“Can I cover my living costs by working?”
What can you actually earn on a UK Student visa?
Short answer
Multiply the hours your visa permits by the statutory minimum wage for your age band. At 21 and over the rate is £12.71 an hour; at 18 to 20 it is £10.85. Over a 20-hour week that difference is roughly £160 a month, against a visa living cost figure of about £1,171.
Your age changes the answer
The National Minimum Wage is banded by age, and the National Living Wage applies only from 21. A student who turns 21 partway through their course moves up a band. Assuming the headline rate for everyone overstates an 18-year-old’s income substantially.
It is gross, and it is not guaranteed
These are pre-tax figures, and they assume you find work at all. Term-time hours are a legal ceiling rather than a promise of employment, and the visa still requires you to prove your funds up front regardless of what you expect to earn.
Rates change every April
The bands are revised on 1 April each year. A figure quoted in an older article or forum post is very likely out of date.
Where this answer stops
Official sources
Checked against the live sources on .
Minimum wage rates
Current rates, April 2026 →Employment conditions table
ST 26.1 →