International Students - Access To Work

Kim Vowden explains the recent changes to the immigration position of students

Foreign students in the UK no longer require permission from a job centre or from the Department for Education and Employment (DfEE) to work during their spare time and holidays. David Blunkett, the Education and Employment Secretary, announced the changes on 18th June as part of the Government's initiative to attract more international students to the UK.

In the past, students from countries outside the European Economic Area (EEA) who were studying in the UK had to obtain permission from a local job centre to take casual work, and from the Overseas Labour Service of the DfEE for temporary career positions such as summer internships or "sandwich course" work placements. Students and employers found the procedures confusing, especially as job centres varied in the way that they dealt with applications.

Under the new arrangements, which were implemented on 21st June, non-EEA nationals studying in the UK do not need permission to work, subject to the following conditions:

• the student should not work for more than 20 hours per week during term time except where the placement is a necessary part of their studies, as agreed by the education institution
• the student should not engage in business, self employment or the provision of services as a professional sportsperson or entertainer
• the student should not pursue a career by filling a permanent full time vacancy.

The changes are good news for both students and employers. There are, however, some questions about how the new arrangements will work in practice, particularly in relation to section 8 of the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996.

The 1996 Act makes it a criminal offence to employ someone who does not have permission to work in the UK, but provides a defence for employers who check and copy one of a number of specified documents before the person starts work. Employers used to be able to rely on the letter from the job centre or DfEE giving permission for the student to work, but they will now have to check the UK immigration stamps in the student's passport to confirm that he or she has in fact been given leave to enter the UK as a student. The DfEE and Home Office have said that they will revise their websites and issue new guidance leaflets for students and employers explaining the arrangements in more detail. The fact that the employer, rather than a job centre or the DfEE, is now responsible for deciding in the first instance whether it is lawful to employ an international student makes it particularly important that the guidance notes are comprehensive.

Despite the changes, non-EEA nationals coming to study in the UK cannot rely on spare time or vacation work to support themselves and, in accordance with the Immigration Rules, they will be refused entry to the UK if it appears to the Immigration Officer that they intend do so. Nor do the changes affect non-EEA nationals studying overseas who wish to work in the UK - as in the past, the proposed UK employer must apply to the DfEE for an internship or other type of work permit.

According to the DfEE, relatively few applications for permission to work were refused under the previous procedures. Abolishing the requirement has cut down the amount of administrative work for employers and education institutions, not to mention for job centres and the DfEE. Whether or not it helps the Government to achieve its aim of increasing the number of international students in the UK, these are already considerable advantages.