Students may be looking to earn some extra money by taking on a part-time job around their studies, or perhaps they wish to carry out voluntary work. Many overseas students who study in the UK are also seeking employment, job placements, or volunteer opportunities. However, there are strict rules surrounding undertaking paid and unpaid work in the UK as a sponsored student. A foreign student on a student visa will have limited access to work. These students must work within their allowed hours and avoid engaging in illegal work.

Does a Student visa allow you to work in the UK?

Students need to find out their eligibility to work in the UK by initially checking what is written on their Student Visa. The visa specifies the working conditions. If students enrolled at degree level, they are permitted to work a maximum of 20 hours per week during term time. If students studying below degree level (for example a foundation programme), they may be restricted to working a maximum of 10 hours per week during term time.

If the visa states any of the following, students are not permitted to work in the UK:

• No work
• Work Prohibited

Students should take caution to ensure that they work within their permitted hours, to avoid a breach of their visa conditions.

What type of work is allowed on a Student visa?

The type of work that a student is permitted to do on a student visa is dependent upon the course level and the sponsoring institution. If overseas students are following a full-time course of study at a degree-level or above, their sponsor is a Higher Education Provider (HEP) with a track record of compliance or an overseas Higher Education Institution and they are on a short-term study abroad programme in the UK, they may work:

• Part-time during term time (up to a maximum of 20 hours a week)
• Full-time during vacations, including the period before the course starts
• On a work placement as part of the course
• Full-time as a postgraduate doctor or dentist on a recognised programme
• As a Student Union Sabbatical Officer for up to 2 years

If they are following a full-time course of study below degree level and their sponsor is a HEP with a track record of compliance, they may work:

• Part-time during term time (up to a maximum of 10 hours a week)
• Full-time during vacations, including the period before the course starts
• On a work placement as part of the course
• As a Student Union Sabbatical Officer for up to 2 years

If they are following a full-time course at any level, but their sponsor is not a HEP with a track record of compliance or an overseas Higher Education Institution sponsoring them on a study abroad programme, they may work:

• On a work placement as part of the course (but only if the sponsor has Student sponsor status)
• As a Student Union Sabbatical Officer for up to 2 years

If students are undertaking any other form of study (including part-time courses), they are not permitted to carry out work or work placements as part of their course.

Periods of permission after they have completed their course are considered to be outside of term time for the purposes of work.

What jobs can Overseas Students not do in the UK?

There are some restrictions on the type of work students can do with a Student Visa. They are not allowed to engage in any of the following types of employment:

• Self-employment and business activity
• 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 (unless otherwise specified)

Students are also not allowed to fill a permanent vacancy so any work they do must be on a temporary or fixed-term basis.

Working full time available as part of a work placement?

The work placement itself must be assessed as an integral part of the course and can be no longer than 1/3 of the total course length, except where there is a statutory requirement that the placement must be so.

If the studied course is at degree level or above, work placements can be up to half of the total course length where the studies are undertaken at a higher education provider with a track record of compliance (please see above) or at an overseas higher education institution operating in the UK as part of a degree-level qualification by a student who is on a study abroad programme in the UK.

It is important to note that during work placements, the educational institution which issued the CAS continues to be responsible for the student.

What about voluntary work?

Students are permitted to volunteer while they are studying in the UK. However, it is important to note that the Home Office defines ‘volunteering’ and ‘voluntary work’ differently.

Students can carry out voluntary work if they are permitted to work under the work conditions of their visa. Similarly, if they are not permitted to work then they may not do voluntary work.

However, any voluntary work and paid work must not exceed the total number of hours they are permitted to work during term time. For example, if they are permitted to work 20 hours a week during term-time, they could carry out 15 hours of paid work and 5 hours of voluntary work.

The following factors should be taken into account when deciding whether an activity qualifies as 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, and the worker is usually remunerated in kind.
• Volunteers do not have a contract and they must not be a substitute for an employee. They must also not be receiving any ‘payment in kind’ (although they are sometimes reimbursed for reasonable travel and subsistence expenses).
• Volunteers usually help a charity or voluntary or public sector organisations

Working after completing the studies

Students with a Student Visa who have completed their studies may work in the UK, but this is subject to certain conditions. It is important to check this before working more than the permitted weekly maximum working hours.

It is safe to work full-time hours after the course end date in the CAS. If a student receives results confirming that they need to re-take any of their courses, they must immediately revert back to part-time work, below their weekly maximum limit.

If overseas students have completed their studies and wish to remain in the UK after graduating, they will need to seek permission under an alternative route before their Student visa expires. Recently graduates who are seeking employment in the United Kingdom typically go after the Graduate route or the Skilled Worker route.

After completing the studies, the Graduate route grants overseas students permission to remain in the United Kingdom and work or seek employment at any skill level for at least two years. They must have earned a degree at the undergraduate level or higher from an eligible UK institution in order to apply. Overseas Students must be already in the UK on a Student visa when they apply for a Graduate visa.

The Skilled Worker route allows an individual to stay in the UK to do an eligible job with an approved UK employer. There are more restrictions on the type of work they can do on this visa compared to the Graduate visa, and they will need to obtain a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) from their employer. However, if they want to remain in the UK permanently, the Skilled Worker visa route is advised above the Graduate route since time spent in the UK on a skilled worker visa counts towards the qualifying period for settlement.

For professional advice and help with the Student Visa, contact us on 0203 865 6219 or leave a message on our website.