UK Student visa work rights checker
Whether you can work at all, how many hours, and the jobs the visa forbids outright. Every answer is quoted from the Immigration Rules.
Verified by John on 3 August 2026.
Your course
Your hours depend on the course level and who sponsors it. Both halves matter — a degree-level course does not carry work rights on its own.
Almost all UK universities are higher education providers with a track record of compliance. If you are unsure, your CAS names your sponsor.
You may work
20 hrs/week
Full-time course at degree level or above
You may work up to 20 hours per week during term time, and full-time outside term time.
What you may never doST 26.5
- Be self-employed or engage in business activityException (ST 26.8): Permitted only while a pending Innovator Founder application, supported by an endorsement, is undecided.
- Work as a professional sportsperson, including as a sports coach
- Work as an entertainer
- Fill a permanent full-time vacancyException (ST 26.6): Permitted with a pending Skilled Worker application up to 3 months before course completion, or on the Graduate route once the course is successfully completed.
Permitted whatever your hours
- A work placement assessed as an integral part of the courseST 26.2
- An elected Student Union Sabbatical Officer or elected NUS position, for up to 2 years, if the CAS was assigned for that purposeST 26.3
Worth knowing
- The 20-hour limit applies to each week individually. It is not an average, so working 40 hours one week and none the next is a breach.
- Term dates are set by your sponsor, not by the Immigration Rules. Use the dates your institution publishes, and keep a copy.
- You have no access to public funds while on this visa.
The mistake that catches people out
Most people believe the hours depend on their course level alone. They do not. The Immigration Rules attach the 20-hour allowance to a full-time course at degree level or above sponsored by a higher education provider with a track record of compliance. Both halves have to be true. A degree-level course at a sponsor that does not meet that description carries no work rights at all, and part-time study never carries them at any level.
The second trap is averaging. The weekly cap applies to each week on its own, so a fortnight of 40 hours and nothing is a breach even though the average looks compliant. And term dates come from your sponsor, not the Rules — if you work full-time in what you think is a vacation but your institution calls term, that is a breach too.
The rules behind this
Student following a full-time course of degree level or above study: sponsored by a higher education provider with a track record of compliance; or sponsored by an overseas higher education institution to undertake a short-term study abroad programme in the UK — 20 hours per week during term-time (full-time employment permitted outside of term-time). Student undertaking a full-time course below degree level study sponsored by a higher education provider with a track record of compliance — 10 hours per week during term-time (full-time employment permitted outside of term-time). All other study, including all part-time study — No employment permitted
A Student is not allowed to do any of the following: (a) be self-employed or engage in business activity unless ST 26.8 applies; or (b) work as a professional sportsperson (including as a sports coach); or (c) work as an entertainer; or (d) work in a position which would fill a permanent full-time vacancy unless ST 26.6. applies.
The grant of permission will be subject to the following conditions: (a) no access to public funds; and (b) no work, except as specified in ST 26; and (c) no study, except as specified in ST 27.
Students are permitted to undertake work related to a work placement, assessed as an integral part of the course, that meets the requirements at ST 17.1. to ST 17.3. Employment as an elected Student Union Sabbatical Officer or elected National Union of Students (NUS) position is permitted for up to 2 years if the Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies was assigned for this purpose.