If you are from a non-EEA country, you will probably find one of the following restrictions stamped or noted in your passport or ID card:

• "Work (and any changes) must be authorised" or
• "Able to work as authorised by the Secretary of State" or
• "Student Leave to Remain. Restricted Work - P/T Term Time, F/T Vacations or work 20 hours max in term time".

If you have one of these conditions on your visa, you can work in the UK up to 20 hours per week during term time and full-time during vacation periods. The 20 hour per week maximum during term time is not flexible and cannot be exceeded in any given week.

If you are studying a course below degree level, you will only be allowed to work 10 hours per week during term time.

Please note that postgraduate Masters students are considered to be studying full-time during the months spent in the summer completing a dissertation and, as such, are not permitted to work more than 20 hours per week during this time.

If you have the following prohibition endorsed in your passport, "No work or recourse to public funds", then you cannot work in the UK.  If you are coming to the UK as a Student Visitor, you will have this stamp which means that you cannot work.  Please remember that working whilst you have a prohibition stamped in your passport is illegal.

If you are in the UK as a student and you are a Bulgarian or Romanian national, you must obtain a yellow registration certificate as a student before you can start work. The usual permissions granted on the registration certificate are for employment to be permitted for up to 20 hours a week in term time, with full-time employment being permitted in vacation periods.

For Bulgarian and Romanian nationals, the relevant application form is the BR1 form which you can find at the UKBA website along with the full details on this application category.  There is now an application fee of £55 and applications must now be made by post - there is no option to apply at a Public Enquiry Office.

Following the accession of Croatia to the European Union on 1 July 2013, Croatian nationals also need to apply for a yellow registration certificate as a student before they can start work.  The relevant application form is the CR1 form which you can find at the UKBA website along with the full details on this application category.    The application costs £55 for a postal application and there is no option to apply in person at a Public Enquiry Office.

What do I do if I am currently on a Tier 4 visa?
If you have a Tier 4 visa granted before 1 July, your leave will remain valid until it expires.  Therefore, if your Tier 4 visa previously allowed you to work, you may continue to work under the same conditions until your visa expires.  If you want to continue working after your visa expires, you must apply for worker authorisation in the form of a Yellow Registration Certificate unless:
• you are in an exempt category; or
• you have been working lawfully in the UK for a continuous period of 12 months, in line with the conditions of your leave. If this is the case, you will have free access to the UK labour market and do not need worker authorisation.  Please refer to the Home Office website for information.

Remember that if you apply for worker authorisation after your Tier 4 leave expires, you will not be able to work until you receive your Yellow Registration Certificate. 

EEA or Swiss nationals (excluding Bulgarian and Romanian nationals) are allowed to take employment without requiring a work permit.

Below are some useful links related to the matter of employment during studies:

Careers Service

HM Revenue & Customs

UKCISA: working during your studies information

SRC Jobshop