It’s no news that International students in the UK pay higher tuition fees than domestic or EU students, while funding their accommodation and living costs during their course. In 2018, students from UK and EU enrolling in to English universities had to pay up to £9,250 (~US$13,050) as annual fee. However, fee for the International students vary considerably, ranging from £10,000 (~US$14,130) and going up to £38,000 (~US$53,700) or more for medical degrees. Along with a high cost of living, the average cost of studying in the UK is estimated to be £22,200 (~US$31,380) per year, needless to say, studying in London is likely to be significantly more expensive.
Fortunately, there is support available and ample opportunities for part-time work for International students to top up funds and pay university fees. If you are an International student in the UK, and are enrolled into any full-time undergraduate or postgraduate degree program at a recognised university, you are allowed to work part-time during the term for up to 20 hours a week, and full-time during the holidays.
InstaReM, Southeast Asia’s leading digital money transfer company, presents some useful information on employment preconditions and lists the types of jobs that international students can pursue in some of the favourite student destinations in the UK.
Students in the UK have a range of part-time jobs—from sales assistant to bartender!
The UK offers a range of part-time jobs to expat students. Flexible in nature, the KRAs of such jobs are designed such that they suit the life of a student. Websites such as indeed.com and studentjob.co.uk are most sorting by both employers and students for jobs such as:
- Sales Assistants in Retail
- Customer Assistants in Hospitality
- Research Assistant in Universities
- Data Analyst in Corporate
- Event Organizers
- Catalogue Distributor
- Shopping Assistant
There are other jobs like babysitting and pet-sitting. There are also paid internships that will earn you additional money and give you vital extra skills, such as teamwork – great for your CV!
The UK has set national minimum wages—you get paid according to your age and nature of job
The National Minimum Wage is the minimum pay per hour almost all workers in the UK are entitled to. Regardless of the scale of an enterprise, they still have to pay the correct minimum wage.
Workers aged 21 or older: £6.70 an hour
Workers aged 18 to 20: £5.30 an hour
Workers aged 16 or 17: £3.87 an hour
Workers aged 25 and above: £7.20 an hour
Apprentices: £3.30 per hour
*These rates are as on 2016 and are reviewed annually by the government
Part-Time Jobs of Various Nature Are Available in Cities Popular Among International Students
There is a list of top 7 cities in the UK that are most frequented by International Students and the kind of jobs and wages offered there.
There are 2 types of student visas in the UK:
Only Tier 4 General Study Visa allows you to work part-time as a student in the UK
Short-term study visais issued for a duration of 6 months—for any short course (including English language courses), or short period of research if you’re 16 or over. However, you cannot work (including on a work placement or work experience) or carry out any business with this visa. Neither can you apply for an extension.
Tier 4 General Study Visais issued to students enrolled in to courses that are 1 year or more. How long you can stay depends on the kind of course you’re doing and what study you’ve already completed. But with this visa, you can work in most jobs—depending on what level your course is and what kind of sponsor you have. Also, you can apply for an extension.
If you are an international student in the UK, you may not need not pay tax on your income.
If you are working part-time as a student in the UK, you don’t need to pay tax on grants or student loans. However, you are still liable for income tax and National Insurance (NI) the same way as the other workers in the country. However, the good news is that you are entitled to a certain income before being taxed – this is called your Personal Allowance. You can get information on the current allowances on the GOV.UK website.
For the tax year 2017/18, those born after 5 April 1948 are entitled tax-exemption on earnings up to £11,500 per year. So if you’ve got a part-time job and earn under £11,500, you don’t pay any tax. Above your Personal Allowance, the amount you pay depends on the amount you earn. In 2017/18: the first £11,500 is tax-free; you pay 20% tax on earnings between £11,501 and £45,000. Few students are likely to be earning over £45,000, but if you do, you pay 40% on this.
Also, if your home country has a double-taxation agreementwith the UK, you need not pay any tax on your income if you work while you’re a student. However, if your country doesn’t have an agreement like this, you have to pay tax in the same way as other workers in the UK.
Sources: worksmart.org.uk, gov.uk, studylondon.ac.uk, blogs.lse.ac.uk, ed.ac.uk, e4s.co.uk, taxguideforstudents.org.uk, indeed.com, expatica.com, studylondon.ac.uk, studentjob.co.uk