Working during study

Gaining work experience whilst you study through a part-time job, vacation placement, internship or volunteering is invaluable and will help you develop skills to add to your CV.

In the UK and across many international companies, employers look for a range of transferable skills and commercial awareness in addition to academic qualifications, which can be gained from work experience.

As an international student you are able work in the UK subject to a number of restrictions. You are welcome to use The Careers Service to help you to explore your options for working during your studies, find opportunities and make successful applications. We cannot find you a job, UK careers services do not operate in this way, but we can give you feedback on your job hunting and applications.

This page provides information on:

• Can I work whilst a student? Check your eligibility to work
• Where can I find part time work, work experience and other opportunities?
• National Insurance and tax

It is very important that you confirm your permission to work before starting a job. Failure to meet the terms of your student visa are a breach of immigration laws.

The wording in your passport or ID card will confirm whether you are allowed to work in the UK while studying. The UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) provide a factsheet and further help with checking your work status. 

Most international students can work in the UK during their studies up to 20 hours per week and full time during vacations. You can do any type of work as long as it is not a permanent full time vacancy or self employment. There are different regulations for undergraduate and postgraduate students concerning vacation work. Check the International Advice Team website for further details.

We advertise many opportunities for part time work, placements and other types of opportunities for work as a student. You can search for opportunties related to your degree or chosen career area or general work such as hospitality, retail or administrative work. We also advertise opportunities with language requirements that might be ideal for international students.

Log in to CareersLink to search our vacancies that would use your language skills. 

The downloads include more information on where to find part time jobs or placements and there are further resources in our work experience section.

Finding student employment can be competitive and it is important to spend time on your application. Our CV school for international students will help you adjust your CV to the UK market. We also run a number of CV and application talks and a quick query session for CV and application reviews.

As an international student you will also be liable to pay National Insurance contributions and tax if you work whilst you are studying, the amount is dependent on how much you earn.

You will also need to get a National Insurance (NI) Number if you intend to work in the UK.

Further information about paying tax and how to apply for your National Insurance (NI) number is available in our employment rights section.