Student Visa Work Hours: 20 a Week in Term Time

International students can work in the UK but there are strict limits. This guide explains your working hours, vacation work rights, and the rules that could trip you up.

Checked 9 June 20268 min readWritten by the Rowan Editorial Team

Section: Student & Graduate
Reading time: 8 min
Last checked: 9 June 2026
Source: The published Immigration Rules and GOV.UK guidance, linked throughout this guide.
Rowan does not: Look at your own case, tell you which route to choose, or say what the Home Office will decide. This guide shows the published rules and where to read them.

In short

20 hours a week during term time on a full-time course at degree level or above.
10 hours a week during term time on a full-time course below degree level.
No work at all on a part-time course, apart from a course work placement.
Full-time work allowed during official vacation periods, and after the course has been completed.
Self-employment and business activity are not permitted, apart from one narrow Innovator Founder exception.
Breaching work limits can lead to visa curtailment or future refusals.

UK Student visa holders can work part-time during term and full-time during vacations. But the rules are strict, and breaching them can have serious consequences. This guide covers the hour limits, vacation work, placement rules, and common mistakes to avoid.

Working Hours During Term Time

Your Student visa sets your working hours as a condition of your permission. Since biometric residence permits stopped being issued at the end of 2024, those conditions are held online as an eVisa, which you view and share with a share code that lasts 90 days. The limits depend on your course level and on your education provider:

Full-time course at degree level or above (bachelor's, master's, PhD) sponsored by a higher education provider with a track record of compliance: up to 20 hours a week during term time
Full-time course below degree level sponsored by a higher education provider with a track record of compliance: up to 10 hours a week during term time
All other study, including all part-time study: no employment permitted, apart from a work placement that is part of the course

The limit is written as hours a week during term time. The term dates used are those set by your institution, not your personal timetable. Home Office guidance says that any period of permission after you have completed your course counts as outside term time.

Working During Vacations

During official vacation periods (Christmas, Easter, and summer holidays), you can work full-time with no hour limit. The vacation periods must be the ones officially set by your institution. Home Office guidance also treats the period before your course starts as outside term time.

If your course has ended but your visa is still valid, you can also work full-time during the period between course completion and visa expiry: Home Office guidance says periods of permission after a student has completed their course count as outside term time. If you are still writing a dissertation or completing assessments, you have not completed the course, so the term-time limit still applies.

Types of Work You Can Do

Employment: Any job as an employee within the hour limits.
Volunteering: permitted, and it does not count towards your hours. Home Office guidance draws a line between volunteering and voluntary work: a volunteer has no contract, is not a substitute for an employee, and is not paid in money or in kind, beyond reasonable travel and subsistence expenses.
Voluntary work: this is work under contractual obligations, so it counts. Paid work and voluntary work together must stay within your term-time limit. Home Office guidance gives the example of a student allowed 20 hours a week who already has 15 hours of paid work: they can do no more than 5 hours of voluntary work.
Work placements: If the placement is assessed as an integral part of your course. See our placement year guide.
Student union sabbatical officer: Permitted as a specific exception.

What You Cannot Do

Self-employment, freelancing, or business activity — apart from the narrow exception for a Student with a pending, endorsed Innovator Founder application, added on 25 November 2025
Work as a professional sportsperson, including as a sports coach, whether paid or not
Work as an entertainer
Fill a full-time permanent vacancy. The exceptions are a Student Union sabbatical officer post, and a Student on a full-time degree-level course at a compliant higher education provider who has applied for the Skilled Worker or Graduate route: they may start such a job up to 3 months before the course completion date (Skilled Worker) or once the course has been completed (Graduate), while that application is undecided
Claim public funds (most benefits) or the State Pension

What Employers Check

UK employers are legally required to check your right to work before hiring you. They will need:

A share code, which they use with your date of birth to check your status online. Biometric residence permits stopped being issued at the end of 2024, so status is now held online as an eVisa. A share code lasts 90 days and can be used as many times as needed before it expires.
Your visa conditions (showing your working hours)
Term dates from your institution

Employers who allow you to work beyond your visa conditions face fines of up to £60,000 per illegal worker. This means most reputable employers will carefully monitor your hours. For more on work rights across visa types, see our student visa work rights guide.

Consequences of Breaching Work Limits

Working more than your permitted hours is treated seriously by the Home Office. Consequences can include:

Visa curtailment: Your visa can be shortened, giving you limited time to leave the UK or apply for another visa.
Future refusals: Any future UK visa application may be refused on the basis of previous breaches.
Impact on settlement: a later application for settlement (indefinite leave to remain) is assessed against the suitability rules, which take account of previous breaches of immigration conditions. A later citizenship application is also assessed against a good character requirement.

Next Steps

The working hours condition is shown on your eVisa, which you can view online. Your institution publishes its official term and vacation dates. Keeping records of your working hours is what evidences compliance. For the wider picture, see our Student visa requirements guide.

Related guides:

For official information, see the GOV.UK Student visa page and the GOV.UK visa regulations table.

Questions and answers

How many hours can I work on a UK Student visa?

During term time, you can work up to 20 hours a week if you are on a full-time course at degree level or above with a higher education provider that has a track record of compliance, or up to 10 hours a week on a full-time course below degree level with such a provider. During official vacation periods you can work full-time. Part-time courses carry no permission to work at all, apart from a work placement that is part of the course.

Can I be self-employed on a Student visa?

Almost never. The Immigration Rules say a Student must not be self-employed or engage in business activity. There is one narrow exception, added on 25 November 2025: a Student who has applied for permission on the Innovator Founder route, with an endorsement from an endorsing body, may be self-employed while that application is undecided. Home Office guidance treats setting up as a sole trader, holding 10 percent or more of the shares in a company you work for, or holding a statutory role such as director as business activity.

What happens if I work more than my allowed hours?

Working beyond your permitted hours is a serious breach of your visa conditions. It can result in your visa being curtailed (shortened), future applications being refused, or removal from the UK. Employers can also face penalties for allowing you to work beyond your visa conditions.

Can I do an internship or placement on a Student visa?

Yes, if the placement is assessed as an integral part of your course. The published limit is one third of the total course length. It rises to half the total course length where the course is at degree level or above at a higher education provider with a track record of compliance, at an overseas higher education institution in the UK, or as part of a UK bachelor's degree or above taken on a study abroad programme in the UK. A longer placement is allowed where the law requires it. See our placement year guide for details.

This guide is general information about published immigration rules. It is not advice about an individual application under s.82 Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, and Rowan is not regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority. Immigration rules change several times a year. For advice on a particular situation, contact an adviser authorised by the Immigration Advice Authority or an immigration solicitor. Always check GOV.UK for the authoritative current rules.

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