Work Placements on a Student Visa

Permitted working hours on a Student Visa

An international sponsored student on a Student Visa studying a course above degree level is allowed to work up 20 hours per week during term time. The rules around working hours are complex and advice should be sought from the Student Visa Compliance and Advice team on visa-enquiries@wlv.ac.uk.

Work placements are not the same as permission to work.

Work that is not permitted on a Student Visa

As an international sponsored student on a Student Visa you must not:

• be self-employed
• be employed as a professional sportsperson including as a sports coach
• be employed as an entertainer
• take a permanent full-time job
• work as a doctor or dentist in training.

Volunteering and voluntary work are permitted on a Student visa, however, you must ensure voluntary work does not exceed the maximum hours permitted by your Student visa.

Work placements that are an assessed and integral part of your course

As a Student visa holder you are permitted to undertake a full-time work placement as part of your full-time degree programme, providing:

• It is an assessed and integral part of the course - this means that it should be part of the design of the programme, and you should not be able to achieve the award without undergoing the placement
• It is not more than 50% of the length of the course, unless it is a statutory (legal) requirement
• You will remain enrolled as a student at the University
• The placement working arrangements should be on site. Fully remote placements will not be permitted. If you wish to commence a remote placement, we will be required to withdraw sponsorship for the duration of the placement. You would be required to return home for this period. We cannot guarantee that sponsorship would be reinstated, and this would be assessed at the time by the Student Visa Compliance and Advice team.

As an international sponsored student on a Student Visa studying a course above degree level, you are allowed to work up to the term time 20 hours per week, in addition to assessed work placement hours.

If a you are on a Student Visa and no longer wish to undertake a placement which is an assessed and integral part of your course, you will need to request a course transfer to the non-placement version of the course on your eVision account. 

Extra-curricular placements - Work placements that are not an assessed and integral part of your course

If you are a student on a Student Visa studying a full-time degree programme and wish to undertake a work placement or internship which is not an assessed and integral part of your studies, you may do so:

• Part-time (up to 20 hours per week) during term time whilst still studying full-time; or
• Full-time during vacation periods

*Please note it is your responsibility as a sponsored student to ensure you meet your visa sponsorship conditions and carefully check your working restrictions to ensure you don’t breach any visa conditions.

Advice should always be sought from the Student Visa Compliance and Advice team on visa-enquiries@wlv.ac.uk.