How many hours can students work part time in the UK and Australia?

Direct answer: Up to 20 hours a week in term time if you study full time at degree level or above at a provider with a track record of compliance. Below degree level at such a provider the cap is 10 hours. Other sponsors allow only a qualifying work placement, and so do part-time courses.

The Home Office (2026) caseworker guidance states that "Employment conditions are dependent on the type of sponsor the applicant will be studying at and the level of course they are studying" (p. 99). That sentence explains why two friends on the same visa can have different limits. A full-time degree student at a higher education provider with a track record of compliance may work "part-time during term-time (up to a maximum of 20 hours a week)" (Home Office, 2026, p. 99) and full time during vacations, including the period before the course starts. A full-time student below degree level may work up to 10 hours a week in term time. Sponsors that are not such a provider allow only a work placement that meets the guidance, or a Student Union Sabbatical Officer post. GOV.UK (n.d.-a) puts it briefly: how much you may work depends on what you are studying and whether you work in or out of term time.

Direct answer: Weekend work is allowed when it fits inside your weekly limit. The guidance quoted here states the term-time limit as hours a week and names no separate weekend rule, so a Saturday shift uses up the same 20 hours as a Tuesday evening shift.

Weekend jobs are popular because they leave the timetable free, but the hours still count. If your visa gives you 20 hours a week in term time, two 8-hour weekend shifts leave only 4 hours for the rest of the week. The guidance quoted here does not define which seven days make up the week, so ask your university how it counts them. Vacations are different. The Home Office (2026) guidance lets a degree-level student work full time during vacations, and it treats the period after a course finishes as outside term time for work conditions: "Periods of permission after a Student has completed their course are considered to be outside of term-time for the purposes of any work conditions" (p. 99). The dates of your own term and vacation periods come from your university, so check them with your university before you plan long shifts. The same guidance applies in London and elsewhere, because it names the type of sponsor and the level of course rather than a city.

Direct answer: Students allowed to work must not be self-employed, run a business, work as a professional sportsperson or sports coach, work as an entertainer, or fill a full-time permanent vacancy. Freelancing under your own name is self-employment, which the rules do not allow, so check any online job offer carefully.

The Home Office (2026) guidance lists these limits for students who are allowed to work, and GOV.UK (n.d.-a) repeats that you cannot be self-employed or work as a professional sportsperson or sports coach. This matters for the many people who search for online or remote jobs. A job as an employee, with an employer who hires you, is a different thing from freelancing under your own name. The guidance gives examples of business activity: working as a sole trader or in a partnership, being employed by a company in which you hold shares of 10% or more, and holding a statutory role such as director. An online job where you invoice clients yourself therefore sits on the wrong side of the line. Voluntary work counts toward your limit, although the guidance treats informal volunteering differently. The Home Office (2026) gives an example: "if a student is permitted to work 20 hours a week during term-time and has paid work of 15 hours a week, they cannot do more than 5 hours voluntary work" (p. 102).

Direct answer: GOV.UK (n.d.-b) lists these National Minimum Wage rates from April 2026: £12.71 an hour for workers aged 21 and over, £10.85 for ages 18 to 20 and £8 for under 18. Rates change every 1 April, and individual employers may pay more.

Searches for part-time job pay often ask for a salary, but an hourly rate is the figure that matters when your hours are capped. Younger workers have lower floors: £10.85 for 18 to 20 year olds and £8 for those under 18. At the rate for workers aged 21 and over, a student working the full 20 hours would earn £254.20 in a term-time week before tax, which is 20 times £12.71. That is a ceiling for a minimum-wage job at the cap, not a typical pay slip, because many students work fewer hours and some jobs pay above the minimum. GOV.UK (n.d.-a) also says Student visa holders cannot claim public funds (benefits) or pensions, so wages cannot be topped up that way. Check the pay rate in the job offer against the current table, and keep the offer or contract in case your university or the Home Office asks about your work.

Direct answer: The Department of Home Affairs (n.d.) says student visa holders "can work no more than 48 hours a fortnight while studying", with no work restriction when the course is not in session. Students who have started a master's by research or a doctoral degree can work more than 48 hours.

The 48 hours are counted over a fortnight, which is a 14-day period starting on a Monday, and the Department of Home Affairs (n.d.) notes that this equals roughly three days a week. The fortnight matters because the checks look at every pair of weeks. In the department's own example, a student works 15, 30, 30 and 10 hours across four weeks. The first fortnight totals 45 hours and the last totals 40, both within the limit, but weeks two and three together total 60 hours and may be a breach. Two other rules catch students out: they cannot work before the course starts, unless their visa at the time of applying already allowed it, and they must still keep satisfactory course progress and attendance. A secondary visa holder, such as a dependent partner, is limited to 48 hours a fortnight at any time, unless the main student is on a master's or PhD research course, in which case there is no limit (Department of Home Affairs, 2025).

Direct answer: Plan paid hours around your timetable and assessment dates, not the other way round. Home Affairs says outright that a student visa exists for study, not for work, and Australia expects satisfactory progress and attendance, so work hours should never push study aside.

The Department of Home Affairs (2025) puts the purpose plainly: the limit "reflects the purpose of a student visa - that is to allow entry to Australia in order to study, not to work" (p. 1). A practical plan keeps the heaviest paid weeks for vacations and leaves fewer hours in weeks with a deadline. When a subject falls behind, early support can save a retake later, and a 1-on-1 university subject tutor can go through the topics you missed at a time that fits your shifts. Tutoring supports your own learning; it does not replace your work or set any result. For the money side, our guide to living costs for international students in Australia and London shows what a budget needs, and the Australian student visa 500 guide covers the wider visa rules.