Part-Time Jobs in the UK for International Students: The Real Work Rules, 2026-27

An international student on a UK Student visa can work up to 20 hours a week during term time if they are on a full-time course at degree level or above at a higher education provider with a track record of compliance. Outside term time, full-time employment is permitted. That is the rule in Appendix Student of the Immigration Rules, the legal text that sets the conditions on your visa.

Two things change the answer. Your course level matters: below degree level the limit drops to 10 hours a week. And if you study part-time, the rules say no employment is permitted at all. So before you plan your finances around a part-time job, check which of the three categories below your course falls into.

The hour cap is only one limit. Appendix Student also bars certain kinds of work outright, however few hours they take. You cannot be self-employed or engage in business activity (ST 26.5(a)), with one narrow exception for people with a pending Innovator Founder application. You cannot work as a professional sportsperson, including as a sports coach (ST 26.5(b)), or as an entertainer (ST 26.5(c)). And you cannot work in a position that would fill a permanent full-time vacancy (ST 26.5(d)).

In practice, that rules out freelancing on your own account and running a side business, even a small one. If a gig is paid and not employed by someone else, check it against the self-employment bar before you start, not after.

Employers must pay at least the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage, which depends on your age. The rates below are the April 2026 rates published on GOV.UK, which changes them every 1 April. The weekly figures are our own arithmetic: the hourly rate multiplied by 20 hours, as gross pay before tax, and they show the legal floor for a full 20-hour week, not what any particular job pays.

Actual pay depends on the employer, and hours are not guaranteed, so some weeks will be shorter than 20 hours. Treat the last column as what the legal minimum gives for a full capped week, not a promise of income.

Work that is part of your degree is treated differently. Appendix Student (ST 26.2) says students are permitted to undertake work related to a work placement that is assessed as an integral part of the course and meets the placement rules in ST 17.1 to 17.3. If your programme includes a placement year or an assessed internship, ask your university's international office how it is recorded, because that is separate from your 20 weekly hours of ordinary part-time work.

Employers in the UK must check that you have the right to work. GOV.UK's guidance for people who are not British or Irish citizens says you can prove it with a share code, which you can get online, or with eligible immigration documents listed on a separate GOV.UK page. It also says you can choose which option to use, and that an employer cannot reject you just because you gave an eligible immigration document instead of a share code.

The rules do not define the exact start and end dates of term time on the page that sets your work conditions. Your university sets its own academic calendar, so confirm the dates of your term with its international student team before you accept full-time hours.

Check four things. Is your course full-time and at degree level or above, so the 20-hour cap applies rather than 10 or none? Does the job count as employment, not self-employment or business activity? Will your weekly hours stay at or under the cap in term time? And is it a role that is not an entertainer, sportsperson or permanent full-time vacancy? If all four hold, the job fits the work conditions in Appendix Student. Your university's international office can confirm anything specific to your sponsor.

A part-time job in the UK is real and legal for most full-time degree students, but it is a capped income, not a funding plan. At the 2026 minimum wage, a full 20-hour week is worth at most £254.20 gross for someone aged 21 or over, before tax, and only if the hours are available. Plan your course fees and living costs without it, and treat any earnings as a buffer. The rules that decide whether you can work at all are your course level, whether you study full-time, and the 20-hour term-time cap, so check those before you choose a course.