Working During Your Studies

Hours you can work

If you have a Student visa issued for study at LJMU, your visa conditions will normally allow you to work with restrictions and conditions. This should be written on your BRP, your visa decision letter or accessed via the View and Prove service for those with eVisas.

If your Student visa was issued for study at LJMU on a degree level qualification (RQF level 6) or above, you should normally have a condition of a maximum 20 hours per week during term time.

For courses below degree level qualification, you should normally have a condition of a maximum of 10 hours per week during term time.

Calculating hours per week

You should not work more than your permitted hours during term-time. All work that you do counts towards the number of permitted hours, including unpaid voluntary work.

If you have more than one job, you should not work more than the permitted hours in total.

A week is defined as a seven-day period starting on Monday and ending on a Sunday.

Working full time in the vacations

If your Student visa permits employment, you can work full time in official vacation periods, when you are not required to be studying. You can find the LJMU term dates on the LJMU website. 

For most Masters’ students the summer vacation period is considered term-time and you should not work more than the permitted term-time hours.

For PhD students the summer vacation period is considered term-time and you should not work more than the permitted term-time hours.

Students who are repeating or resitting in the summer vacation period or in the period of additional time at the end of their visa, this period of time is considered term-time for you and you should not work more than the permitted term-time hours until the end of the re-sit period.

Permitted work

You can do most types of work. You can work in more than one job. You can do voluntary work and paid employment.

There are some types of work which are not permitted with a Student visa.

  • You cannot be self-employed or freelance or set up or run your own business

  • You cannot work as a professional sportsperson (including sports coach)

  • You cannot work as a professional entertainer

  • You cannot work as a doctor or dentist in training

Working outside the UK

If you are physically present in the UK, you must keep within the restricted hours of your Student visa during term time, even if the work you are doing is outside the UK.

For example: if you are working remotely from the UK for a company that is outside the UK, you should not work more than the restricted hours.

Work placements

If you have a Student visa issued for study on an LJMU sandwich course (a course which includes an integral and assessed work placement) you can undertake the work placement even if it is full time and in term-time for the duration of the placement. Your Student visa should already cover the full length of your studies including the work placement.

If you add an integral and assessed work placement to your course, you can undertake the work placement even if it is full time and in term-time for the duration of the placement. You will need to apply for a Student visa extension either before starting or after completing the work placement.

You will need to provide a letter from LJMU to the work placement provider confirming that the work placement forms an integral part of the course, the terms and conditions of the work placement, including the work that you are expected to do, and how and when you will be assessed.

Internships

Internships are not usually integral and assessed part of your course and so the normal Student visa work restrictions apply.

You can do an internship if it is within the restricted hours in term-time or if you can start and finish the internship within the official vacation periods or at the end of your studies.

Evidencing right to work

The UK government published guidance documents for employers on how to conduct right to work checks and what documents they can legally accept as evidence of your right to work.

You will need to show your employer your passport and Student visa (normally your BRP or share code if you have an eVisa) which shows your existing valid permission to be in the UK and the work condition. Additionally, you may need to show your employer evidence of your term dates.

Working full time end of course

If you complete your course on time (not finishing earlier than expected, nor deferring, delaying or otherwise taking extra time to complete), you can work full time in the additional wrap up time that you have been issued on your visa.

For courses that are 12 months or longer, you should have an additional 4 months from the end date as stated on your CAS.

For courses that are between 6 months and 12 months, you should have an additional 2 months from the end date as stated on your CAS.

You can normally work full-time when:

  • your course is complete

  • the course end date on your CAS has passed

  • you are no longer in term-time

You should not start a permanent full-time post on your Student visa. The only exceptions are if you have made a valid Skilled Worker or Graduate route application (please see relevant webpages).

You can start a part-time post that is permanent or temporary, or a temporary full-time post.

Completed course early

If you complete your course before the end date as stated on your CAS, LJMU may need to report this to UKVI. Your work entitlement differs depending on how this has been reported. Please contact internationaladvice@ljmu.ac.uk for further advice on your situation.

Employer requests

In most cases your employer will need confirmation you have completed your course of study. You result statement, or using the course end date on your CAS, should be sufficient for this purpose. LJMU is unable to provide additional completion letters, as it is not a requirement.

UK Council for International Student Affairs provide clarification on employers requests for evidence.

The UK government published guidance documents for employers on how to conduct right to work checks and what documents they can legally accept as evidence of your right to work.

There is also an Employer hotline available for further clarification on the right to work.

Withdraw from course or leave of absence (LOA)

If, after you have enrolled and started your studies, you take a leave of absence or withdraw from your course for any reason, LJMU will be required to notify UKVI who will contact you to confirm that they will cut your visa normally to 60 days.

According to the Government guidance you can continue to work within the term-time restrictions during this curtailment period.

If you have not enrolled and started your studies before withdrawing from your studies, you should not work at all as your visa is liable to be cancelled with immediate effect.

Voluntary work

If you have permission to work, you can undertake voluntary work. You must, however, ensure that any voluntary work and any other work (paid or unpaid) does not breach the maximum number of hours you can work during term-time.

Voluntary work is usually unpaid work which is like paid work and involves terms and conditions like a paid employee. For example: if you work regular shifts in a charity shop, this might be considered voluntary work.

Volunteering is distinct from voluntary work and any volunteering does not count towards the maximum number of hours you can work full time.

Volunteering is usually undertaking activity which is not considered to be like paid work and does not involve similar terms and conditions. For example: If you volunteer with your local community group in their monthly beach cleaning activity, this might be considered volunteering.

If you are unsure, always check first with the organisation which you wish to work with.

Breaching work restrictions

Working when you are not permitted, working more hours than you are permitted, or undertaking a type of work that you are not permitted to is illegal and can have consequences for you, your employer and LJMU.

If you breach your visa work conditions, you could be liable for a fine of up to £5000, up to 6 months in prison, revocation of your visa and a ban from entering the UK from between 1-10 years.

Your employer could be subject to a civil penalty of up to £20000 and other criminal sanctions.

LJMU are required to notify UKVI of breaches of visa conditions, including illegal working. Breaches of Student visa conditions can impact of LJMU’s ability to maintain its student sponsor licence.