Working in UK While Studying

From some of the highest tuition fees in the world to one of the most expensive countries to live, studying in the UK costs a wealth.

Luckily, there are many options for you to make your education in British universities an easy mission to accomplish which wouldn’t be the case in most popular study destinations. A well-developed and easily accessible student loan system, plus many scholarship schemes will offer you enough financial assistance to study in UK.

Moreover, in UK, similar to most of the top international study destinations, foreign students are allowed to work part-time. In the UK as an international student, you’re allowed to work up to 20 hours at maximum per week during term-time and full-time during holiday breaks. But there are many restrictions and conditions you must stay in line with in order to be allowed to work.

Eligibility

Your eligibility to work in the UK while studying depends on two major restrictions: those set by your university and those by state-run official institutions. First, you must ensure that your university doesn’t have any constrain pulling you back from working before dealing with state officials. For example, depending on your study course your university may limit working hours to you, aside from governmental restrictions.

In the UK, particularly in big cities like London, international students can easily find a part-time job. Some universities may only allow you to work inside the campus, but there is no need to worry because there are still many options available to you. However, before getting out to hunt part-time jobs you must check if you’re eligible for such work. It all starts with your Tier 4 visa, the official student visa in the UK. The first criteria you must check is your age. If you’re under 16 and don’t have a Tier 4 (General 4) you’re not qualified to work in the UK.

Note that these working prohibitions are only weighted to students coming from a country rather than EU/EEA countries or Switzerland. Citizens of EU/EEA, including Switzerland, don’t need permission to work in the UK while they’re attending a university.

All conditions and limitations are printed out on your Tier 4 sticker (vignette) including the number of hours you can work per week during term-time. When receiving your residence permit paperwork there will be a letter that will offer you all information, whether you can work or not while you’re studying.

If one of the following is stated in that letter you can work in the UK:

• Work must be authorized
• Able to work as authorized by the Secretary of State
• Work as in Tier 4 Rules
• Restricted as in Tier 4 Rules
• Restricted work – Part-time during term-time, Full-time during vacations
• Restricted work time
• Work limited to 20 hours per week at maximum during term-time
• Work limited to 10 hours per week at maximum during term-time

Your passport’s sticker may say something a bit different to all of the above options, but if none of the following isn’t mentioned you’re eligible to work.

• No work
• Work prohibited

If none of these is clearly stated in your paperwork or you have a problem understanding it, we advise you to contact them personally before deciding to get a job.

Note that if you decide to move to a higher level of study or change the course you may be required to initiate a new immigration application. Until you receive a response to this new application you must adhere to the old immigration status.