Permitted to Work during study

Where you are studying in the UK on a Visitor or Short-Term Student Visa you are not permitted to work at any time, including unpaid/voluntary work.

Where you are on a student or child Student Visa, your eligibility to work will be outlined on your visa vignette or BRP card, and in your visa decision letter.

1.    Higher Education Institution

You may work if your sponsor has a track record of compliance, and your course is full-time.

Your hours of work are:

• up to 20 hours a week in term time if you are studying for a degree level or above qualification. This means that your course is at RQF level 6 or SCQF level 9 or higher
•  up to 10 hours a week in term time if you are studying for qualification below degree level
• full-time outside term time (for study at all levels), which includes

1. on vacations and before your course starts
2. on work placements
3. after your course has ended

Students sponsored to study a postgraduate course on a part-time basis may not work. This applies to term time and vacations.

2.    Overseas higher education institution

You may work if:

• you are on a study abroad programme, and
• your sponsor is an overseas higher education institution

Your working hours are:

• up to 20 hours a week in term time
• full-time outside-term time, which includes

1. on vacations and before the course starts
2. on work placements
3. after your period of study in the UK has ended

Always check any limits on work that your university imposes or recommends. It is important that you do not exceed them.

3.    Independent school

Child students who are under 16 years old are not allowed to work.



You can work if you are a Child student aged 16 or older and your sponsor is an independent school.

You can work:

• up to 10 hours a week in term time
• full time 

1. on vacations, including before your course starts
2. on work placements - Work placements and internships
3. after your course has ended (this is part of your vacation)

4.    Any other student sponsor

You are not allowed to work if your student sponsor is listed as:

• a private provider, or
• a publicly-funded college or
• an embedded college offering pathway courses.

But you might be able to take a work placement as part of your course.

Working hours

Outside of term time, full-time employment is permitted. Term-time work hours cannot exceed 10 or 20 per week.

However, you should always verify any work limits that your university, college, or school imposes or recommends. Importantly, you should not exceed them.

"Week" refers to any seven-day period starting on Monday. Maintain accurate records of your working hours. This is particularly crucial if you work irregular hours. It is also important if you have multiple employers, including a non-UK employer. This is due to the fact that potential employers may not be aware of your other tasks. You are responsible for ensuring that your weekly work hours are not exceeded.

"Term time" refers to the period of time during which your sponsor expects you to be studying. "Outside of term time" refers to all other times. For example, the time before and after your course starts and ends, as well as holidays (vacation).

If you are completing a work placement as part of your course, you may work an additional 10 or 20 hours per week.

Working hours and Pay

Your pay and working hours are separate. This allows you to work while receiving holiday payment from a different employer. This is because only working hours are accounted for. But first, ensure that your contract permits you to work for a second employer.

Restriction on the type of work

Where you are on a Student or Child Student visa, both during and after your studies, you are not permitted to:

• be self-employed or engaged in business activity
• fill a full-time permanent vacancy/graduate level role (unless it is a post as a Student Union Sabbatical Officer)
• be employed as a doctor/dentist in training (If you submitted the application for the student visa you currently have on or after 1 December 2020, you will not be subject to this restriction) or
• be employed as a professional sportsperson, coach or entertainer

Running a Business or employed Business

You are not permitted to be self-employed or "engage in business activity" while on a student visa. The definition of "engaging in business activity" is working for a company in which you have a financial or other significant beneficial interest in a capacity other than as an employee. Examples include establishing a business as a sole trader or in a partnership, working for a company in which you own 10% or more of the shares, or holding a statutory position such as a director.

Professional sportsperson

Being a “professional sportsperson” is deemed to include playing or coaching in any capacity at a professional or semi-professional level; receiving payment (or payment in kind) that covers all or the majority of your costs for travelling to and living in the UK; being registered with a professional or semi-professional team including in the academy and development age groups; representing a national, state or regional team; establishing an international reputation in your chosen field of sport; or engaging an agent or representative, with the aim of finding professional opportunities or developing your career.

Provided your visa was issued after 1 October 2019, you are permitted to do the following:

• Play or coach sports as an “amateur” in a charity event
• Play or coach sports as an “amateur” whilst studying at a degree level or above at the University
• Play or coach sports as part of a work placement which is part of your course.

Sports scholarships

This will not be considered to breach your work restrictions where you are:

• Studying at a degree level or above, and you are required to play or coach sports in exchange for receiving the scholarship; and
• The scholarship is awarded for playing or coaching sports at an amateur level for British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS).

Voluntary Work

Students are permitted to volunteer while attending school. Nonetheless, they must recognise the difference between volunteering and voluntary employment.

A volunteer will typically assist a nonprofit, public sector, or voluntary organisation. They are not permitted to be compensated (or receive payment in kind, though reasonable travel and subsistence expenses are permitted), to have a contract, or to serve as a replacement for an employee.

Voluntary employment, on the other hand, includes contractual obligations (whether or not a contract is written) and frequently involves payment in kind. Volunteer work is permitted for students, but it is subject to the same restrictions as employment.