Part-time and Vacation Work
Most international students can work part-time during their studies. Whether or not you can work will depend on the conditions written the UK immigration sticker or stamp in your passport.
For more general information about part-time and vacation work for all students, including how to find work, paying income tax, the minimum wage, obtaining a National Insurance number, and the rules for European Union students, download our leaflet
UPDATED 16/09/11
You can also download the following general information for international students in the UK:
- UKCISA Guidance Notes on Part-Time and Vacation Work [PDF, new window]
Why work? Advice from a QM student.
Students whose course lasts longer than six months
Short-term students and ‘student visitors’ (six months or less)
Your earnings and ‘sufficient funds’
Breaking the rules
The Careers Service at Queen Mary can support international students with:
- Help with choosing a career through discussions with careers advisers and computer-assisted guidance programmes
- Provide information and talks about different careers, employers and postgraduate study in the UK and overseas
- Advise on finding part-time work, work experience or internships
- Help with making applications, writing CVs and preparing for interviews
- Provide a part-time and full-time online job vacancy database
Muhammad Azam
Muhammad Azam worked as a teacher in Pakistan before coming to Queen Mary to study on the MSc Wireless Networks. Muhammad found work in a sandwich shop when a friend told him that a new store was opening. 'I learned so much working part time in the UK,' Muhammad says. 'I had to learn about people, improve my language, learn about different ways of doing things. I gained a lot of confidence and time management skills.'
Students whose course lasts longer than six months
Can I work?
The wording in your passport should read ‘able to work as authorized by the secretary of state’ or ‘work (and any changes) must be authorized’ or ‘does not enter employment without the consent of the secretary of state’. If you have a UK ID card, it should read ' Restricted work in term time'. If you have any of these statements in your passport or on your ID card, you do not need to apply for permission or authorization: the Secretary of State has automatically given all students with this wording the authorization to work.
How many hours can I work?
You can work up to 20 hours a week during term-time, and full-time during College vacations. College vacations are the Christmas and Easter breaks, and during the summer if you are studying on an undergraduate course.
If you are studying on a postgraduate course and your course finishes in September, the summer is not vacation time. You use this time to complete a project or dissertation or sit exams. You can therefore work a maximum of 20 hours per week. Some courses do specifically designate a short summer vacation before you are required to start work on your projects, but otherwise there is no summer vacation for postgraduates.
If you are a PhD student, the vacation time is the Christmas and Easter break and any other time is agreed between you and your supervisor.
Can I work full time after I complete my course?
Yes. As well as in vacations, you can work unlimited weekly hours between the official end date of your course and the end of your permission to stay in the UK, which is normally four months. You must follow the official term dates of QM. This means that if you finish your exams or complete your dissertation early, you cannot start working more than 20 hours a week until the course has formally ended.
If an employer does not understand that you can work between the end of your course and the end of your permission to stay in the UK, you can refer them to the Immigration Directorate's Instructions (IDI's), which are the Home Office's own guidance to their staff about the immigration rules. Look at Section 3, Leave to Remain for students, Paragraph 18 [new window] explains that students can work full-time between the end of their course and the end of their permission to stay in the UK..
You can only work more than 20 hours a week after the end of your course if you have actually completed the course. If you start working more than 20 hours a week, then learn that you have not passed your course and have to take resits, you must change back to 20 hours or less.
What kind of work can I do?
As well as a restriction on the number of hours, there are also restrictions on the kind of work that you can do if you are in the UK as a student. You cannot engage in business, self employment or work as a professional sportsperson or entertainer.
You also cannot take up a permanent full-time vacancy while you have student immigration status. This is important to understand if you are switching from student status into a working status, such as Post Study Work. If you are working full time while you are waiting for a decision on your new working related immigration application , you can only do so on a temporary contract. Once you have been granted your new working related immigration status you can switch to a full time permanent employment contract if you wish.
For more information on your right to work in the UK, read the Official UK publication on the rules 'Find your way to work' leaflet. You can also collect a copy from the Advice and Counselling Service reception.
Can my dependant work?
If you are studying in the UK for 12 months or more, and your husband, wife or civil partner has come to the UK as your dependant, they can usually work without any restrictions.
Short-term students and ‘student visitors’ (six months or less)
If you have come to the UK to study for six months or less, you may be prohibited from working. This could be either because you came to the UK without entry clearance and you therefore have ‘student visitor’ status, or because you have ‘student’ status with a prohibition on working rather than the normal restriction.
Check the wording on the UK immigration sticker or stamp in your passport. If it says No work or Employment prohibited or Does not enter employment, you cannot work. An application to change the prohibition to a restriction normally costs £295, but you can only apply to change it if you obtained student entry clearance or a student visa from the British Embassy or High Commission before you travelled to the UK. If you entered the UK without entry clearance, or you specifically asked for ‘student visitor’ entry clearance or visa, you will have a work prohibition, and you cannot change it.
A Welfare Adviser can help you check your immigration status and your right to work.
Non-student immigration status
If your permission to be in the UK is not as a student, but for some other reason, for example as someone’s dependant, you may have no restriction on working. You should make sure you understand whether you can work and, if you can work, whether you have any restrictions. This is usually shown on the UK immigration sticker or stamp in your passport.
If you are unsure, check with a Welfare Adviser.
Your earnings and ‘sufficient funds’
Prior to the introduction of the Points Based System on March 31st 2009, the immigration rules stated that although you can work, you cannot rely on your earnings to pay your tuition fees or essential living costs. When you applied for your entry clearance or visa, or when you entered the UK, you had to show evidence that you could pay your tuition fees and living costs without working, so you must continue to have sufficient funds throughout your stay, not including your earnings. This rule does not apply if your permission to stay in the UK as a student was granted under the new Tier 4 student rules of the Points Based System of immigration introduced on March 31st 2009. If you have any questions about this, please check with a Welfare Adviser.
If you are found working more than 20 hours a week during term time, you could be imprisoned and then sent home. If you do not have permission to work and you work, you could be fined up to £5,000 and sent home. If this happens, you will not be able to apply to return to the UK for five years.
If your employer asks you to work over 20 hours a week, explain that you cannot do this. Some employers may tell you that it is fine to do just a few hours extra a week. This is not true. If you work over 20 hours in a week, you will break the conditions of your permission to stay in the UK. Any application you make to extend your stay in the UK may be refused. If you then return home you will not be able to return to the UK for 12 months.
