UK Student Visa Conditions, Rules and Restrictions

By Annie Ee - Senior Legal Associate

15 Jul 2024

The Student Visa route is for applicants who are 16 or over and wish to study on a further or higher education course in the UK. Applicants who are between 4 and 17 years old and looking to study at an independent school in the UK can have a look at the Child Student Visa. In this article, we will explore the conditions that are attached to a UK Student Visa. 

For further guidance relating to the UK Student Visa and UK Child Student Visa, do have a look at our previous posts:

• How to Apply for a Parent of a Child Student Visa;
• A Guide to Working in the UK on a Student Visa;
• Changes for UK Student Visa Holders Switching to Work Visa Routes;
• Changes to the UK Student Visa Rules For Dependants;

UK Student Visa Conditions, Rules and Restrictions

No Access to Public Funds Condition

If you are granted a student visa, you will not be allowed access to public funds. The public funds restriction for students means that you will not be able to claim most benefits, tax credits or housing assistance that are paid by the state, but there are exceptions.  Paragraph 6 of the Immigration Rules sets out the full definition of public funds, including attendance allowance and Universal Credit. 

Student Visa Work Hours

As a Student visa holder, you can work 20 hours a week during term-time (full-time during vacations) if the following conditions are met:

• You are undertaking a full time course at degree level or above; and
• Your are studying at a higher education provider with a track record of compliance or taking a short-term study-abroad programme in the UK with an overseas higher education institution;

You will permitted to work 10 hours per week during term-time (and full-time during vacations) if: 

• Your full-time course is below degree level; 
• Your study takes place at a higher education provider with a track record of compliance. 

No work will be allowed if:

• Your course is part-time at post degree level;
• Your study is at a higher education provider with a track record of compliance;

Prohibited work and the exceptions:

• No work as a professional sportsperson: You can take part in amateur sports. Amateur is defined in the Immigration Rules as “a person who engages in a sport or creative activity solely for personal enjoyment and who is not seeking to derive a living from the activity.”
• No self-employment or engage in business activity: The exception is if you have applied for permission on the Start-up route, have received an endorsement from a higher education provider with a track record of compliance, the application was made when you had permission as a student and you are still waiting for a decision or if the application was refused, the Administrative Review has not been determined. 
• No work as an entertainer. 
• Work Placements: Placements are permitted if certain requirements are met, for example, the work is assessed as an integral part of the course. 
• No filling a full-time permanent vacancy: The exception is if the applicant is studying a full-time course at degree level or above with a higher education provided with a track record of compliance and they have made a valid application for permission to stay under the Skilled Worker or Graduate route while holding permission as a Student and no decision has been made on the application or in the event of a refusal, waiting for the Administrative Review to be determined.  
• Employment: Employment as an elected Student Union Sabbatical Officer or elected National Union of Students position is permitted for up to 2 years if the CAS was assigned for this purpose. If you are on a recognised Foundation Programme, you may be employed as a postgraduate doctor or dentist.
• Volunteering: The Home Office guidance sets out that “A Student can do voluntary work if they are permitted to work, but this work and any paid work must not exceed the total number of hours they are permitted to work during term time.” It is also noted that ‘If they are not permitted to work, they cannot do voluntary work.”

Study Conditions of a UK Visa for International Students

Paragraph 27.1. of the Immigration Rules states that:

“A Student must only study with the student sponsor which assigned the Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies unless either:

(a) the Student is studying at a partner institution of their student sponsor; or

(b) the Student has made an application for permission to stay while they have permission as a Student:

(i) which is supported by a valid Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies assigned by a student sponsor; and

(ii) the application has not yet been decided, or any Administrative Review against that decision has not been determined; and

(iii) the Student will be studying at the student sponsor that assigned the Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies.”

Further, the Immigration Rules also set out that a student must only study on the course of study, or courses where a combined pre-sessional course is being taken for which the CAS was assigned unless the following applies:

“A Student may begin studying on a new course with their current sponsor if:

• the student sponsor is a higher education provider with a track record of compliance; and

• the Student has not completed the course that the Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies was assigned for; and

• the new course is not at a lower qualification level than the course the Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies was assigned for unless they were last granted permission to study an integrated master’s or PhD programme and will now be studying on the lower level qualification of that programme.; and

• the course is at degree level or above; and

• any new course at degree level can be completed within the current period of permission; and

• the student sponsor confirms that new course is related to the course for which the Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies was assigned or supports the Student’s genuine career aspirations.

There are other study conditions including:

• A study abroad programme overseas may be undertaken if it is an integral and assessed part of the course of study named on the CAS;
• Supplementary study is permitted;
• Study is subject to the ATAS condition in Appendix ATAS and if the subject is listed in Appendix ATAS, a clearance certificate may need to be obtained;
• Study must not take place at a State School or Academy (except for a voluntary grammar school with boarding in Northern Ireland) unless an exception applies. 

Contact Our Immigration Barristers 

For expert advice and guidance with a UK Student Visa application, including advice on Student Visa eligibility and visa regulations for Students, contact our immigration barristers in London on 0203 617 9173 or complete our enquiry form below.