Working in the UK during your studies

What kind of work can I do during my studies?

If you have student immigration permission which you applied for on or after 31 March 2009, under Tier 4 of the Points Based System of immigration, it will allow you to take employment:

• if you made your most recent Tier 4 immigration application before 3 March 2010, you can work up to 20 hours a week during term-time
• if you made or make your most recent Tier 4 immigration application on or after 3 March 2010, you can work
  • up to 20 hours a week during term-time if you are studying a course which is at degree level or which is a "foundation degree"
  • up to 10 hours a week during term-time if you are studying a course which is below degree level and which is not a "foundation degree".

A "foundation degree" for immigration purposes is a course which leads to a qualification at level 5 or above of the National Qualifications Framework, and which is awarded by a UK higher education institution which has degree awarding powers. This means that some courses called foundation degrees will not meet this definition, but other courses which are not called foundation degrees, for example some HNDs, do meet this definition. You will have to check with the college or university where you are studying whether your course meets this description and, if it does, ask that the words "foundation degree" appear on your confirmation of acceptance for studies (CAS) so that you are granted permission to work for up to 20 hours a week in term-time and not 10 hours a week.

In both cases, you can work full-time during your holidays and on a work placement but only if your course meets certain requirements.

If you have student immigration permission that was granted before 31 March 2009 (or which you applied for before 31 March 2009 and which was granted on or after that date) that allows you to take employment, you can work up to 20 hours a week during term-time and full-time during your holidays, a work placement which is part of a sandwich course, or an internship.

You can do most kinds of work, but you must not engage in business, be self-employed, provide services as a professional sportsperson or entertainer, or pursue a career by filling a permanent full-time vacancy. This applies whether your immigration permission is granted before or on or after 31 March 2009.

If your immigration permission does not allow you to work, this means that you must not undertake paid or unpaid employment, including work placements which are part of your course.

If you have immigration permission, whenever it was granted, that extends for up to four months beyond the end of your studies, you can work full-time for that extra period once you have completed all your studies. If you have immigration permission that is more than four months longer than your course, you should make a new immigration application, stop working or leave the UK when you reach the four-month point.

If at the end of your course you apply to stay in the UK as a Tier 1 (Post Study Work) migrant, you can work full-time until your Tier 1 (Post Study Work) application is decided.

What is term-time?

Term-time means any period when you are supposed to be doing academic work, such as attending classes and lectures, preparing for exams, doing coursework, writing essays, a dissertation or thesis. Your holidays, when you can work full-time, are the period when you do not have to be doing academic work. This will be different depending on the type of course you are doing. For example, if you are supposed to research and write a dissertation or thesis while other students are on holiday, this is term-time for you and you should restrict your work to 20 hours a week. However, if your tutor or supervisor agrees that you can take a break for some of that period and is happy to confirm in writing that this time is a holiday for you, you can work full-time for the duration of that agreed break.

Work placements if your immigration permission is granted under Tier 4

This information applies to you if you applied for and were granted student immigration permission on or after 31 March 2009.

You can work full-time on a work placement if:

• you are doing a UK course; or
• you are a studying a degree course in another country and, as part of that degree course, you are spending some time at a college or university in the UK.

In most cases, you must not spend more than 50% of the time on your course doing a work placement, or work placements. However, there is an exception if the law says that you must spend more than half of your course doing work placements. This applies to Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) or, in Scotland, PGDE courses.

Your work placement must be an assessed part of your course, and it can take place at any point in your studies.

Sandwich courses and work placements if your immigration permission was granted before Tier 4

This information applies to you if you were granted student immigration permission before 31 March 2009, or if you applied for student immigration permission before 31 March 2009, and you were granted it on or after this date.

You can work full-time, even in term-time, if you are doing a work placement which is part of a sandwich course. The course itself must lead to a degree or another qualification awarded by a nationally recognised examining body. The level of your current course is irrelevant.

The work placement part of the course must meet all the following requirements:

• it must be clearly defined
• it must be approved by the university or college providing your course
• it must not extend beyond the end of your course, which means that you must be undertaking more study, for example, attending lectures or writing up a dissertation, after you finish your work placement.

If your work placement meets all of these requirements, you can work full-time without the need for you or your employer to obtain further permission from the UK Border Agency. You can decide to do a work placement after your course has started. In this case, you will probably need to apply for extra immigration permission. Talk to the international student adviser at your college or university about whether you should apply for more time in the UK before or after you do your work placement.

Internships if your immigration permission was granted before Tier 4

This information applies to you if you were granted student immigration permission before 31 March 2009, or if you applied for student immigration permission before 31 March 2009, and you were granted it on or after this date. (There is no provision in the Immigration Rules for Tier 4 students to undertake an internship.)

If you are on a degree course, you can work full-time, even in term-time, if you are doing an internship. Neither you nor your employer needs to obtain further permission from the UK Border Agency if the internship meets all the following requirements:

• you must be studying on a first (undergraduate) or higher (postgraduate) degree course in the UK
• your employer must regard you as a potential employee, whether your future employment would be in or outside the UK
• internships must be an established part of your employer's recruitment procedure
• you must not have previously undertaken an internship with the same employer
• the internship will last three months at most
• you must be paid for doing the internship, and the pay and conditions must be comparable to those for a resident worker doing the same kind of work
• you must complete the internship within the period of your current student immigration permission.

Find your way to work – UK Government publication

National Association of Student Employment Services (NASES) information for international students

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