Working part time during your studies or in vacation periods can be a great way to get to know other people and boost your skills as well as earning extra money. However, before you take any employment in the UK, you should always check if you have permission to work in the UK.
The following information is relevant for Çï¿ûÊÓƵ students who hold a Student Visa. If you are in the UK with a different type of visa (not a Student Visa), check carefully which work conditions apply to you. The guidance below gives you a comprehensive answer to most work during study related questions for Student Visa holders.
The International Student Advice Service is hosting free online workshops to guide international students on different visa routes, including what the work conditions of a Student Visa allow you to do in the UK . You can book to attend to a workshop session to get advice and ask all of your questions.
Does your visa allow you to work in the UK?
You can check if you are permitted to work in the UK by firstly looking at what is written on your Student Visa. If you are studying at degree level and your CAS was issued by the Çï¿ûÊÓƵ, you should find that the visa states that you are permitted to work a maximum of 20 hours per week during term time.
If you are studying below degree level (for example if you are studying a foundation programme), you may in some instances find that you are restricted to working a maximum of 10 hours per week during term time.
If your visa states any of the following phrases this means that you are not permitted to work in the UK:
If your visa does permit you to work in the UK, you must not work more than the number of hours per week you are allowed, as this would be a breach of your immigration conditions and a criminal offence.
If you have doubts about your right to work in the UK, the permitted hours, or if visa says something unusual or something that you don't understand, contact the International Student Advice Service to discuss. It is very important that you check your permission to work and the permitted hours before you do any work in the UK. If you breach the working conditions of your visa, even by accident, both you and your employer could be subject to a substantial fine and prosecution.
Definition of a week
UKVI define a week as a period of 7 days starting with a Monday. During this period, you must not work more than the maximum hours per week allowed by your visa. This weekly limit includes paid work and unpaid work.
Definition of term time
It's important to be aware of the official published which your employer and UKVI will likely refer to.
However, additionally, from UKVI's perspective term time means any period of time when you are expected to do any academic work. For example;
- Attending classes and lectures
- Writing essays, dissertations or a thesis
- Preparing for and taking exams
- Doing coursework
The following tables will help you identify when you can and cannot work, according to your level of study (and subject to your visa conditions).
Undergraduate students
Vacation | What is term time and what is vacation period? |
|---|
Christmas and Easter vacation | You are in an official vacation period. However, if you are undertaking or preparing for re-sits during this period, we advise that UKVI may consider you are not in a vacation period. For this reason, if you are a re-sit student, we recommend not to work more than the term time weekly limit during this time, as this may be considered a breach of visa conditions. |
Summer vacation | You are in an official vacation period, provided you are not undertaking any re-sits over this period. NB: If you started your programme in January, please check your summer vacation dates as these may vary slightly from students who commence study in September |
Postgraduate taught students (Masters)
Vacation | What is term time and what is vacation period? |
|---|
Christmas and Easter vacation | You are in an official vacation period. However, if you are undertaking or preparing for re-sits during this period, we advise that UKVI may consider you are not in a vacation period. For this reason, if you are a re-sit student, we recommend not to work more than the term time weekly limit during this time, as this may be considered a breach of visa conditions. |
Summer vacation | You are not in an official vacation period and therefore only 20 hours per week maximum is permitted because you will be required to work on your dissertation during this time. There are some exceptions to this but you must check very carefully before taking any action to work more than the usual term time limit. Most students on our Masters programmes do not get any summer break. Exceptions: 1. If the confirms that there is a summer break for your intake (there are detailed academic calendars for both January and September start Masters programmes), then this means during the dates of this summer break, you are outside term time. 2. If your Masters programme is a 2 year programme and has a summer break built into it in the first year. If this is an official summer break, confirmed by your Faculty, and you are not working on any re-sits, then you are outside term time. It is extremely important that you check very carefully with your Faculty when there is an official summer break on your programme and when there is not. During an official summer break, if you are working on a re-sit then you must not work more than the weekly term time limit. Take care with this, as if you work beyond the amount of weekly hours you are permitted to, this is a breach of your Student Visa conditions and has serious legal consequences. |
Postgraduate research students (MPhil/PhD)
Vacation | What is term time and what is vacation period? |
|---|
Christmas and Easter vacation | You are still considered to be in term time |
Summer vacation | You are still considered to be in term time |
Writing up and corrections period | You are still considered to be in term time |
Short period of leave approved by Supervisor
(must be documented and in accordance with your contract) | This is an officially vacation period, therefore is outside term time. We recommend you request this vacation period to be confirmed in writing by your Supervisor, if your Employer needs to see this |
Letters for Employers showing vacation periods
Students often ask the university if they can get a letter to show that they can work full time during a vacation. The confirms that information published on the university website is evidence an employer can accept. See our guidance above on this.
Working full time hours as part of a work placement and working in a second job whilst on placement
The immigration rules allow Student Visa holders to work full time hours, where this is for an authorised work placement which is an assessed part of their degree programme. This is only applicable to degree programmes which have a requirement to undertake an authorised work placement. confirms that work undertaken on the official placement does not count towards the period of term time employment permitted. This means that many employers will be happy for you to take on another part time job in addition to your main placement.
If the employer providing your official work placement wants to know the details of your degree programme and see confirmation that it includes an official work placement, you should speak to the Placements Office in your Faculty for their advice.
Work that is not permitted
There are some restrictions on the type of work you can do with a Student Visa. You are not allowed to engage in any of the following types of employment:
- Self-employment and business activity (unless you have made an application under the 'Start-Up' visa route)
- Professional Sportsperson or a Professional Sports Coach (unless this is through an approved placement as part of your degree programme)
- Entertainer (musician/comedian/theatre performances etc)
- Doctor or Dentist in training (if your Student Visa was granted before 1st December 2020)
You are also not allowed to fill a permanent vacancy so any work you do must be on a temporary or fixed-term basis.
If you are unsure, please contact the International Student Advice Service for advice before undertaking any work.
Voluntary / unpaid work and volunteering
Unpaid work (also sometimes known as voluntary work) counts in exactly the same way as paid work. Therefore, any unpaid / voluntary work counts towards your weekly maximum hours. However, volunteering does not count in this way.
It is important to understand the difference been volunteering and unpaid / voluntary work. In both scenarios you will not be paid for your time, but reasonable expenses can be reimbursed.
- Volunteers do not generally have a contract and will usually be helping a charity or public sector organisation
The explains how the Home Office will differentiate between unpaid / voluntary work and volunteering. You can also contact the International Student Advice Service to discuss.
Working after completing your studies
Students with a Student Visa who have completed their studies may work in the UK, but this is subject to certain conditions. You must be sure you have checked this before working more than your weekly maximum.
You may want to understand when UKVI will consider that you have 'completed'. We advise that it is safe to work full time hours after the course end date in your CAS, as long as you have completed all studies by that point (handed in all work and completed all exams). This advice applies, as long as your Student Visa contains the standard wording (see above)
We advise, if you receive results confirming that you need to re-take any of your courses, you must immediately revert back to part time work, below your weekly maximum limit.
Letters for employers to show completion of studies
Many employers will ask to see evidence of your completion of studies, so they know that you can work full time hours. UKVI don't provide a definition regarding precisely what they mean by completion of studies. The usual interpretation of completion of studies would be when it is confirmed that everything has been passed and there is no further work to submit. Officially, this is confirmed in the official results letter. issued after the Progression and Award Board meeting. has taken place. We recommend to provide the official results letter to the employer if they are asking for evidence of completion of your studies.
Permanent contracts of employment
Don't forget, whilst you are under the conditions of your Student Visa, you are also not allowed to fill a permanent vacancy so any work you do must be on a temporary / fixed-term basis. An exception to this may apply if you have made an application for a Skilled Worker Visa or a Graduate Route visa and the application is still pending. This can be a little complex as it will depend on when your most recent Student Visa was granted as to whether this exemption applies to you. Your employer should be able to make a decision about this. If they are hesitant they may decide they prefer you to get the work visa before they will issue a permanent contract.