Visa and Immigration

      
Employment restrictions under the Tier 4 (General) student visa route

   
When you are granted a Tier 4 (General) student visa you are permitted to: 
   
   
Work part-time during term time* 
Work full-time during vacation or holiday periods
Do a work placement as part of your course
Work as a Student Union Sabbatical Officer for up to 2 years
   

* The definition of part-time is 20 hours per week if you are studying a course at or above SCQF level 9.

There are some restrictions to the type of work you can do which are:
You cannot fill a permanent full-time vacancy
You cannot be self employed
You cannot be employed (paid or unpaid) as a professional sportsperson or performer/entertainer**

**students on the BA Modern Ballet programme and students on courses of study within the School of Music are permitted to work as entertainers only if the work is arranged via the Conservatoire Agency.

The last of these restrictions can significantly affect the type of work that Royal Conservatoire of Scotland students can apply for while studying at the Conservatoire.  If you need any further clarification please contact international@rcs.ac.uk  

As long as you abide by the above conditions you do not need to notify the UKBA or the Conservatoire of your employment. You can also work full-time once your course has finished and you still have valid leave to remain, however, you must not break the conditions laid out above as this will be dealt with severely by the UKBA and could affect the success of any future UK immigration application you may wish to submit. For more information on working as a student please refer to the UKCISA website 

Employment restrictions under the Student Visitor route  

If you come to the UK as a Student Visitor then your passport will have a stamp that says "No Work" or "Work Prohibited". This means that you are not allowed to:

 
Take paid employment
Take unpaid employment
Do a work placement - even if it is part of your course
    

If you are planning on working when you study with us you will need to check that you meet the requirements for the Tier 4 (General) Student Visa. If you do meet those requirements you will have to make an application for a Tier 4 (General) student visa in your home country. You cannot switch from being a Student Visitor to the Tier 4 (General) route whilst in the UK.

Bulgarian and Romanian Nationals

If you are a national of Bulgaria or Romania you do not need to apply for permission to enter the UK to live and study. If you would like to work in the UK then you will need to apply for a registration certificate as a student. To do this you will need to use the form BR1. For more information on this form and what nationals of Bulgaria and Romania need to do then please visit the UKBA website pages for Bulgarian and Romanian Nationals.

If you need any further information about working in the UK then please contact international@rcs.ac.uk