Working during your studies

A guide to working
during your studies

The information on this page relates to restrictions on working that apply to students with visas granted under the Student Route or Tier 4.

Should I work while I study?

Working in the United Kingdom will help to develop your English language skills and make an excellent addition to your CV. It is good opportunity to meet and engage with new people and experience other social and cultural benefits of working whilst studying in the United Kingdom.

If you are interested in working during your studies, you must check that the work you want to do is permitted and check the maximum number of hours you are allowed to work under the conditions of your visa. The work you do will need to be carefully balanced with the demands of your studies.

Any employment you undertake is not permitted to interfere with your studies.

It is important not to breach the conditions of your visa, as you may be prevented from obtaining a new visa in future or completing your studies.

If you are found to be working in breach of your visa conditions, the university are obligated to inform UKVI, and your sponsorship would be withdrawn.

It is a criminal offence with serious penalties to work more hours than permitted or to conduct work that is not permitted under the conditions of your visa.

If you have a Student visa for full-time degree level study

The main purpose of the Student visa route is for you to study in the UK. There are strict limits imposed on your working hours as a Student. If you are permitted to work, your visa will state how many hours you can work (usually 10 or 20 hours per week during term time). Part time employment should only be to supplement your income while studying.

It is your responsibility to ensure you do not work more than maximum hours allowed. If you do, you would be in breach of your visa conditions, which is a criminal offence and you could face a significant fine, have your earnings seized and have your visa cancelled.

The UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) provides information and advice for international Students; their website gives detailed information about working during your studies, but here is a summary:

• If you are enrolled on a bachelor’s degree course or higher, you can work for up to 20 hours a week during term time unless your visa states otherwise.
• If you are enrolled on a course below bachelor’s degree level, you can work up to 10 hours a week during term time, unless your visa states otherwise.
• During official university holiday periods there are no restrictions on how many hours you can work.
• You cannot take a gap year and work full time in the UK. If you want to defer your studies for a year, you must leave the UK and come back when your studies re start.
• If you complete your course and you apply to stay in the UK under another visa (e.g. Graduate visa) before your Student or Tier 4 visa expires, you can work full-time until you receive an outcome on your visa application.
• You are permitted to work unrestricted hours before your course starts, from the date your visa is valid until the official start date of your course; and after your course has officially ended until the expiry of the visa.
• You are not allowed to work at all if you have a Student visa to study a part time course.

Type of work you are not permitted to do

• You must not work in a full-time permanent role. A permanent role has no contract end date. Full-time normally means working 40 hours, but there is no upper limit for full time hours. Students can only work fulltime during official holiday periods when there is no restriction on the number of hours that can be worked . A temporary full-time job outside term-time is permitted, as many Students do this in vacation periods. A permanent fulltime position is not permitted.
• You must not be self-employed, including work as a freelancer, consultant, or casual worker on a self-employed basis.
• You must not work as a professional sportsperson, sports coach, or entertainer.
• You must not engage in any business activity (for example, where you have a financial or other significant interest, this includes setting up your own business or partnership, being employed in a business where you hold 10% or more shares or hold a statutory role such as director).

Prohibited Employment and Employment with Restrictions

The main rules for undertaking employment on Student conditions are well documented. There are numerous jobs that fall within the category of breaching your conditions. The following list is not exhaustive. If you are unsure, please contact the Immigration Compliance & Advice team at visaadvice@uca.ac.uk.

Work as an Entertainer (paid or gifted)

The Immigration Rules outline that ‘Amateur’ is defined as “solely for personal enjoyment and not seeking to derive a living from an activity.” 

Therefore, you may be able to participate in the entertainment industry (i.e., acting or performing) as an amateur or hobby only. This would not likely be classed as working and would have no bearing on your Student work conditions. 

You cannot receive payment in any way for these activities, this would include renumeration and gifts etc. 

Assessed performances that form part of your program, including an assessed work placement; this would not be considered as working as an entertainer.

Work as a Gig Economy Worker

Working for companies like Uber Eats, Deliveroo, Just Eat, DPD, Evri and Uber; are considered as Gig economy jobs.

A gig economy job  is employment whereby a worker known as a Gig worker engages in freelance and or side-employment (secondary employment to a primary employment).

Gig economy workers do have certain rights and may include holiday pay and pension rights. Most companies consider Gig workers to be self-employed, freelance or contractors. This type of work is not  therefore an option for international Students with restrictions.

You should check with the company before undertaking this type of employment. Some jobs may not be Gig economy positions even though they may initially appear that way.

If you are unsure please speak to a member of the Immigration Compliance & Advice team.

Writing and publishing

When you formally publish writing or visual work, including self-publishing, or if you publish an article or book etc, people will normally buy it, and you would earn money from sales. It is likely that UKVI would view this as engaging in a business activity and you cannot do this under the conditions of your Student visa. 

You could publish and share your work with the public through a blog, social media, or personal website. You should only do this as a hobby or leisure activity. You  would not be able to receive any payment for this, including gifts or money.

Selling through online marketplaces

You are allowed to occasionally sell unwanted items through online marketplaces like eBay and Vinted. This is not work If you do not plan to make a profit through selling and it is not your main source of income.

If you sell or make items for profit, or regularly sell online, or through classified adverts etc. You would be considered a sole trader which would be deemed as self-employment.

Creating digital content and influencing

Using social media such as Instagram, TikTok and YouTube to create and share digital content for creativity and share opinions, is not considered to be work. 

If you use social media platforms as an income source, this is not permitted, and you would be in breach of your visa conditions. If you generate any sort of gain or income through monetisation, subscriptions, or gifts. HMRC would consider this to be trading.

Since May 2023 HMRC have been actively investigating and engaging with UK based digital content creators and influencers who participate in business activity through their online presence, content, or online marketplace trading.

Digital nomad

A digital nomad uses technology and the internet to create a working life. They do not have a single workplace or hours of work. A digital nomad may also spend time living and working online in different countries, making a living from the work conducted online.

Your Student permission work conditions do not allow you to be a digital nomad while you are living and studying in the United Kingdom.

Dealing in shares, currencies, and cryptocurrencies 

There are no restrictions on what assets you own, however some aspects of this area may be classed as business activity.

You can buy and own shares for yourself, but you cannot work for the company if you own more than 10% of the shares. This would include shares held in trust.

If you buy and sell stocks, shares, currency, or other assets including property; for personal gain  and profit, this will potentially be classed as business activity. If you make an income from your share’s dividends, that would not be seen as business activity. You would be required to submit a self-assessment return and pay income tax due on the dividend amount.

If you require further advice on this, please contact HMRC.

The Immigration Rules and any related guidance do not mention specifically trading in crypto currencies, although buying and selling, or Crypto trading is self-employment and a business activity. Therefore, it is prohibited.

Direct sales companies

Consultants, managers, directors, and distributors for direct sales companies are self-employed, so you cannot do it in the United Kingdom if you have Student immigration permission. Such companies will not check your right to work because they are not your employer. They leave it to the individual consultants to monitor their own self-employment and any attached responsibilities, including whether their immigration status allows them to do the work.

Income from owning a property

Anyone can purchase or own property in the United Kingdom.

If you do own a property in the United Kingdom and you want to rent it, or buy a property as an investment, this could be seen as a prohibited business activity for anyone with Student visa conditions.

Television talent shows, media appearances and competitions

Students have on occasion, participated as contestants on televised shows including Britain’s Got Talent, The Great British Bake Off and University Challenge. However, if you decide to participate you need to make sure that it is not viewed as employment by the organising body (television company etc).

Shows like these can often be a grey area with respect to the immigration rules. You should seek advice before participating in a show. You also need to check whether your university schedule allows you the time to participate.

Permitted Employment – Difficult for Students to monitor

Working for an employer outside the United Kingdom

Any work you do when you are physically in the United Kingdom, including for an employer who is not in the United Kingdom, counts towards your weekly 10- or 20-hours limit. You are also subject to the other Student permission restrictions, for example you can only be employed, not self-employed.

A non-UK employer may not know anything about your Student work permission, and they have no responsibility to ensure that you are working within your  restrictions. This becomes your sole responsibility.

• Make sure your overseas employer knows you are based in the United Kingdom, and that they are happy with this.
• Keep an accurate record of all your own work hours. Make sure  that your work is always within your Student work conditions and does not exceed the upper limit maximum of 20 hours, Monday to Sunday during term-time. You might need to explain this regulation to your overseas employer before you commence your employment.
• Check with HMRC whether your foreign income is liable for UK tax. You might need to complete and submit a self-assessment tax return to declare the income if it is subject to UK taxes.

Working for more than one employer

UK employers are  fully aware of work restrictions for holders of Student visas. Using the View and Prove service they will check that you are able to work for them. They would make sure you would not breach any restriction on the number of hours you can work during term-time.

The term-time restriction is on the total number of hours you can work per week, not for each  employer per week. You cannot, for example, work 20 hours per week for one employer, and then additional hours for another employer. This would be in breach of the work conditions on your visa.

You would be permitted to work more than 20 hours across multiple employers in official vacation time only, when you have no upper work limit.

It may be difficult to record and monitor your hours if you are working for multiple employers, and you should keep accurate records to this effect.

This will be especially important if any of your employers are outside the UK, as explained earlier in the section.

Working a maximum number of hours and getting the balance right

While your visa may allow you to work up to 20 hours a week, to get the right balance of work/study/social life, we recommend that you only take on part-time work up to 15 hours a week.

For calculating your working hours during restricted periods, the working week runs from Monday to Sunday. Therefore, during term time, you are not permitted to work more than the hours permitted under your visa in any Monday to Sunday period, even if you worked fewer hours in other weeks.

If you have more than one job/voluntary position, you must include all the hours in every position you hold. You must include in your calculations any unpaid voluntary work and on-call work (even if you are on call but not actively engaged).

Periods of unrestricted hours

If you are on an undergraduate or taught master’s course, outside term time you are allowed to work more than the maximum number of permitted hours per week, unless your visa indicated otherwise. However, if your course requires you to be engaged in scheduled study outside term times, you should consider the 20-hour limit as applicable until you have completed the course work. Scheduled study includes preparing for or taking exams after the end of term, undertaking a summer module, or completing a dissertation due for submission outside of term time.

If you are a postgraduate/research Student, you are scheduled and committed to study for the duration of your course (usually 12 months) and therefore do not have vacation times. This means that you must not exceed the maximum number of weekly hours permitted by your visa for the duration of your course.

More information

We have a team of specialist Gateway advisors based in our campus libraries. They are trained to help and advise you on working during your studies, along with things like visa issues, finances, healthcare, and enrolment.

Work placements

The definition of work placement is an assessed and integral part of the course. It is separate from any other employment. You are allowed to do a work and placement and a job at the same time, and the hours spent on the work placement do not count towards your 20-hour term time allowance.

A work placement or internship that is not an assessed part of the course would need to be done within your normal work restrictions.

Income tax

Some Students believe that they are not required to pay income tax when working and studying in the United Kingdom. This is incorrect. Income tax is managed for you by your employer. If you earn enough and qualify to pay tax, you employer will deduct it from your pay under the pay as you earn (PAYE) scheme. You will not be required to submit a tax return.

On occasion, Students may also need to file a self-assessment tax return if they are in receipt of income from other sources.

This does not include self-employment or business activity are not included as they are prohibited, but from sources such as:

• Tips
• Gifts
• Overseas earnings
• Dividends from shares you own
• Interest earned on savings

Submitting a self-assessment tax return does not mean you are self-employed; it means you have extra income that needs to be assessed for tax.

Working for UCA

If you are offered part time or casual work at UCA, you will be required to follow our standard processes for checking your right to work in the UK, and to complete a declaration form for staff holding a Student visa. This requires you to confirm you understand the conditions of your visa and the restrictions on the amount of work you can do.

You must complete this form for each part-time or casual role you have at the university and submit this to the manager who has recruited you, and also to the People & Culture Department by email: peopleandculture@uca.ac.uk.

You have a duty to ensure you are not working more than your permitted hours, especially if you work in more than one department or do paid/voluntary work outside the university.