UK student visa work rights

At a glance

The permission, as published

Work permission depends on your course level and is stated on your visa/eVisa. As published in the Immigration Rules Appendix Student and GOV.UK guidance: students on a course at degree level or above with a higher education provider may work up to 20 hours per week during term time; students on a course below degree level may work up to 10 hours per week during term time. Outside term time (official vacations, after your course has finished, and during a full-time work placement that is part of the course) you can normally work full time. GOV.UK states you cannot: "work in certain jobs, for example as a professional sportsperson or sports coach", "be self-employed", take a permanent full-time job, or claim public funds/benefits. Some students — for example those sponsored by a provider that is not a higher education provider — are not permitted to work at all. Always read the work condition printed on your own eVisa; it overrides any general summary.

Treat the hours as a hard limit

• The limit is on hours worked, not on income. Two jobs are counted together.
• Term time and vacation are usually different, and "vacation" means the institution's official dates rather than when your teaching stops.
• Self-employment and freelancing are restricted or prohibited on several student routes, and are easy to breach unknowingly.
• Your employer may not know the rules. The obligation is yours.

A breach is a visa matter. It can end the current visa, affect a later work route, and follow you into applications to other countries, which is a very large consequence for a few extra hours.

Budgeting around part-time work

Part-time earnings are a supplement, not a funding plan. Most routes set the financial requirement on the assumption you will not be earning, and the first months are the hardest: you arrive before you find work, and the costs arrive first.

1. Budget as though you earn nothing for the first three months.
2. Check the local minimum wage and what the permitted hours actually produce after tax.
3. Count travel and the time cost against study, which is what you are there for.