Article - Working hours guidance – International/EU/EEA/Swiss students | Student Services

This article will explain the working restrictions of how many hours International/EU/EEA/Swiss Students can work per week and where to get further advice and guidance.

Tier 4 Student Visa and Student Route Visa

If you are studying on a Tier 4 student visa or the new Student Route visa (issued from 5th October 2020), you will have working restrictions while you are studying in the UK.

Term time Working Restrictions:

If you are studying on a Tier 4 or Student Route visa, you will usually have up to 20 hours per week working restrictions and this will be detailed on your visa issue email/letter or by logging into the Share Code portal on the GOV.UK website

Your term time and vacation working restrictions will depend on the level of the course that you are studying: Undergraduate, Taught Postgraduate or Research Postgraduate and you must adhere to the University of Portsmouth term dates. For more information on term time and vacation working restrictions that will depend on your course, see the Global's webpage: Working during your studies

For additional information on the Tier 4 visa or Student Route visa working restrictions, please see UKCISA: Student Work information. To find out more about Home Office regulations please refer to GOV.UK Student visa or to: UKCISA (UK Council for International Student Affairs) website.

What is included in your Working Restrictions:

Your Tier 4/Student Route Student Visa states that employment includes paid and unpaid employment and the 20 hour maximum weekly total includes all employment (whether at the University or elsewhere) and any voluntary work.

Your Responsibilities:

As a student on a Tier 4/Student Route visa, it is your responsibility to ensure that all your paid, unpaid or voluntary work does not exceed your visa working restrictions and that all hours worked in each week must be 20 hours or less. The working week is defined as Monday - Sunday. It is important that you manage your working or voluntary work hours as you are responsible for ensuring that you do not exceed the 20 hours working restrictions as this would be classed as illegal working.

Voluntary Work

Volunteering opportunities promoted through the Careers and Employability's Volunteering Bank are classed as voluntary work and will be included in your 20 hour working restrictions. For example, if you can work for 20 hours during term-time and have paid work for 15 hours a week you cannot do more than five hours voluntary work per week. The UKCISA website has detailed the differences between volunteering and voluntary work: What kind of work can you do?

University Bursary Students - unpaid work

For Tier 4/Student Route PGR Students on a Bursary, there is up to 6 hours per week of assistance to teaching that you are expected to undertake and this will count towards the 20 working hours.

Types of work you must not undertake on a Tier 4/Student Route visa

There are some types of work that students who have visa working restrictions must not undertake: Work you are not allowed to do

All students must not engage in any business activity, be self-employed, provide services as a professional sportsperson or entertainer, or a permanent full-time job.

Self-employment and business activity - this includes freelance roles, freelance tutors and translators, online business, e-commerce
work as a professional sportsperson including as a sports coach - Tier 4/Student Route visa holders are not able to undertake any form of coaching role for their university teams, for any local sports teams or clubs or through any sort of outreach programme, whether paid, unpaid or as voluntary work
Entertainer, which includes actors, musicians, dancers and other performers

For more information on the types of work you can undertake on a Tier 4/Student Route student visa, see the UKCISA article: A working definition

UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA)

The UKCISA website has a range of information for international and EU students on visa working restrictions and for more information on part-time or voluntary work work visit UKCISA Student Work: or What kind of work can you do?

Protecting your Student status

It is important that you comply with your Tier 4 or Student Route visa working restrictions and for more information on Protecting your Tier 4 Student Status, see UKCISA’s: P rotecting your Tier 4 Student Status

UoP Global's International Student Advice Team:

If you require any further information, advice and guidance on your working restrictions, please contact the University's International Student Advice Team, please contact the UoP Global Office.

Some Frequently Asked Questions:

What does the 20 hours a week include?

Can I work more than 20 hours a week during the term?

No, it is your responsibility to ensure that all paid, unpaid and voluntary work undertaken does not exceed the 20 hours a week during term time as this will be classed as illegal working.

Your working restrictions for term time and vacations will depend on the level of the course that you are studying: Undergraduate, Taught Postgraduate or Research Postgraduate. For PGT and PGR students, the 20 hours term time working restrictions will continue throughout your course. For more information on term time and vacation working restrictions for UG, PGT or PGR courses, see the Global's webpage: Working during your studies

How will my employer know I have working restrictions?

When you are offered a job, your employer is required to undertake a Right to Work check and will ask for your online share code which will detail your working restrictions. It is important to let your employer know if you are also undertaking any paid, unpaid or voluntary work elsewhere. For more information see UKCISA's Employers, income tax and National Insurance

Your employer will pay you using HM Revenue & Customs PAYE system which includes your pay, income tax and national insurance, and this data is shared with the UK Visas and Immigration department within the Home Office every month. It is possible for the Home Office to identify Tier 4/Student Route visa students who are working in excess of 20 hours per week, which is why you must make sure you do not work in breach of your visa restrictions.

Can this be an average of 20 hours per week?

No, your working restrictions are not an average per week, but a maximum per week. it is your responsibility to ensure that all paid, unpaid and voluntary work undertaken does not exceed the 20 hours a week during term time as this will be classed as illegal working.

What happens if I work more than 20 hours during my term time?

If you work more than the working restrictions of 20 hours during term time, this will be classed as illegal working.

I have completed all my assessments and exams before my course end date, am I able to work more than 20 hours?

No, as you are still in your assessment period and you will not be able to work additional hours until after the end of the term, academic year or the end of your course (as recorded in our student record system) and you have completed all your coursework, dissertation or any exam re-sits. For more information see the Global's webpage: Working during your Studies

The course end date on my CAS certificate is 10 September, I have an extension to an assessment deadline to 24 September, am I able to work full time from 10 September?

No, your 20 hours working restrictions will continue until you have completed all your assessments, dissertation, exams and exam resits. Once you have completed all your course assessments and you have been confirmed that you have completed your course, you will then be able to work unrestricted until your visa end date.

When the end of the academic year is over, what are my working restrictions over the summer?

Your working restrictions for term time and summer vacations will depend on the level of the course that you are studying: Undergraduate, Taught Postgraduate or Research Postgraduate. For PGT and PGR students, the 20 hours term time working restrictions will continue throughout your course. For more information see the Global's webpage: Working during your Studies

EU/EEA/Swiss Students - changes from 1 January 2021

For information on visa and changes for EU students after Brexit and the EU Settlement Scheme, please see the information from UoP Global team: EU, EEA AND SWISS STUDENTS and UKCISA's: Are you an EEA national

Standard Visitor Visa

You cannot do any work if you are on a Standard Visitor Visa or on a Short-term Student Visa

Further information and guidance

If you require any further information, advice and guidance on your visa or working restriction, please contact the University's International Student Advice Team UoP Global Office.

The Careers and Employability Service has a dedicated team of friendly, experienced advisers on hand to talk to you. You can find out more about the support available where you can access a wide range of information and advice and for more information on looking for part-time or voluntary work, please contact the Careers and Employability Service