Working in the UK during your studies
As an international student, you may have restrictions on the number of hours you can work and the type of work you can do on your Student Route visa. You will need to check this information carefully before applying for work.
How many hours can I work?
A Student Route visa will only allow you to work (paid or unpaid) within the following limits:
- students below degree level study - 10 hours per week during term time (Monday to Sunday)
- students at degree level study - 20 hours per week during term time (Monday to Sunday)
It’s your responsibility to ensure that you don’t work more hours than your visa allows. If you have more than one job, you will need to be careful that your combined hours from both jobs don’t exceed the number of hours you can legally work.
You can work full-time during the vacation period for your particular programme or at the end of your programme, when you have fully completed all of your studies.
You can find further information on the following webpages:
- INTO Newcastle students
- Undergraduate students
- Postgraduate Taught students
- Postgraduate Research students
If you think that the conditions on your visa are incorrect, please contact the Visa Support Team.
Types of work you can do
There are restrictions on the type of work you can do. You can’t:
- be self-employed or engage in business activity
- work as a professional sportsperson including as a sports coach
- work as an entertainer
- take a permanent full-time job
- be a doctor or dentist in training, unless you are on the foundation programme
For more information on Student Route working conditions, see the UKCISA website.
If you have any concerns about your Student Route working conditions, please contact the Visa Support Team before taking any paid or unpaid employment.
Working in the UK after your studies
When you have finished your programme, you may want to switch to an immigration category that will allow you to remain in the UK to work.
The Careers Service have information and resources to help you start your job search in the UK.
While on a Student Visa, you may also work after you have completed your programme.
Graduate route
Please see our Graduate visa ('post-study work') webpage for further details.
Help from the Visa Support Team
The Visa Support Team runs a workshop with the Careers Service to give advice on the following immigration routes:
Self-employment
While you are on a Student Visa, you cannot be self-employed. This usually means that you cannot run your own business, but can also include activities such as freelancing, selling goods and services, and private tutoring.
When you work in the UK, you should normally expect to have a contract of employment or agreement with the employer, and you will be on the employer's payroll. If any of these features are absent, it is likely to amount to self-employment and you should refrain from taking up the work while you are on a Student Visa. You should always check your employment status before taking up the work.
Business activity
While you are on a Student Visa, you cannot engage in business activities. The Home Office provides guidance and non-exhaustive examples of what they would normally consider as business activities.
Business activity means working for a business in which you have a financial or other significant beneficial interest in a capacity other than as an employee. Examples provided include the following:
- setting up a business as a sole trader or under a partnership arrangement and that business is either trading or establishing a trading presence
- being employed by a company in which they hold shares of 10% or more (including where the shares are held in a trust for them)
- working for a company where they also hold a statutory role, such as a director
If the activity you propose to do is not covered by the examples above, but you are deriving financial or other significant beneficial interest other than as an employee of the business, it is advisable for you to avoid undertaking the activity.
You can also refer to the UKCISA website for further information of examples of common jobs in the UK and how this is affected by your Student Visa.
Permanent full-time job
While you are on a Student Visa, you cannot fill a permanent full-time vacancy. A permanent full-time job means a job that is open ended (i.e. it doesn’t have an end date) and you are employed on a full-time basis.
You can fill a permanent full-time vacancy if you decide to switch to the Graduate Visa. Please see our Graduate Visa webpage for further information.
Volunteering
While you are on a Student Visa, you can volunteer but you should be aware of the distinction between volunteering and voluntary work. Volunteering activities are not restricted to number of hours you are permitted to work; while voluntary work is considered unpaid work (i.e. you are paid in kind) will count towards the number of hours you are permitted to work.
The Home Office guidance provide some factors which you should consider when deciding if a particular activity is volunteering or voluntary work:
- voluntary workers will usually have contractual obligations to perform the work (for example to attend at particular times and carry out specific tasks) with the employer being contractually required to provide the work – the contract does not have to be written - the worker is usually remunerated in kind
- volunteers do not have a contract - they must not be a substitute for an employee, and they must not be doing unpaid work – for example, receiving payment in kind (although they are sometimes reimbursed for reasonable travel and subsistence expenses)
- volunteers usually help a charity or voluntary or public sector organisation
Where there is doubt as to whether the activity is considered volunteering or voluntary work, it is advisable to avoid undertaking the activity.