International students: UK working hours

If you’re an international student studying in the UK, you might be considering getting a part-time job to have some extra spending money.

The good news is that if you’re on a student visa and studying full-time for a course longer than 6 months, you're usually entitled to work during your studies. For most international students, this allows you to work a maximum of 20 hours a week during term time and work full-time during university vacation periods. However, the only way to know how many hours you can work is to check your student visa.

Your student visa will state exactly how many hours you are allowed to work during term time. However, if your visa says ‘no work’ or ‘work prohibited’, you are not allowed to work at all. It’s crucial you follow what your visa says and only work if it says you’re allowed to.

This blog will cover how many hours you can work as an international student depending on your course and answer some common questions about working as an international student.

Undergraduate degree

If you’re studying a full-time undergraduate course as an international student, you can work up to 20 hours a week during term time. This 20-hour limit includes both paid and unpaid work.

However, you can work full-time during your university's official vacation periods. You can usually find out about your university's vacations on its website.

Unfortunately, you cannot do any paid or unpaid work if you study part-time.

 
Postgraduate degrees

If you’re an international student studying for a postgraduate degree, there are different rules depending on if you’re a taught or research postgraduate student.

Taught postgraduate students can work a maximum of 20 hours a week during term time and work full-time during official holidays. However, there are stricter rules about what constitutes an official holiday. This always includes the Christmas and Easter holiday periods. Most postgrad students will write dissertations during the summer holidays, so this doesn't count as an official holiday.

It’s a bit different for research students. Because a postgraduate research course is continuous, there are no official holidays. This means you can only work 20 hours per week during the entire duration of your course.

PhD courses

Like postgraduate research students, PhD students are considered in ‘term-time" throughout the year. You can only work full-time during official annual leave. PhD students are allowed 30 days of annual leave per year.

English language courses or courses below the degree level

If you're an international student studying an English language course or a course below degree level (such as a foundation course), there are different rules about how much you can work. You can only work up to 10 hours per week during term time and work full-time during vacations.

Types of work you can do as an international student

As an international student on a student visa, you can do most types of temporary or fixed-term work. However, there are some strict rules about what you can’t do.

International students mustn’t:

●      Be self-employed.

●      Set up a business.

●      Work in a full-time or permanent position.

●      Work as a professional sportsperson or coach.

●      Work as an entertainer.

For more information on international students and their right to work in the UK, check out this information we have put together.

Can I volunteer as an international student?

The simple answer is ‘yes’. However, there are strict rules about what constitutes ‘volunteering’ and ‘voluntary work’. Volunteering doesn’t count towards your 20-hour maximum, but voluntary work does.

Volunteering is always unpaid and doesn’t involve a contract. This is usually for a charity or a public sector organisation. However, voluntary work might be paid, or you might be given free items or discounted accommodation in return. This has a contract which may be written or verbal, and is included in your 20-hour-a-week limit during term time.

If you’re unsure if what you want to do counts as volunteering or voluntary work, your university should be able to give you some advice.

Can I complete a work placement or internship?

If you’re studying a course that includes a work placement or a year in industry, you can work full-time throughout that academic year. These work placements are usually integral to your course and are assessed as part of your studies.

If you want to undertake an internship that’s not part of your course, you can do this during your university’s official vacation periods. For example, if you’re an undergraduate student, you might choose to complete a 2-week internship during your summer vacation to gain some work experience.

You can’t complete an internship during term time unless it falls under your 20-hour-a-week limit. 

Can I work after I finish my course?

After you have completed your final assignments, exams, or dissertation and the official end date of your course has passed, you’re considered to be on ‘vacation’. This means you can work full-time for 4 months or until your Student visa expires (whichever comes first). Remember, you’ll still be restricted to working jobs with temporary or fixed-term contracts.

You must change your visa status to stay in the UK and work permanently. One option is to apply to be a Skilled Worker. You do this up to 3 months before your course ends.

Another option is to apply for a Graduate visa. This gives you 2 years to work full-time in any sector after completing your course.

Take a look at our blog “Can international students work in the UK” for more information.

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