Mandatory internship in Mozambique: what the law guarantees

The mandatory internship in Mozambique — the curricular one required by universities for graduation — falls under the pre-professional internship regulation (Decree 95/2021), which defines 2 modalities: paid and unpaid. In a paid internship, the intern receives at least 75% of the sector's national minimum wage; in an unpaid internship, they do not receive a stipend — but non-negotiable rights remain the same.

In an unpaid internship, there is no obligation of payment, but the intern retains access to occupational health and safety regulations and workplace accident insurance. Conflating the two modalities risks taking on an underpaid or legally misaligned internship.

The 2 pre-professional internship modalities

Decree 95/2021, which regulates pre-professional internships in Mozambique, distinguishes 2 modalities: paid internship and unpaid internship. The choice between them defines what the intern receives and the maximum duration the internship can last.

Paid internship

In a paid internship, the intern receives a monthly stipend of at least 75% of the national minimum wage of the sector in which the internship takes place. With the 2026 minimum wage (in effect since April 1), this amounts to 8,758 MT per month in the public sector — 75% of which is 6,568 MT, the lowest floor a public sector paid internship can legally offer.

In the private sector, the minimum wage varies by sector (cashew is 7,000 MT, construction is 8,652 MT, agriculture is 7,072 MT — check the 19 sectors table), and internship remuneration follows the same logic: 75% of the sector's floor.

Maximum duration of a paid internship: 12 months. This is the highest general limit in the regulations — with the curricular exception provided for by the regulations themselves.

Unpaid internship

In an unpaid internship, there is no obligation of payment. It is the typical modality of the curriculum-mandated internship — the one required by universities for a student to graduate. The regulations are explicit: duration limits do not apply to unpaid internships associated with the completion of studies when the curriculum requires more time.

This is the pathway through which some long-duration degree programs include unpaid internships of up to 1 year, under the argument that it constitutes training.

Duration of unpaid internships: 3 to 6 months, except when tied to the completion of studies.

Mandatory internship: what it actually is

The term "mandatory internship" refers to what the curriculum requires for a student to graduate. It is a modality of unpaid internship, but with a distinction highlighted by regulations: when the curriculum requires more than 6 months, the standard limit does not apply.

A medical or engineering degree requiring 1 year of hospital or construction site internship is exactly this — a mandatory, unpaid internship with the duration imposed by the degree program.

There is a boundary: a mandatory internship cannot be a pretext for companies to exploit free labor. Regulations exclude internships required by professional associations as a prerequisite for practicing a profession from their scope, and Decree 45/2023 requires internship vacancies to be communicated to the specialized employment agency at least 7 days prior to publication.

This communication is what provides legal standing — without it, the "internship" lacks a legal framework.

What rights you have in each modality

The regulations are clear on a point that many confuse: the intern is not an employee of the hosting organization. They are not employees, do not have an employment contract, and do not receive paid leave as defined under the Labour Law. However, several provisions of the Labour Law extend to internship relationships in any modality:

• Occupational health and safety — interns have access to the same safety regulations as employees; the company must guarantee protective equipment, training, and proper working conditions.
• Workplace accident insurance — the hosting organization is obligated to insure the intern against accidents. If an accident occurs during the internship, coverage is provided by the company, not the intern.
• Working hours — for interns under 18, the working hours regime for minors applies. For those over 18, the standard Labour Law working hours regime applies.
• Weekly rest and public holidays — interns are entitled to weekly rest days and public holidays, just like regular workers.

In a paid internship, there is 1 additional right: a minimum remuneration of 75% of the sector floor. In an unpaid internship, there is no right to payment. And here is the core point: the company cannot use the intern as labor without a training framework. If the "internship" is, in practice, operational work, that is what you need to challenge.

What the internship contract must include in writing

The internship contract must be in writing (except when the internship results from a direct agreement between the hosting organization and the educational institution, as is the case for curricular internships). The regulations list what must be stated in the document:

• Full identification of the parties;
• The activity or activities that the hosting organization undertakes to provide and supervise, according to the internship plan;
• The duties and rights of the intern;
• The amount of remuneration, when it is a paid internship — without this, the amount can be challenged;
• The start date;
• The location where the internship is conducted.

A paid internship without a written contract, or with a contract lacking the stipend amount, opens the door to underpayment. The figure must be written before the start, not after.

Red flags: when the "internship" is a pretext

There are 3 signs that a paid internship is being used as operational labor rather than training:

• The duration is being extended. The maximum for paid internships is 12 months. If you are offered 18 months, 24 months, or an "internship" that renews year after year, it is no longer an internship — it is disguised work, and the relationship can be reclassified as an employment contract with full minimum wage requirements.
• The amount is below 75% of the sector minimum. In the private sector, 75% of the sector floor is the line. Below that is underpayment — and the figure must be specified in the contract.
• There is no internship program. The contract must outline activities according to the internship program (art. 9.2(b)). Without a program, there is no training — there is only labor.

In such cases, Labour Law 13/2023 provides the legal framework: where there is dependency, fixed hours, and personal performance of services, the relationship is one of employment, not an internship. Minimum wage, paid leave, insurance — all apply. That is what the Law 13/2023 guide explains.

Decree 45/2023: the rule to notify before publishing

Since August 3, 2023, Decree 45/2023 requires employers — both public and private — to notify job vacancies and pre-professional internships to the specialized employment agency (the National Employment Institute, INEP) at least 7 days before the vacancy is published in any other outlet.

Inspection is split into 2: the General Inspectorate of Public Administration inspects public entities; the General Labour Inspectorate inspects private entities. The penalties are:

• Warning — when notification is submitted less than 7 days prior to publication;
• Fine of 2 sector minimum wages — when notification is submitted after publication;
• Fine of 5 sector minimum wages — when there is no notification.

This explains why an internship vacancy in a public institution appears first on the INEP portal and only later on other channels — the 7-day rule ensures the public employment service receives the information first, rather than delaying recruitment.

Where paid internships are found in practice

Beyond the law, what unlocks paid internships in Mozambique are structured programs. 2 examples with 2026 figures:

• MozYouth (FACIM, September 2026): around 2,500 young people with paid internships, 50% hired by host companies, programs ranging from 3 months to 1 year, 250+ partner companies, age group 18 to 35.
• Conecta Negócios (Government initiative, launch 13-02-2026): 1,000 youth in the north at launch, a 15-month program run by MozYouth across Cabo Delgado, Nampula, and Niassa provinces, funded by the World Bank, with at least 60% of participants being women.

Besides formal programs, paid internships open up within companies — and the approach remains the same: an active profile on Inademy (free, with email and WhatsApp alerts) and a CV demonstrating what you can do, not just what you studied. The Guide's first job CV template and cover letter template serve as the foundation.

Read also

• Vocational training in Mozambique: worker's rights

Frequently asked questions

1. Does a paid internship count as professional experience?

It counts toward experience as practical professional experience, not as employment. On your CV, list it as an intern in field X — it is valued, but it is not the same as regular employment. The certificate is approved by the supervisory entity (art. 33.1(f)).

2. Can I be an intern at age 17?

Yes: the age bracket under the regulation is 15 to 35 (art. 7.1(a)) — a 17-year-old meets the age requirement, provided they are a finalist or recent graduate (art. 7.1(b)). Minors under 18 have the working hours regime for minors among the rights extended by the regulation (art. 11.2(c)).

The 35-year cap does not apply to women or to persons with disabilities (art. 7.3 and 7.4), and it also covers those aged 35 to 40 who obtained a professional or higher education qualification in the last 2 years (art. 7.2).

3. Does an unpaid internship have a 6-month limit even if the degree requires 1 year?

No: limits do not apply to unpaid internships tied to the completion of studies when the curriculum requires more. The degree program takes precedence.

4. Can a company extend a paid internship to 18 months?

The regulations set 12 months as the maximum duration for a paid internship. If a company proposes 18 months, there is no legal basis in the REPP for this extension — and the relationship may be reclassified as an employment contract.

5. If I have an accident during the internship, who covers it?

The hosting organization: workplace accident insurance applies to the intern in both paid and unpaid modalities. If the accident occurs at the internship location, coverage is provided by the company.

6. Why must companies notify INEP of internship vacancies 7 days prior?

This is mandated by Decree 45/2023: notifying the public employment service prior to publication is mandatory for all employers, and failure to do so results in a fine. It is not bureaucracy — it is the rule ensuring transparency across the job market.

Sources

Decree No. 95/2021, of December 23 (Pre-Professional Internship Regulations); Decree No. 45/2023, of August 3 (Vacancy Notification Regulations); FACIM (September 3, 2026) — MozYouth; Government of Mozambique (February 2026; launch 13-02-2026, World Bank funding) — Conecta Negócios; Government of Mozambique (28 April 2026; values effective from 1 April) — 19 sectoral minimums; Labour Law 13/2023.

Official source: Law No. 13/2023 (Labour Law) is available as a PDF on the website of Mozambique's Supreme Court (Tribunal Supremo): official text (PDF).