Dhiraj Kandel
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Quick answer
The essentials at a glance
On a UK student visa from Nepal, you can work up to 20 hours a week in term time if you study a full-time degree at a university. Below degree level at a university the limit is 10 hours, and at most other colleges you cannot work at all. In official holidays you can work full time. Hours from all your jobs add up, and each week runs from Monday to Sunday.
Key takeaways
Main points from this page
- Degree students at a university can work up to 20 hours a week in term time, and students below degree level up to 10 hours.
- The limit covers all your jobs together, so 12 hours at one job and 10 at another breaks a 20-hour limit.
- You can work full time in official holidays and for about 4 months after a 12-month course ends, until your visa runs out.
- 4 kinds of work are banned at any time: self-employment, professional sport, entertaining and permanent full-time jobs.
- At the £12.71 minimum wage, 20 hours a week earns about £1,100 a month before tax, which helps but cannot pay tuition.
How Many Hours Can International Students Work in the UK?
Most Nepali students on a full-time degree at a UK university can work up to 20 hours a week in term time.
The limit depends on two things: the level of your course and the type of place that sponsors your visa. A full-time bachelor’s, master’s or PhD at a university gets 20 hours. A full-time course below degree level at a university, such as a foundation year, gets 10 hours. These limits come from the Immigration Rules, Appendix Student, and they are the same for students from every country.
Here is the part many students miss. At a college that is not a university with a “track record of compliance”, you usually cannot take a job at all, even on a full-time course. So check your sponsor before you count on part-time income. This page explains the work rules; for the full plan, see study in UK from Nepal. The limits are:
- Full-time degree course at a university: up to 20 hours a week in term time
- Full-time course below degree level at a university: up to 10 hours a week in term time
- Course at any other college or sponsor: no paid work, except a placement that is part of the course
- Any part-time course: no paid work
- Official holidays: full-time work for students who are allowed to work
What Counts as a Week and as Term Time?
A week is any 7 days from Monday to Sunday, and term time is whenever your university expects you to study.
You cannot average your hours. If you work 25 hours one week and 15 the next, the first week is still over the limit. The hours from all your jobs are added together, and UKCISA says this includes work for an employer outside the UK. So if you also do online work for a company in Nepal, those hours count too.
Term time is set by your course, not by your timetable. A week with no classes, such as a reading week, is usually still term time. Your CAS letter shows your course start and end dates, and your university publishes the term and vacation dates. Keep a simple record of your shifts each week, because you, not your employer, must stay within the limit. Count it like this:
- Week 1, Monday to Sunday: 12 hours at a shop and 6 hours at a cafe makes 18 hours, which is fine
- Week 2: 12 hours at the shop and 10 hours at the cafe makes 22 hours, which breaks a 20-hour limit
- Cash-in-hand shifts count the same as shifts on a payslip
- Overtime, cover shifts and unpaid trial shifts all count
- Holiday pay from one job is not counted as hours, because only time you actually work counts
When Can You Work Full Time Outside Term Time?
You can work full time in official vacations, in the time before your course starts and after it ends.
The Home Office caseworker guidance says full-time work is allowed in vacations, “including the period before the course starts”. For student visa UK working hours outside term time there is no weekly limit, but the banned jobs below still apply. Most Nepali students do a 1-year master’s, and this is where mistakes happen: the summer is usually the dissertation period, which is term time, not a vacation. Ask your university for your exact term dates before you take extra shifts. Our master’s in the UK guide shows how these courses run.
| Period | Usually | What you can work |
|---|---|---|
| Teaching weeks | Term time | 20 or 10 hours a week |
| Reading week | Term time | 20 or 10 hours a week |
| Christmas and Easter breaks (official) | Vacation | Full time |
| Summer of a bachelor’s course | Vacation | Full time |
| Summer dissertation of a 1-year master’s | Term time | 20 hours a week |
| Resits and reassessment | Often term time | Ask your university |
| Before your course starts (in the UK) | Outside term time | Full time |
| After your course officially ends | Outside term time | Full time, until your visa ends |
Can You Work Full Time After Your Course Ends?
Yes, once your course has officially ended you can work full time until your student visa runs out.
Under the rules, a course of 12 months or more gives you about 4 months on your visa after the end date. The caseworker guidance treats that time as outside term time. Your course ends when all the work is finished and the university says so, not on the day of your last lecture. You still cannot take a permanent full-time job. That changes only after you finish your course and apply for the Graduate visa. That visa lets you stay and work for 2 years if you apply on or before 31 December 2026, and 18 months after that. Read our UK Graduate route visa guide for those rules. Many Nepali graduates use this time to move from a part-time job into a full-time role.
What Jobs Can’t You Do on a UK Student Visa?
Four kinds of work are banned on a student visa, however few hours you do: self-employment, professional sport, entertaining and permanent full-time jobs.
These bans in the Student visa rules on GOV.UK apply in term time and in holidays. Most Nepali students take jobs in shops, cafes, care homes, warehouses and hotels, and those are fine as employment. The trouble usually comes from work that looks flexible but is really self-employment. Check each of these before you say yes:
Freelance and online work
Being paid per project by your own clients is self-employment. This includes design, writing or tutoring jobs found online, and remote work for a business in Nepal.
Food delivery and app work
Many delivery and ride apps sign you up as a self-employed contractor, not an employee. If you would invoice the app or pay your own tax, it is not allowed.
Running a business
You cannot run a business, become a company director or work for a company in which you own 10% or more of the shares.
Professional sport and coaching
You cannot play or coach as a professional or semi-professional. Amateur sport for your university or club is fine.
Entertainer
Paid work as a performer, such as singing or dancing at events, is not allowed. A performance that is an assessed part of a music, drama or dance degree is different.
Permanent full-time job
You cannot fill a permanent full-time post, even in holidays. Temporary full-time work in a vacation is fine.
Cash jobs that hide your hours
Cash work is not banned in itself, but every hour counts. Say no to any employer who offers to keep your shifts off the record.
Do Placements, Internships and Volunteering Count?
A placement that is an assessed part of your course does not count towards your hours, but an ordinary internship or voluntary work does.
If your course includes a placement, it is written on your CAS and can be full time. It can be up to one third of the course, or up to half for a degree course at a university. Any other internship is just a job, so in term time it fits inside your 20 hours. Voluntary work is also counted, as the caseworker guidance explains with an example: with 15 hours of paid work you can add only 5 hours of voluntary work. Real volunteering for a charity, with no contract and no pay, is not counted. Nepali students often volunteer at community groups, and that is a good way to build a UK CV. The difference in short:
- Assessed placement on your CAS: allowed and does not use your weekly hours
- Optional internship in term time: counts towards your 20 or 10 hours
- Internship in an official vacation: can be full time
- Voluntary work (set hours, tasks, payment in kind): counts towards your hours
- Volunteering for a charity (no contract, only travel costs paid): does not count
How Much Can You Earn on 20 Hours a Week?
At the minimum wage of £12.71 an hour, 20 hours a week brings about £254 a week, or about £1,100 a month before tax.
The National Living Wage of £12.71 is for workers aged 21 and over from April 2026; students aged 18 to 20 get at least £10.85. About £1,100 a month is roughly Rs 2.2 lakh, which helps with food, travel and phone bills but rarely covers rent in London. Check today’s rate with our GBP to Rs forex converter. Most students pay no income tax, because the first £12,570 a year is tax free under the Personal Allowance.
Part-time pay cannot pay your tuition, and the visa officer will not count it. You must still show the full first-year fees and living money from Nepal, as our UK student visa requirements guide explains. See the UK living cost guide for monthly costs, the total cost to study in the UK for fees, and our UK scholarships page for help with funding. For the jobs Nepali students usually find, read our part time jobs in the UK guide.
What Do You Need Before Your First Shift?
You need to prove your right to work with a share code from your eVisa, then get a National Insurance number and a UK bank account.
Employers must check your right to work before you start. You can prove your right to work online with a share code, and the employer sees your work limit there. You can start work before your National Insurance number arrives if you can prove that right. Our National Insurance number guide shows how Nepali students apply. Many Nepali students start looking once their timetable is clear, so there is no need to rush in the first weeks. Before you accept a job:
- Check the work condition on your eVisa: 20 hours, 10 hours or no work
- Get your term and vacation dates from your university in writing
- Ask if you will be an employee on a payslip, not a self-employed contractor
- Tell each employer about your other jobs and your weekly limit
- Keep your contracts, rotas and payslips for the whole visa
Can Your Partner Work Full Time in the UK?
Yes, a student’s partner on a dependant visa can usually work full time in almost any job, with no 20-hour limit.
Under Appendix Student, a dependant partner may work, including self-employment and voluntary work. The only job they cannot do is professional sport or coaching. But few Nepali students can bring a partner now. For courses starting on or after 1 January 2024, only two groups can bring family. These are students on a PhD or research master’s of 9 months or more, and students on a government-sponsored course of 6 months or more. A taught master’s does not qualify. Our UK dependent visa guide explains who can come and the money they must show.
What Happens If You Work More Than Your Hours?
Working over your limit breaks your visa conditions, and it can lead to your visa being cancelled and harm future UK visas.
There is no fixed punishment, and one honest mistake does not always end your visa. Even so, the Home Office can cancel or shorten your visa, and your university can stop sponsoring you. The breach can also count against you when you apply for a Graduate or work visa later. Work is also never a reason to miss classes; universities track attendance and must report students who stop studying. Many Nepali families depend on this visa for 1 to 3 years of study, so it is not worth an extra shift. If you think you went over:
- Stop the extra work straight away
- Keep your rotas, payslips and messages; do not change any records
- Talk to your university’s international student team
- Get advice from a qualified UK immigration adviser if it is serious
- Plan the next 4 weeks of shifts so you stay under the limit
Not Sure How Much You Can Work?
Send us your offer letter or CAS, and a Goreto counselor will check your work limit and help you plan your money before you fly. Wherever you live in Nepal, you can talk to a counselor online or at our branches in Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Chitwan, Itahari and Pokhara.
FAQs on UK Student Work Hours
Only outside term time. In official vacations, before your course starts and after it ends, you can work full time. In term time the limit stays at 20 hours, or 10 below degree level.
It is in total. Hours from every job, paid or voluntary, are added together for each week from Monday to Sunday.
Usually no. The summer dissertation period of a 1-year master’s is normally term time, so the 20-hour limit still applies. Ask your university to confirm your dates.
Yes, if your visa allows work. The time after you arrive and before your course starts counts as outside term time, so you can work full time.
Freelance work for your own clients is self-employment, which is not allowed. If you are employed by a company abroad, those hours still count towards your weekly limit.
Usually not, because most delivery apps treat riders as self-employed contractors. Work as an employee on a payslip is fine, within your hours.
No. You can start work once you prove your right to work with a share code, and apply for the number at the same time.
Only if your sponsor is a university with a track record of compliance. At most other colleges a student visa gives no work rights, except a placement that is part of the course.
Yes. Once you have finished your course and applied for the Graduate visa, you can start a permanent full-time job while you wait for the decision.
Sources
Reference links
Disclaimer
Important guidance note
This page provides general guidance about studying abroad. Requirements, fees and policies can change. For advice about your situation, speak with a Goreto counselor before applying.
