Student Visa Placement Year Guide
Many UK degree courses include an optional or mandatory placement year. This guide explains the immigration rules around placements, what your university must do, and how it affects your Student visa.
- Section
- Student & Graduate
- Reading time
- 7 min
- Last checked
- 9 March 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
- A placement must be assessed as an integral part of the course, and is recorded on your Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies.
- The general limit is one third of the total course length.
- It rises to half the total course length for a course at degree level or above at a higher education provider with a track record of compliance, and in two other listed situations.
- The term-time hour limit does not apply to placement hours.
- No separate work visa is needed, and the placement employer does not sponsor you.
- GOV.UK lists students on a work placement of up to one year among those who do not get the National Minimum Wage.
Work placements on a Student visa are permitted as long as they are assessed as an integral part of your course and recorded on your Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies. There are limits on how long a placement can last relative to the course. This guide covers the rules, employer responsibilities, and practical considerations.
What Counts as a Placement?
A work placement (sometimes called a sandwich year, industrial placement, or year in industry) is a period of work experience that forms part of your Student visa course. To be eligible on a Student visa, the placement must be:
- Assessed as an integral part of your course. The rules use those words: the placement must be assessed as part of the course, not simply arranged alongside it.
- Recorded on your Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies. Where a course involves a work placement, the Immigration Rules require your education provider to give details of it there.
- On a course leading to an approved qualification. If the course is below degree level, the Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies must have been assigned by a student sponsor that is not a probationary sponsor.
- Within the duration limits. See below.
Duration Limits
The placement length is calculated as a proportion of your total course length:
- The general limit is one third of the total length of the course.
- The limit is half where the placement is on a course at degree level or above at a higher education provider with a track record of compliance; or at an overseas higher education institution in the UK; or as part of a qualification recognised as being at UK bachelor's degree level or above, taken by a student on a study abroad programme in the UK.
- A longer placement is allowed where there is a statutory requirement that it must be so.
A 4-year sandwich degree with a 1-year placement puts the placement at 25% of the total course, inside both limits. If you are unsure, check with your university's international student team.
Working Hours on Placement
The Immigration Rules permit work related to a course placement separately from the weekly hour condition, so the usual 20-hour term-time limit does not apply to your placement hours. If you take additional work outside the placement, for example a weekend job, those hours are subject to the normal Student visa work limits, and the other Student restrictions still apply throughout: no self-employment or business activity, no professional sport or entertaining, and no public funds.
Employer Responsibilities
Your placement employer must:
- Check your right to work. Since biometric residence permits stopped being issued at the end of 2024, that means an online check using a share code. GOV.UK also tells employers that for students the check must include seeing evidence of study and vacation times
- Not sponsor you separately — your education provider remains your sponsor
- Follow employment law. Note that GOV.UK lists higher and further education students on work experience or a work placement of up to one year among the people who do not get the National Minimum Wage, so pay is a matter for the placement agreement
Your employer does not need a sponsor licence for your placement because you are still sponsored by your university.
After Your Placement
Once your placement ends, you return to your academic studies. Your Student visa continues as normal. If your placement employer wants to hire you after graduation, they would need to sponsor you for a Skilled Worker visa, or you could use the Graduate route to work for them without sponsorship: 2 years for an application made on or before 31 December 2026, 18 months from 1 January 2027, or 3 years after a PhD or other doctorate.
A placement also affects the academic progress rule. The Immigration Rules say you do not need to show academic progress if you are applying to undertake a work placement that is integral to and assessed as part of the course, or to complete the course having finished one.
Next Steps
Speak to your university's placement office and international student team early. They can advise on the visa implications of your specific placement and ensure everything is recorded correctly on your Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies.
Related guides:
- Student Visa UK: Complete Guide
- Student Visa Part-Time Work
- Student Visa Work Rights
- Graduate Route Guide
- Skilled Worker Visa Guide
For official information, see the GOV.UK Student visa page and the Student route immigration rules.
Questions and answers
Can I do a placement year on a Student visa?
Yes, if the placement is assessed as an integral part of your course. Your education provider records it on your Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies. The general 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.
Do I need a separate visa for my placement year?
No. Your Student visa covers the placement if it is assessed as an integral part of your course and meets the published placement rules. You do not need a Skilled Worker visa or any other work visa for it.
Can I work full-time during my placement?
Yes. Work on a course placement is permitted separately from the term-time hour limit, so the 20-hour or 10-hour weekly cap does not apply to placement hours. One thing to check with the employer: GOV.UK lists higher and further education students on work experience or a work placement of up to one year among the people who do not get the National Minimum Wage, so a placement can lawfully be unpaid or low-paid.
What if I cannot find a placement?
If you cannot find a placement, you typically continue your course without it. Some universities offer alternative modules or allow you to complete a shorter placement. Speak to your university's placement office for options.
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.