Why the hour limit matters before you arrive
A part-time job can cover groceries, a phone plan and the occasional trip home. It cannot usually cover tuition, and on most student visas it is capped by law. Working past that cap can put your visa at risk, so the number is worth knowing before you build a budget around it.
This guide sets out the limits in five common destinations, using each government’s own wording, read on 5 October 2026. Treat it as a starting point. Rules change, so check the linked official page in the month you apply and again when you arrive. It covers ordinary work during your studies only, not practical training, post-study work visas or work rights for family members.
United Kingdom: depends on your course and whether you study full-time
The UK ties your hours to the level of what you study and to how you study. Under the Student route rules, a student on a full-time course at degree level or above, sponsored by a higher education provider with a track record of compliance, can work 20 hours per week during term-time. A student on a full-time course below degree level at such a provider can work 10 hours per week. In both cases full-time work is allowed outside term-time.
The rules are blunt about everyone else: for all other study, including all part-time study, no employment is permitted. Work placements that are assessed as an integral part of your course are allowed, as is an elected Student Union sabbatical officer role in the cases the rules describe.
There is also a list of work you cannot do at all, whatever the hours. You cannot be self-employed or run a business, work as a professional sportsperson or sports coach, work as an entertainer, or fill a permanent full-time vacancy. The rules carve out narrow exceptions for people who have applied to switch to the Skilled Worker or Graduate route, so ask your university if that applies to you.
Term dates are set by your university, not by the calendar. Ask your international student office for the official term dates before you take extra shifts in what looks like a holiday. Our guide to studying in the UK covers the other costs.
United States: on campus first, and off campus is a narrow exception
F-1 students in the US face the tightest rules of the five. Work on campus is allowed, but the regulation says it must not exceed 20 hours a week while school is in session, and that an F-1 student may work on campus full-time when school is not in session or during the annual vacation. Some jobs off the campus count too, if they are educationally affiliated with your school, such as work tied to your school’s curriculum or to funded postgraduate research.
Ordinary off-campus work is not something you can simply start after your first year. The regulation allows it only after you have been in F-1 status for one full academic year and are in good standing, and then only if you are facing severe economic hardship caused by unforeseen circumstances beyond your control. The examples it lists include losing financial aid or an on-campus job without fault on your part, big swings in the exchange rate, sharp rises in tuition or living costs, and unexpected medical bills. You must first get a recommendation from your Designated School Official, then submit Form I-765 with the fee and supporting evidence. If granted, off-campus work is limited to 20 hours a week while school is in session.
Plan on any income coming from a campus job. Your Designated School Official is the person who can tell you what your school counts as “in session”. Ask before accepting a job, not after. Our guide to studying in the USA goes through the costs.
Canada: 24 hours, if you meet the conditions
Canada allows eligible students to work up to 24 hours per week off campus during regular school terms, across more than one job if you like. If your permit says 20 hours, you may still work up to 24 as long as you meet the eligibility requirements. During breaks scheduled by your institution, such as summer and winter holidays or a reading week, you can work unlimited hours off campus.
The catch is eligibility. According to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, you must, among other conditions:
- be a full-time student at a designated learning institution
- have already started your study programme
- be in a programme at least six months long that leads to a degree, diploma or certificate
- have conditions printed on your study permit that allow you to work off campus
- hold a valid social insurance number
Part-time students can work off campus only in one case: they are in their last semester, do not need a full course load to finish, and were full-time in their programme in Canada until then. You cannot work off campus without a work permit if you are only enrolled in a language programme, only taking general interest courses, or only taking courses needed to get into a full-time programme.
Check your permit the day you receive it. If the work conditions are missing and you are eligible, you can ask to have them added at no fee, and you need them before you can apply for a social insurance number.
Australia: 48 hours a fortnight
Australia counts in fortnights rather than weeks. Student visa holders can work a maximum of 48 hours per fortnight, and the limit applies during study terms and semesters, including when exams are being held, and also before your course starts unless another visa already lets you work. At other times, including scheduled course breaks, you can work unlimited hours. If you fail to comply, you may have your student visa cancelled.
Research students get more room. The Study Australia government site says students in a Masters by Research or Doctoral degree program “may work more than 48 hours per fortnight at any time during their studies, after the course has started.”
Check the conditions on your own visa in the Department of Home Affairs’ VEVO system, and keep a simple log of the hours you work in each fortnight. Our guide to studying in Australia has the wider picture.
Germany: days per year, or hours per week
Germany gives students from outside the EU two ways to count. According to Make it in Germany, the federal government’s portal, you can work up to 140 full days or 280 half-days per year without needing the approval of the Federal Employment Agency, where a working day of up to four hours counts as half a day. Alternatively, you can work up to 20 hours per week during the lecture period, just like German students, and without restriction during the semester break.
These limits do not apply to student auxiliary tasks, such as academic work at higher education institutions. Self-employment is different: any self-employed activity needs the approval of your local foreigners authority, which looks at whether the work is likely to hinder or delay your studies.
Your scholarship may have its own rules
The visa limit is the legal ceiling. Your scholarship terms can add conditions on top. Chevening, for example, expects scholars to make their studies the priority and tells them that any work must be within the conditions of the visa and “will not have a negative impact on your studies.” It asks scholars who are unsure whether their visa allows work to email its welfare and immigration team with a copy of their visa and passport.
Other funders may restrict paid work, ask you to declare earnings, or link renewal to academic progress. Read the terms and conditions you sign, and if they say nothing about employment, email the scholarship office and keep the reply. Our guide to scholarship bonds and return-of-service rules covers other clauses worth reading closely.
Building a budget that does not depend on the job
Most visa applications ask you to show you can pay your costs before you arrive, not after you find work. Our guide to proof of funds for student visas explains what each country checks.
A sensible approach:
- Plan your first term with zero job income. Finding work, getting a tax or social insurance number and receiving the first pay can take weeks.
- Use the legal cap as a ceiling, not a target. Coursework peaks around deadlines and exams, and the hours you can safely work may be well below the limit.
- Keep payslips and a log of hours. If questions are ever raised about your visa conditions, records are your evidence.
- Ask before you accept. Your international office or school official can confirm term dates and whether a role is allowed.
If you are thinking further ahead, work rights after graduation are a separate visa with separate costs. See what five countries charge for post-study work visas.