Working in London
What kind of work can I do during my studies?
If you have student immigration permission which you applied for on or after 31 March 2009, under Tier 4 of the Points Based System of immigration, it will allow you to take employment. You can work up to 20 hours a week during term-time and full-time during your holidays. You can work full-time on a work placement but only if your course meets certain requirements.
If you have student immigration permission that was granted before 31 March 2009 (or which you applied for before 31 March 2009 and which was granted on or after that date) that allows you to take employment, you can work up to 20 hours a week during term-time and full-time during your holidays, a work placement which is part of a sandwich course, or an internship.
You can do most kinds of work, but you must not engage in business, be self-employed, provide services as a professional sportsperson or entertainer, or pursue a career by filling a permanent full-time vacancy. This applies whether your immigration permission is granted before or on or after 31 March 2009.
If your immigration permission does not allow you to work, this means that you must not undertake paid or unpaid employment, including work placements which are part of your course.
If you have immigration permission, whenever it was granted, that extends for up to four months beyond the end of your studies, you can work full-time for that extra period once you have completed all your studies. If you have immigration permission that is more than four months longer than your course, you should make a new immigration application, stop working or leave the UK when you reach the four-month point.
If at the end of your course you apply to stay in the UK as a Tier 1 (Post Study Work) migrant, you can work full-time until your Tier 1 (Post Study Work) application is decided.
Work placements if your immigration permission is granted under Tier 4
This information applies to you if you applied for and were granted student immigration permission on or after 31 March 2009.
You can work full-time on a work placement if:
• you are doing a UK course; or
• you are a studying a degree course in another country and, as part of that degree course, you are spending some time at a college or university in the UK.
In most cases, you must not spend more than 50% of the time on your course doing a work placement, or work placements. However, there is an exception if the law says that you must spend more than half of your course doing work placements. This applies to Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) or, in Scotland, PGDE courses.
Your work placement must be an assessed part of your course, and it can take place at any point in your studies.
Can I stay in the UK to work after I have finished studying?
This depends on whether you meet the requirements for any of the schemes that the UK Government operates.
At the moment, the schemes that are most significant for students who have finished their studies are:
• Tier 1 (Post-Study Work) for those who have obtained a UK degree, a Postgraduate Certificate in Education or a Professional Graduate Diploma in Education (or an HND from a Scottish institution). This replaced the International Graduates Scheme (IGS) and the Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland Scheme from 30 June 2008. If you have already been granted one year's immigration permission under the IGS (or under Fresh Talent, though this is unusual), you can apply for an extra year under Tier 1 (Post-Study Work), and it does not matter what type of qualification you have, as long as you have immigration permission under IGS or Fresh Talent.
• Tier 2 for jobs where no one in the resident labour market can be recruited, and occupations where there is a shortage of qualified workers. This replaced work permits and some other work routes from 27 November 2008
• Tier 1 (General) for those with degrees and work experience and prior earnings at a certain level. This replaced the Highly Skilled Migrants Programme |
