and are on a Student Visitor (3 month/short term) visa you will unfortunately not be permitted to volunteer.
If you are on a Tier 4 (long term) student visa and are a student from outside the EEA coming to the University of Edinburgh then you are permitted to volunteer, however there are a few things you can do before you arrive to make the process a bit easier:
1. Get a copy of your police record from your home country
It's not vital, however if you wish to volunteer on projects working with children or other people classed as 'vulnerable', it can help speed things up if you have a copy of your record.
The project or organisation you are working for will apply for a UK police check on your behalf, so you should give them the police check from your home country when you go for your volunteer interview.
2. Get contact details from two referees
Some of our projects ask for references for their volunteers. Before you come, ask two people you know if they can act as referees.
These should be people who have known you for a minimum of six months and who are not related to you. It helps if you get an up to date postal and email address, phone and fax number. If possible, they should be able to read and write English.
The organisation you are volunteering for will take their details and contact them to ask for a reference: they don't need to write one out in advance.
Other useful information
Q: Will I get expenses repaid, for example for travelling to and from the place I'll be volunteering?
A: Ideally yes. If this is important, ask the organisation if they do this as soon as they contact you. If they are unable to provide expenses, let us know as we may be able to help.
Q: What sort of volunteering can I do to improve my English?
A: All volunteering that takes you out into the local community will help. Many of our international students choose to volunteer in a local
charity shop as you come into contact with a wide range of customers. Others visit elderly, older people and befriend them, chatting about their experiences. When you feel more confident, you could also volunteer as a tour guide in a historic building, for example Gladstone's Land on the Royal Mile.
Q: Why should I volunteer? It seems odd to work for free!
A: In Scotland, there are about 8000 registered charities. They are non-profit making organisations who do work with vulnerable, older or disabled people, campaign for various social improvements, look after abandoned animals, run activities for children from deprived backgrounds, and run refuges for the homeless and victims of abuse amongst many other things. As they don't generate a profit, they can't pay a large team of staff so they are reliant on volunteers donating their time. Just one or two hours of your time a week can make a lot of difference and help you get to know your local community.
Basically, it's a nice thing to do! But importantly, you can also gain valuable contacts and work experience that will improve your CV or resume.