2026 Fund Internship Program (FIP) - Legal Department

Work for the IMF. Work for the World.

The IMF's Legal Department is seeking applications for an internship assignment, part of the 2026 Fund Internship Program (FIP). The duration of the internship will be 10-12 weeks and will be undertaken between June and September 2026 (the precise period of the internship will be agreed between the department and the successful candidate). 

The selected candidate will work in one of the units of the Legal Department under the supervision and guidance of a senior member of the unit. Projects assigned (which differ from year to year) will be determined at a time closer to the start of the internship to ensure that they are directly aligned with the department's work program and, to the extent possible, with the interests of the intern. Past internship research projects have covered a broad spectrum of legal issues as the examples below from previous year illustrate: 

• Analysis of the impact of corruption on sovereign lending and on sovereign debt restructuring.  
• Review the regulatory approaches taken by one or more financial centers to insider trading and the use of material non-public information.  
• Research on international law issues related to monetary and financial law with relevance to the IMF’s mandate on surveillance and use of IMF resources. 
• Research on digital money design options to facilitate analysis on the financial integrity and anti-money laundering and combating terrorism financing implications generated by different arrangements. 
• Analysis of cross-border payments data and identification of outlier financial flows potentially related to money laundering, underlying crimes and terrorism financing.
• Assessment of international and national sanctions programs implications for member countries and IMF operations. 
• Analysis of domestic legal frameworks in the area of non-bank financial institutions, from the perspective of financial stability and cross-jurisdictional differences.
• Analyzing implementation and impact of Governance and Corruption Diagnostics recommendations across countries

Qualifications  

To be eligible for the internship, candidates must: 

• Be within one or two years of completing their L.L.M., J.D., or equivalent degree in law. 
• Be in student status, i.e., must be returning to university after their internship. 
• Should not exceed 32 years of age. 
• Have an excellent command of English (both written and oral). 
• Possess strong quantitative and computer skills. 

Application Requirements: 

To be considered, applicants must attach the following to their job applications: 

• Fully completed application form. 
• Responses to all questions. 
• CV or Résumé; as an attachment. 
• University transcript for current program of study; and  
• Two academic reference letters. 

After submitting your application, you will receive a system-generated acknowledgement. Only candidates who are identified for further consideration will be contacted.  

Please note: if you are unable to attach 2 academic reference letters to your application at this time, this will not lead to disqualification. If you are long listed for further consideration, you will have a short timeframe in which to provide the references, at that time. 

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The IMF is guided by the principle that the employment, classification, promotion, and assignment of staff shall be made without discrimination against any person. We welcome requests for reasonable accommodations for disabilities during the selection process. Information on how to request accommodations will be provided during the application process.