UK Services Working

Services for Students
Studying in the UK

Short-term students (courses of 6 months or less)

If you are studying on courses of 6 months or less, you will have a visa stamp that 'prohibits' you from working during your stay unless you have specifically asked for restrictions on working. If you are prohibited from working it is very important that you do not try to work, as the consequences can be very serious.

However, it is sometimes possible to get a prohibition on working lifted to a restriction on working, but you will need to speak to an adviser at your university about this.

Long-term students (courses more than 6 months)

If you have leave to stay in the UK for a minimum of 6 months, you will probably be able to work with certain 'restrictions' (see below).

If you meet the conditions, you may:

work in your spare time while studying, and full time during university vacations
take a work placement with an employer (if you are on sandwich course)
take an internship placement with an employer.

You may not:

work for more than 20 hours per week during term time
engage in business, self-employment or provide services as a professional sportsperson or entertainer.
pursue a career by filling a permanent full-time vacancy.

You may not work if your visa or passport is stamped 'No work' or employment prohibited' or that you must 'not engage in employment.'

National Insurance

International students who work in the UK pay National Insurance (NI) contributions in the same way as UK citizens. To do this, you will need to apply for a National Insurance number, but you do not need to do this before you can start work.

Once you have a job, contact your local Department of Work and Pensions (www.dwp.gov.uk) who will advise you how to apply. You will need to provide two forms of identification (your passport or birth certificate for example) and details of when you received your job offer or started working.

Staying in the UK to work after your studies

Some international students want to remain in the UK to work after completing their course. Immigration rules that allow students to stay can be confusing. For a general overview, have a look at UKCOSA's 'Working in the UK after your studies': www.ukcosa.org.uk/images/workafter.pdf

Science and Engineering Graduates

The Home Office has announced a scheme called SEGS (the Science and Engineering Graduate Scheme) which will allow some students who have been awarded a 2.2 or higher on certain physical science, mathematics and engineering courses to apply to stay in the UK to work after graduation.

For more information about SEGS and an application form please use the following links:

Information about the Scheme:
www.workingintheuk.gov.uk/working_in_the_uk/

For an application form FLR(SEGS):
www.workingintheuk.gov.uk/working_in_the_uk/en

Further information for International Students about working in the UK:

For a leaflet produced by the Department of Education and Skills for International students working in the UK, please visit:
www.dfes.gov.uk/international-students/workleaflet.pdf

UKCOSA's 'Working During Your Studies' www.ukcosa.org.uk/images/workduring.pdf

UK Home Office: www.workignintheuk.gov.uk