The money you have to prove you have

Canada

International students on a study permit may work off campus without a separate work permit if they are a full-time student at a designated learning institution (DLI), enrolled in a post-secondary academic, vocational or professional program (or a Quebec secondary-level vocational program) that is at least 6 months long and leads to a degree, diploma or certificate, hold a valid study permit with work conditions printed on it, and have a Social Insurance Number (SIN). During regular school terms or semesters they may work up to 24 hours per week off campus (across more than one job if needed). During scheduled breaks in the school year — such as summer and winter holidays or a reading week — they may work unlimited hours off campus. Working more than 24 hours per week during a term is a violation of study permit conditions.

Australia

Student visa (subclass 500) holders may work up to 48 hours per fortnight while their course is in session — a limit that applies during study terms and semesters (including exam periods), before the course starts (unless a different visa already permits work), and when taking a term-break course that counts toward the main course (unless CRICOS requires it). Working more than 48 hours a fortnight during these periods breaches the visa condition and can lead to visa cancellation. At other times — including scheduled course breaks — there is no work-hour limit on a student visa. A student who has started a Master's by Research or Doctoral degree has no work-hour limit at any time once the course has started.

Germany

International students on a residence permit for study purposes may generally work up to 120 full days or 240 half days per year without needing separate permission from the immigration or labour authorities, and may also take on student ancillary jobs (studentische Nebentätigkeiten — e.g. a student-assistant role at their own institution) which are not counted against that limit. In exceptional cases, the Ausländerbehörde (immigration office) responsible for the applicant's place of study can restrict this.

New Zealand

Most student visa holders may work part-time up to 25 hours a week (raised from 20 hours, effective 3 November 2025) alongside full-time study, and full-time during mid-year study breaks and the Christmas/New Year holiday period — the exact conditions are printed on each student's own visa. PhD and Research Master's students enrolled at a New Zealand tertiary institution have no hours limit at all, provided they keep studying full-time.

United States

F-1 students may work on campus without separate USCIS authorization: up to 20 hours per week while school is in session, and full-time during official school breaks and the annual vacation, at a qualifying on-campus job (or an off-campus job that is educationally affiliated with the school, e.g. contractually funded postgraduate research) that does not displace a US citizen or lawful permanent resident. Off-campus employment based on economic need is not available by default — it requires case-by-case USCIS approval (a separate Form I-765 Employment Authorization Document application), granted only after a full academic year in status and only on a showing of severe economic hardship from unforeseen circumstances (or a DHS-declared 'emergent circumstances' event), and is capped at 20 hours/week in session, full-time out of session. Curricular Practical Training (CPT) and pre/post-completion Optional Practical Training (OPT) are separate, study-related practical-training work authorizations governed by their own rules (OPT is covered under 'post-study work' in this entry).

United Kingdom

A Student visa holder on a full-time degree-level course sponsored by a higher-education provider with a track record of compliance may work up to 20 hours per week during term-time, and full-time outside of term-time. A student on a full-time course below degree level (sponsored by such a provider) is limited to 10 hours per week during term-time, also full-time outside of term-time. All other study, including any part-time study, permits no employment at all under the visa. Work that is an assessed, integral part of the course (a work placement) is separately permitted, as is an elected Student Union Sabbatical Officer or National Union of Students role, for up to 2 years.

Netherlands

An international student holding a residence permit for study purposes at a Dutch university or institute of higher professional education (HBO) may work, but only if their employer first obtains a work permit (tewerkstellingsvergunning, TWV) for them from the Employee Insurance Agency (UWV) — the right to work is not automatic the way it is for on-campus work in some other countries. Within that TWV, a student may work up to 16 hours per week during the academic year, or full-time in June, July and August. The Dutch Labour Inspectorate checks compliance, and working more than permitted, or without a TWV, can result in a fine for the employer.

France

A non-EU/EEA student holding a student residence card or a long-stay visa valid as a residence permit (VLS-TS) for study may work up to 964 hours per year — described as 60% of the statutory full-time annual working duration — without their employer needing to separately obtain a work authorisation. The 964-hour window runs for one year from the date the card was issued or the VLS-TS validated (an anniversary-based count, not the calendar year), and to work beyond that limit the employer must apply for and obtain a work authorisation before the student starts.

Ireland

A non-EEA student on a course listed on the Interim List of Eligible Programmes (ILEP), registered on Stamp 2 student conditions, has a concession to work up to 20 hours per week during term-time and up to 40 hours per week during vacation time, without needing a separate employment permit. Vacation periods are defined as June, July, August and September, plus 15 December to 15 January. Students on a course leading to a major NFQ Level 7 award or above may also undertake an internship or work placement that is an integral, assessed part of their course, including outside the normal hours limit.

Finland

A student holding a Finnish residence permit for studies may work in paid employment, in any field, for an average of 30 hours per week (raised from 25 hours by a legislative amendment effective 15 April 2022) — equivalent to an average of 120 hours per month or 1,560 hours per year. The weekly figure can be exceeded in some weeks as long as the yearly average stays at or under 30 hours, and a student may work full-time during holidays provided the same yearly average is respected. Diploma work or internships that are a credit-bearing, agreed part of the student's own degree are exempt from the hours limit entirely (unless registered as an internship only after the fact, in which case the 30-hour limit applies).

Italy

A residence permit for study or training purposes (permesso di soggiorno per motivi di studio) allows subordinate (employee) work up to 20 hours per week. Secondary but widely-corroborated detail (not independently re-verified against a primary source) holds that the 20-hour figure is cumulative over 52 weeks, capped at 1,040 hours a year, and needs the educational institution's authorisation.

Estonia

A holder of a residence permit for study may work alongside their studies, but the rule is qualitative rather than an hours cap: employment must not interfere with the studies, and the holder must continue studying full-time. The Police and Border Guard Board's own page does not state a maximum weekly-hours figure for this — unlike several other countries on StudyPath, Estonia's own stated rule is about not jeopardising full-time study status, not a numeric hours ceiling.

Turkey

A foreign student enrolled in a full-time (örgün öğretim) programme at a Turkish higher-education institution may work, but only after separately obtaining a work permit (çalışma izni) from the Ministry of Labour and Social Security — unlike several other countries on StudyPath, a Turkish student residence permit does not by itself carry any work rights. An associate-degree (ön lisans) or bachelor's-degree (lisans) student may apply for that work permit only after completing the first year of their programme, and may then work part-time only, as defined under Turkey's general Labour Law (Law No. 4857) — the official rules state a part-time limit rather than a specific weekly-hours ceiling of the kind Canada, Australia or the UK publish. These timing and part-time restrictions do not apply to a postgraduate (master's or doctoral) student, who may apply for a work permit at any point in their studies with no such limits. A work permit granted to a foreign student does not end their existing student residence permit or the rights it carries.

Malaysia

Student Pass holders — but only those studying at a Public University (UA) or a Private Higher Education Institution (IPTS); holders at a language centre, training/skills centre or other accredited centre are not eligible at all — may work part-time during their study period, limited to 20 hours per week, and only at approved kinds of location: restaurants, petrol stations, mini markets, hotels, and university/college areas. Students may not work front-desk roles (in line with the Immigration Department's general foreign-worker policy) or as student recruitment agents. Working requires prior approval: the student's institution must endorse the application (stating the work-permission request, semester schedule and holiday dates) and submit it, with a job offer letter, to the Student Pass Unit at Immigration Department headquarters or a State Immigration Office, and approval is at the Department's discretion. A Student Pass is revoked if these conditions are violated.

China

International students' work-study activity, on or off campus, is governed by a joint measure issued by the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and the National Immigration Administration (教育部办公厅等四部门关于印发《高等学校国际学生勤工助学管理办法》的通知, effective from 29 December 2021). In principle, it must not exceed 8 hours a week or 40 hours a month; during winter and summer holidays, the limit rises to 16 hours a week and 80 hours a month. To work off campus at all, a student must additionally be at least 18 years old, hold a valid study-category residence permit with at least 6 months of validity remaining, have studied continuously at their current institution for more than a year (covering undergraduate, postgraduate, further-study and visiting-scholar students), meet the school's own academic-progress and attendance standards, comply with Chinese law and school discipline, and meet any further condition the school itself sets. An off-campus arrangement must also be registered: within 10 days of signing an agreement with an employer, the student must apply to the local public security exit-entry authority to have the work unit and duration annotated on their residence permit, and an unannotated permit may not be used for off-campus work.

Japan

A 'Student' (留学) status-of-residence holder has no work rights by default and must separately obtain 'Permission to Engage in Activities Other Than Those Permitted under the Status of Residence Previously Granted' (資格外活動許可) from the Immigration Services Agency before taking any paid work. The general permit (包括許可) that covers ordinary part-time work caps income-generating activity at 28 hours per week, rising to 8 hours per day (i.e. up to 40 hours in a normal week) during the educational institution's long vacation periods. Work in an establishment affecting public morals (e.g. adult entertainment or nightlife venues) is barred outright regardless of hours. A student intending to work must apply in person (or through an approved intermediary such as their school) at the regional immigration bureau, presenting their residence card; there is no fee.

Hong Kong

A student visa/entry permit ordinarily bars all employment outright, whether paid or unpaid, and bars establishing or joining a business — subject to published carve-outs: a curriculum-related internship arranged or endorsed by the institution (up to one academic year, or one-third of the programme's normal duration, whichever is shorter, for a full-time undergraduate-or-above programme of at least one academic year; up to 6 months for an eligible sub-degree programme of at least 2 years); and, for a full-time undergraduate-or-above local programme of at least one academic year (excluding exchange students), part-time on-campus work of up to 20 hours a week year-round plus unrestricted summer work (1 June to 31 August). As of this reading, the Immigration Department states that this last group of students is temporarily exempted from those hour/location restrictions altogether — they may take up employment during their limit of stay, or within the period stated on a 'No Objection Letter' (NOL) issued to them, whichever is shorter. This is an explicitly temporary arrangement (announced for postgraduates from November 2023 and extended to undergraduates from 1 November 2024, alongside a government statement that 'the Government will review the whole exemption arrangement next year') rather than a settled permanent rule, so it should be re-checked before relying on it.

India

A foreigner on a Student Visa has no work rights at all. The Bureau of Immigration's own guidance for foreign students states this as a direct prohibition rather than an hours-based limit of the kind several other countries on StudyPath publish: a Student visa holder must not take up any employment or business activity in India, full stop. Foreigners intending an internship instead use a separate, dedicated visa (Student (S-5) Visa) for that specific purpose, rather than a general work permission attached to the ordinary Student (S-1) visa.

Switzerland

A foreign national living in Switzerland to study at a university or university of applied sciences may take up a supplementary paid activity only with the approval of the competent cantonal authorities, under Article 38 of the Ordinance on Admission, Period of Stay and Employment (ASEO/VZAE), and only once their course has already been under way for at least 6 months: beginning no sooner than six months after the start of their course, a foreign student may work up to 15 hours a week outside of holiday periods. The university itself must confirm that the work is compatible with the student's studies and will not delay completion, and the employer must separately apply for permission and comply with normal pay and working-condition rules for the canton.

Singapore

A Student's Pass holder from a listed institution — which includes Singapore's major universities (NUS, NTU, SMU, SUTD, SIT, SUSS, the polytechnics and others) — may work during the school term without needing a separate work pass, provided they are a full-time matriculated or registered student and either work no more than 16 hours a week, or the work is a compulsory or elective industrial attachment/internship that counts toward their graduation requirements. During vacation, the same students may work without a work pass and without an hours limit, and need not notify the Ministry of Manpower before starting either kind of work. An exchange student is not allowed to work at all. Once a Student's Pass expires (studies completed), the holder needs an ordinary work pass, applied for by their employer, like any other foreign worker.

South Africa

The holder of a study visa at an institution defined as a 'learning institution' under the Higher Education Act, 1997, or the Further Education and Training Colleges Act, 2006 — i.e. a university or FET college — may conduct part-time work for up to 20 hours a week, under the Immigration Regulations made under the Immigration Act 13 of 2002. A study visa is issued for the duration of the study period (with separate, longer caps of up to 8 years for primary school and 6 years for secondary school study, which do not apply to higher-education students), and automatically lapses if the holder fails to register with, or is de-registered from, the learning institution.

Poland

A full-time student on a Polish study visa or a temporary residence permit for study purposes may work in Poland without needing a separate work permit at all — the Office for Foreigners states this applies 'also while waiting for the permit for temporary residence for your studies,' provided the temporary-residence application was filed during the visa's validity and was correctly and completely submitted (or corrected in time if it had formal gaps). No maximum weekly-hours figure is stated for this exemption, unlike the numeric caps several other countries on StudyPath publish.

Lithuania

The default rule for a foreign student holding a Lithuanian temporary residence permit for study is a 20-hour-per-week limit on work. The Migration Department's own announcements confirm this default by describing who is exempted from it: since 1 March 2021, doctoral students, and since a further reform, master's-degree students and foreigners who have completed their studies and hold a temporary residence permit for job-seeking purposes, may all work without the 20-hour weekly limit applying to them at all. A bachelor's-level student not covered by these exemptions remains subject to the 20-hour cap.

Mexico

Every international student who will stay in Mexico for more than 180 days needs the residente temporal estudiante visa/card, whatever their nationality. Holding it does not carry work rights automatically, but the holder can separately request a work permit if all of the following are met: a job offer already exists (the student cannot take up independent/freelance activity on this basis); the school itself authorises the student to work; and the work is related to the degree or subject the student is studying. Once granted, the permit is valid for 1 year.

Austria

A third-country national holding an 'Aufenthaltsbewilligung – Student' residence permit is subject to the Aliens Employment Act (Ausländerbeschäftigungsgesetz) and needs a Beschäftigungsbewilligung (employment permit) for any job, including minor ones. As a student, this permit can be granted for work up to 20 hours a week without a labour-market test (Arbeitsmarktprüfung) — the normal check that a role can't be filled by a jobseeker already registered in Austria or an integrated foreign worker. The employer, not the student, applies for the permit, with the national employment service (Arbeitsmarktservice, AMS). The work must not interfere with the primary purpose of the residence permit, which is the course of study itself. A job over 20 hours a week is not ruled out, but can only be approved if the labour-market test is passed.

Brazil

A residence authorisation for study purposes (autorização de residência para fins de estudo) can be granted to an immigrant intending to attend a regular course, or to do a traineeship (estágio) or study/research exchange — an internship connected to the course of study is folded into the same study authorisation rather than needing a separate work permit. Article 146, §6 of the implementing regulation (Decree 9,199/2017) states the general work-during-study rule directly: paid activity is permitted to whoever holds this residence authorisation, provided it is compatible with the study course's own schedule, under the terms of the law in force — a qualitative 'compatible with your study hours' standard rather than a fixed numeric weekly-hours cap of the kind several other countries on StudyPath publish. The initial authorisation is granted for up to 1 year and can be renewed until the course is completed, on proof of enrolment and academic progress.

Taiwan

A foreign student may work part-time in Taiwan only after obtaining a separate work permit from the Workforce Development Agency (an agency of the Ministry of Labor); a student who has come to Taiwan purely for a local-language course may only apply for this permit after having studied for a year or more. With the exception of winter and summer vacations, a foreign student's total working hours may not exceed 20 hours a week — a limit the Agency's own page traces directly to Article 50 of the Employment Services Act.

Czech Republic

Section 98 of the Employment Act (Act No. 435/2004 Coll., o zaměstnanosti) lists the categories of foreign national who do not need any work permit, employee card, internally-transferred-employee card, or blue card in order to work in the Czech Republic. Item (j) of that list is a foreign national 'who is continuously preparing for a future occupation in the territory of the Czech Republic (§ 5)' — the cross-referenced § 5 is the Act's own definitions section covering pupils and students. This places a foreign student enrolled in a course of study in the Czech Republic in the same work-permit-free category as, for example, a permanent resident or a person granted asylum (also listed in the same Section 98), rather than under a numeric weekly-hours cap of the kind several other countries on StudyPath publish.

Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan's Law No. 477-IV 'On Migration of Population' (22 July 2011), in its official English translation published by the Ministry of Justice's ' ƌdіlet' legal information system, sets out a dedicated Chapter 5 ('Immigration for the Purpose of Receiving Education') covering students admitted to general secondary, technical/professional, post-secondary, higher and post-graduate educational programmes. Article 33's list of what education-purpose immigrants 'shall' do contains only the obligations quoted below — general immigrant obligations, and an obligation to leave Kazakhstan on completing the full course of study or professional training absent other legal grounds to stay — with no clause granting a right to work. This is a contrast the Law itself draws elsewhere: Article 29, covering a different immigrant category (family-reunification immigrants), explicitly states conditions under which those immigrants 'shall have the right to carrying out of labour activity.' No equivalent labour-activity right is stated anywhere in Chapter 5 for education-purpose immigrants; work in Kazakhstan is instead organised as its own separate immigration purpose entirely, under Chapter 6 ('Immigration for the Purpose of Carrying out of Labour Activity'), covering labour immigrants who arrive specifically for self-employment in professions in demand or for work under an employer's foreign-labour quota.

Hungary

Hungary's National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing (Országos Idegenrendészeti Főigazgatóság, OIF) states directly that a third-country national holding a residence permit for the purpose of studies, a student mobility residence permit, or a student mobility certificate may work during their study period for a maximum of 30 hours a week, and outside their study period (e.g. holidays) full-time for up to 90 days in a year.

Norway

The Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI) states that a study permit automatically comes with permission to work up to 20 hours a week while studying, and full-time during holidays. UDI's separate guidance on renewing a study permit adds a further route: a student may apply for a permit to work full-time during the academic year itself if the work is part of their education plan (e.g. a mandatory internship), requested in writing at the time of application or later — though the renewal page also states a student 'can only work if your place of study is of the opinion that you will be able to manage to work in addition to your studies,' and that a study-permit holder cannot be self-employed or run their own business in Norway.

Spain

Spain's Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migrations states that a long-duration stay authorisation obtained for higher education studies automatically authorises the holder to work, employed or self-employed, without any additional procedure, provided the activity is compatible with completing those studies. Across all study-purpose long-duration stays generally, the Ministry caps the activity at 30 hours a week (except intensive vocational training, governed by its own sector rules) and confines it geographically to a single autonomous community (with an exception for bordering municipalities in a neighbouring community); exceeding the 30-hour limit is itself grounds for the stay authorisation to be terminated.

Portugal

Portugal's Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo (AIMA) states that a holder of a residence authorisation issued for higher-education study (Article 91 of the Foreigners' Law, REPSAE) may carry out a professional activity, employed or self-employed, as a complement to the activity that gave rise to the residence authorisation (Article 97 REPSAE). Unlike several other countries on StudyPath, AIMA's factsheet on this authorisation states no specific numeric weekly-hours cap for this route — only that the work must remain complementary to the study itself. The study residence authorisation is granted for 3 years, renewable, or for the duration of the study programme if shorter (2 years, or 1 year in some cases, for students on an EU/multilateral mobility programme or an inter-institutional agreement).

Romania

Romania's General Inspectorate for Immigration (IGI, under the Ministry of Internal Affairs) states that a foreign student wanting to supplement their income during their studies can take up work without needing a separate employment authorisation (aviz de angajare), but only under a part-time individual employment contract, with working hours capped at a maximum of 6 hours a day.

Iceland

Iceland's Directorate of Immigration, via the government portal Ísland.is, states that a student residence permit holder may work in Iceland without a separate work permit for up to 60% of full-time employment while studying — a limit that applies to the student's total employment across all employers combined. That 60% cap does not apply during scheduled breaks between academic terms, to someone who has already completed a university degree in Iceland and is residing in the country to seek employment based on their qualifications, or to work that forms part of a formal workplace training or internship programme. Holders must also now demonstrate satisfactory academic progress — completing at least 75% of a full-time course load during the academic year — at every permit renewal, not just the first, and must provide employment information at renewal to confirm they have not exceeded the permitted working hours; the Directorate may request this information at any time and may review or revoke the right to work if the employment doesn't comply.