Working in the UK on a Student visa

Your eligibility to work in the UK while studying will depend on your visa permission. 

Standard Visitor visa  

If you have immigration permission as a Standard Visitor, you are not permitted to do any kind of work including voluntary work, paid or unpaid, volunteering or to undertake internships or work placements as part of your studies. 

Visitors may undertake volunteering provided it is for a registered charity and will be for no longer than 30 days in total. 

Permitted activities and restrictions attached to Standard Visitor visa 

Student visa  

If you are on a Student visa, your eligibility to work will be outlined in your visa decision letter. Please make sure that you are familiar with your work conditions. Your entry clearance vignette (visa sticker in your passport) and/or your eVisa will tell you if you are allowed to work, including the work limit. 

If you are an EU/EEA national or a non-visa national then you will have received your grant digitally.  This will outline your Student visa conditions and working rights.  

You must check your vignette and eVisa  to ensure that the work conditions are correct. If they are not, you may be able to get this corrected. 

Find out how to correct your visa

Your Student visa allows limited working rights in the UK. Your work rights are connected to your visa and student status, so you must stop working immediately if your visa expires or if it is curtailed by the UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI).  

You will be subject to a maximum number of hours per week for working during term time. The term-time period can change depending on the programme you are studying so you must ensure that you are aware of the term time and vacation periods for your specific programme.  

A working ‘week’ is defined as a 7-day period starting on a Monday and ending on the following Sunday. 

As a Student visa holder you can only work if you are considered an ‘employee’. Your Student visa will allow you to work: 

• 20 hours in any given week during term time if you are studying a full-time programme at degree level and above
• 10 hours in any given week during term time if you are studying a full-time programme below degree level
• Full time during vacation periods and after your official course end date
• On a work placement, which must be an integral and assessed part of your programme of studies
• As a sabbatical officer in a Students’ Union for up to 2 years 

Find out more about sabbatical officers

Read more about work placement

If your programme is below degree level (Pre-sessionals or International Foundation Programme) 

If your course of study is below degree level, you will be able to work 10 hours per week during term time and full-time during vacations. 

• During term time you can work up to 10 hours (maximum) per week.
• You can work full-time after your official programme end date until your Student visa expires, provided you have no further engagement or attendance requirements. 

Undergraduate students (including MEng, MPhys and MMath) 

If your course of study is at degree level or above you are allowed to work up to 20 hours per week during term time, and full time during vacations. Please see the University website to check your official vacation periods. 

• During term time you can work up to 20 hours (maximum) per week.
• During vacation periods you can work full-time. 
• You can work full-time after your programme end date (as confirmed on your student record) until your Student visa expires, provided you have no further engagement or attendance requirement.  

Taught postgraduate students (Masters / MSc) 

Please always check with your school to confirm the specific Term Time and official vacation dates for your specific programme. 

• During term time you can work up to 20 hours (maximum) per week.
• During Winter and Spring vacation periods you can work full-time.
• Masters’ students do not have Summer vacation*. Term time conditions apply during the summer term (dissertation period). You can only work full-time after your course end date on your student record. 
• You can work full-time after your programme end date until your Student visa expires, provided you have no further engagement or attendance requirement. 

* If you are doing a 2 year postgraduate programme (e.g. MLA or MSW), you may have a summer vacation period between year 1 and year 2.  Please check with your school to confirm the specific vacation dates for your programme. 

Postgraduate research students (MSc by Research / MPhil / PhD) 

• During Term Time you can work up to 20 hours (maximum) per week.
• You do not have any designated official vacation periods. You are in term time all year unless you have written permission/approval from your supervisor to take a period of PGR vacation leave (or annual leave).
• Your supervisor must agree and confirm the dates for PGR vacation leave (or annual leave) in writing. You can work full-time hours during your agreed PGR vacation leave (or annual leave) outside of term time. 
• PGR students may take up to eight weeks of PGR vacation leave (or annual leave) per year. PhD students may choose to take this vacation between the submission of thesis and their viva exam, during which they may work full time, providing this is fully approved and recorded as a holiday period by the school. However, some employers will not allow you to work full-time hours during this period. This will depend on the employer's policy.
• You must revert to the usual Term Time part time (no more than 20 hours per week) restrictions when you are studying again, from the date of your viva until you submit your final e-thesis.
• The formal course end date (end of 'term time' for Postgraduate research students (PhD / MPhil) will be after completion of all academic work and final outcome, i.e. submitting your final e-thesis after Viva and any possible corrections.  

Please note that some doctorate-level programmes may have designated vacation periods that are different from what is outlined above. If in doubt, please contact your School. 

Code of Practice - Research Student - Vacation Leave

Vacation periods are different depending on what programme you are studying. 

Undergraduate programmes have 3 vacation periods in line with the University calendar:

• Winter vacation (Christmas holidays)
• Spring vacation (Easter holidays)
• Summer vacation

Postgraduate taught (for example, Masters) students may have 2 official vacation periods if they follow the standard academic dates as shown on the University calendar:

Please always check with your school to confirm the specific Term Time and official vacation dates for your specific programme as they may follow non-standard academic dates.

• Winter vacation (Christmas holidays)
• Spring vacation (Easter holidays)
• 1 year Masters students do not have vacation during the summer period as this is the dissertation/research module and you are expected to study on a full time basis throughout course

Postgraduate Research (for example, PhD) students can request 8 weeks of PGR vacation leave (or annual leave) per year, which they can take at any time, in agreement through their School. We understand the vacation allowance for individual students to be in relation to their academic year and based on the student’s start date. 

Code of Practice - Research Student - Vacation Leave

If you are on a Student visa, both during and after your studies, you must not: 

• Work as a self-employed person
  • This includes freelancing and ‘gig-economy’ work, such as Deliveroo or Uber drivers
  • any work or trading as a freelancer, contractor or consultant is highly likely to be considered self-employment, which is not permissible under Student visa work conditions
• Engage or take part in business activity
• Fill or undertake a full-time permanent vacancy or graduate level role (unless it is a post as a Student Union Sabbatical Officer)
• Take a full-time internship or work placement during term time that is not an assessed and integral part of your studies
• Work or take employment as an entertainer or as a professional sportsperson, including a sports coach 

If you are not sure if you are being asked to work as self-employed, please check with the Student Immigration Service BEFORE commencing work. Working in breach of your immigration permission is a serious offence and can have implications on your ability to remain in the UK. 

The differences between ‘employee’ and ‘self-employed’ status is explained on the government website below:

Employment status: Overview - GOV.UK

Find out more about working permissions - UKCISA

You can volunteer while you are studying. Volunteering is different from unpaid employment (Voluntary work). Volunteers will normally help a registered charity or voluntary or public sector organisation.  

If you are volunteering with an organisation, you must not: 

• have a contract of employment
• take the place of an employee
• not receive payment for your contribution, including payment in kind 

You are permitted to undertake voluntary work in the UK. Voluntary work will be counted in your permitted working hours. 

As a voluntary worker you 

• are usually paid in some form
• often have a contract with an employer 

If you are unsure you should check with the organisation whether what you are doing can be regarded as unpaid employment. Any time spent on unpaid employment or voluntary work counts towards your maximum number of hours of work during a week.  

UKCISA advice on volunteering 

Your Student visa is granted for the full duration of your course plus 4 additional months (if you are studying at degree level or above), also known as the ‘wrap-up period.’ Once you have reached the official programme end date of your course, you can work full-time during the validity of your Student visa permission. 

The formal course end date (end of 'term time' for Postgraduate research students (PhD / MPhil) will be after completion of all academic work and final outcome, i.e. submitting your final e-thesis after Viva and any possible corrections. 

You can work full-time hours on a temporary contract up until the expiry date of your Student visa.  

If you have completed your course early, your visa will end earlier. This means you may only work the 4 months following your new course completion date.  

Before your Student visa expires you must:  

• Apply for the Graduate route visa if you are eligible, 
• Look for sponsorship from an employer and apply for the Skilled Worker visa, 
• Apply for another eligible visa route that would allow you to remain in the UK, or 
• Leave the UK before your Student visa expires.  

From 6 April 2022, employers can no longer accept Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) cards as evidence of your right to work in the UK. Instead, you must obtain a ‘share code’ from UKVI which you can then give to the employer so they can then do their checks online.  

How to obtain a share code from UKVI 

If an employer needs additional evidence of term dates so they know when you may be allowed to work more hours than the restriction stated on your visa, along with your share code, you can provide:  

• a printout from the University's website confirming semester dates for employment; and/or
• a Certificate of Matriculation that confirms your programme end date. 

Certificate of Matriculation | The University of Edinburgh

You may also refer to the University academic year pages at:

• Academic year structure | The University of Edinburgh
• Current academic year | The University of Edinburgh​​​​​​

Please note that whether you are on a vacation period is determined by the type of course you are studying. 

Please see ‘Programme specific information on work rights’ section above for more information.

Where your employer requires further confirmation of your entitlement to work, they can contact the Home Office Employers’ Helpline. 

Employers should check your share code using the right to work share code service (if you have eVisa access)