Would you like to work at the German Parliament?

If you are a New Zealander under the age of 30 with a university degree, the International Parliamentary Scholarship (IPS) at the German Bundestag could give you the opportunity to experience how the Bundestag works over the course of five months, with three of these spent working in the office of a German Member of Parliament.

Application deadline: 31 July 2026

The internship programme aims to:

• promote relations between Germany and the participating countries
• consolidate democratic values and tolerance
• deepen understanding of cultural diversity
• secure peaceful coexistence in the world

Find out more on the Bundestag website here.

Requirements

• New Zealand citizenship (dual citizenship possible)
• Completed university degree (B.A., B.S., M.A., Diplom, Magister, state examination or doctorate) in any subject; proof of degree can be submitted later in justified cases until December 31, 2025
• Very good knowledge of the German language (at least level B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages)
• A keen interest in political and social contexts and German history
• Commitment to political and social issues
• Age limit: Applicants must be under the age of 30 at the start of the program. Applications are open to applicants whose birthday is after March 1, 1994.

Application forms

The complete application must include the following documents:

(Here is a checklist for your application to help you keep track.)

• Application form completed in German and signed by hand (p. 5, 6)
• Detailed application justification in German, signed by hand (no more than two pages)
• Degree certificate (original or officially certified copy in German or English, scanned). In justified cases, proof of graduation can be submitted later until December 31, 2025. The original or officially certified copy in German or English of the degree certificate must be submitted for the selection interview
• Very good German language skills (at least level B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) can be demonstrated:
  - by an official language certificate, not older than two years (for example TestDaF, ZOP, DSH or by the IPS language certificate) - proof is also deemed to have been provided if the required very good German language skills are clearly evident from the curriculum vitae (for example Abitur in Germany, German studies, employment as a German teacher)
  
• Two letters of recommendation in German or English (not older than one year), one of which must be from a university lecturer or from the employer, in which the applicant's professional qualifications for the IPS are assessed on the official letterhead of the issuing institution
  
• An application photo as an image file (JPEG or other standard image format)
  
• Copy of passport or ID card

How to apply

Please send the complete application documents by e-mail in a PDF document with a file name consisting of your surname and first name (e.g. Muster-Max.pdf) to the e-mail address below.

If the PDF document exceeds the size of 15 MB, please divide your application documents into several e-mails, with each attachment having a maximum size of 15 MB.

If you would like to use a compression program to reduce the size of your application documents, please only use a program that creates an archive file with the file extension “.zip” (e.g. Muster-Max.zip).

Please address any inquiries to:

E-Mail: info@wellington.diplo.de

Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany
International Parliamentary Scholarship
90-92 Hobson Street, Thorndon
Wellington 6011
New Zealand

Website: www.wellington.diplo.de

Selection of participants

Participants are selected in a two-stage process. The pre-selection is carried out by the German Embassy in Wellington. The most qualified applicants will be invited to a personal selection interview in spring/summer 2025. A selection committee of the German Bundestag will make the final selection based on the applicants' linguistic, professional, social and intercultural skills.

Travel costs to the selection interview

If the selection interview does not take place in the applicant's home country or city, the travel costs can be covered proportionately and the visa costs in full.

Useful Links

Internationales Parlaments-Stipendium (IPS) des Bundestages:

Information for New Zealand:

https://www.bundestag.de/europa_internationales/ips/neuseeland-691532