Working in the UK during your studies

Whether or not you can work and how many hours of work you can perform will be written on your visa vignette and/or BRP. 

Students studying below degree level, for example at Foundation, Pre-Masters or pre-sessional English level, are allowed to work (paid and unpaid) a maximum of 10 hours a week during term time and full-time during vacation periods.

Students studying full time at degree level are allowed to work (paid and unpaid) a maximum of 20 hours per week during term time and full time during vacation periods. 

Undergraduates, Masters Taught, and Masters in Research students can also work full time after their course completion until their visa expiry date. 

Postgraduate Research (PhD) students can work full-time during official annual leave and in the period between submitting the draft thesis and waiting for the viva. PhD students are “in term time” and thus restricted to 20 hours of work per week from their viva until their degree is awarded. 

They can work full time after their degree has been awarded until their visa expiry date. You may be asked to show proof to your employer that you have been awarded your degree, such as a Certificate of completion or Award letter.

PhD students are allowed 30 days of annual leave per year (during which they can work full time) and must submit an annual leave form before taking vacation.

There are restrictions on working for Student Visa holders.

Under the Student Visa rules you may not:

• be self-employed (this includes freelance contracts)
• fill a full-time, permanent vacancy (except on a recognised foundation programme or as a students' union sabbatical officer)
• be employed as a professional sportsperson (including a sports coach)
• be employed as an entertainer
• be a doctor in training (except on a recognised foundation programme)
• engage in business activity. You will be considered to be engaging in business activity where you are working for a business (in the UK or abroad) in a capacity other than an employee in which you have a financial or other significant beneficial interest. This would include the following:
  • setting up a business
  • being employed by a company in which you hold shares of 10% or more (including where the shares are held in a trust for you)
  • working for a company where you also hold a statutory role, such as a director.

For more details about what work you can and cannot do, please see UKCISA's web pages and UKCISA's blog, "A working definition".

These rules are not straightforward, particularly those relating to business activity, which could include prohibiting Student Visa holders from working for their own business in the UK even if the business is based outside the UK. If you are at all uncertain, contact an Immigration Adviser.

You may work in the UK with no restrictions. 

Employers may ask to see proof of your status under the EU Settlement Scheme.

You cannot carry out paid or unpaid work, work experience or work placements.

As an international student it is important that you understand the difference between unpaid work (which counts as part of your permitted 20 hours) and genuine volunteering (which doesn't).

• Volunteering is done on your own terms, usually for a good cause. If you are a volunteer you should have flexibility to come and go and will not have set responsibilities in the way that someone who is "employed" does. No one will be relying on you to do the work, and if you do not show up to do the work, no one will need to replace you. Volunteering is the only type of work that does not count towards your 20hrs/week limit.
• Voluntary work is done for a charity, a voluntary organisation, fundraising body, statutory body. A voluntary worker has specific duties and an obligation to perform work. If you do not show up to do the work, you will need to be replaced by someone else so that the work gets done. You are not paid anything more than appropriate expenses. Voluntary work does count towards your 20hrs/week limit.

All of the following types of work also count towards your 20hrs/week limit:

• Casual work is work that is usually done part time (but sometimes full time) for up to 12 weeks at a time. Many University departments hire students for casual work, so you can speak to your department about what casual work opportunities may be available. You can also talk to the Careers team for information on how to find a part-time job.
• An internship is a short period of work, to help you gain relevant skills and experience in the career area you are interested in. You are likely to have specific responsibilities and be doing real work.
• Work shadowing is a short period of time spent mainly observing the work of someone in a career area of interest to you, to help you get an insight into what is involved.
• Work experience is a broad term which can be used in relation to all of the above activities!

A work placement is a specific period of work, often as part of an academic course, related to what you are learning on your course and what you may want to do in the future. You may undertake a work placement full time so long as it forms part of your degree course. Any work you do in this placement, as long it forms part of your degree course, does not count towards your 20hrs/week limit. This means you could work full-time in the placement and in another part time job (up to 20hrs/week).  If the work placement is not part of your course then it is subject to the regular 20hrs/week limit.