Student Immigration Hub

Working while studying

Working while studying

Students studying on a Student Visa or Tier 4 Visa at the University of Glasgow are generally allowed to work under the following conditions:

Programme DetailsWork Permissions
Programme at or above Bachelor's level Up to 20 hours per week during term time
Programme below Bachelor's level Up to 10 hours per week

You are also permitted undertake work placements that form an assessed and integral part of your course.

You are permitted to work full-time during University vacation periods and during the Visa 'Wrap-Up' period following the completion of your course.

For most Undergraduate and Postgraduate Taught students, 'term-time' is defined as the University's official semester dates. Some programmes, however, may follow a different calendar. Please consult with your School for more information.

Postgraduate Taught students working on their dissertation/project during the summer semester are still in 'term-time', and are therefore still subject to the weekly working limit. The weekly limit does not apply for students who have completed their programme (this means completed all required classes, submissions and assessments) and where the course end date on their CAS has passed but their visa is still valid. This is known as the Visa 'Wrap-Up' period.

Postgraduate Research students do not have designated vacation periods. Their weekly working limit applies year-round, except for periods of approved annual leave, and the University's period of closure over Christmas and New Year.

If you work for more than one employer and/or more than one University department concurrently, the cumulative number of hours you work must not exceed your total limit. A week is defined as a period of seven days starting on a Monday and ending on a Sunday.

The following types of work are completely prohibited for Student Visa holders:

  • Self-employment/business activity
  • Sportsperson/Sports Coach
  • Entertainer
  • Any full-time, permanent vacancy (except as a Student Union Sabbatical Officer)

Working permissions should always be shown on your Entry Clearance Vignette and/or the letter that you received when your visa application was approved. A breach of working conditions is a very serious offence which can result in detentionremoval from the UK and automatic refusals of future UK visa applications.

Read more about working permissions