Working and Travelling on a Student Visa

Who would have thought that one would have to end up working after graduation, let alone while you are studying. If you are lucky enough to have parents to support your rather extravagant university years then you are not part of the privileged few who start off with TGI Fridays , moving to Dominoes by the middle of the month and then a bottle of skimmed milk by the end. I decided this was definitely not the way forward as I don’t like milk. I also wanted to travel, after looking at the great deals on Groupon.

A part time job was a much better option, especially when it was at Burger King. I did not think of any visa restrictions on this until I started applying for jobs. The trials and tribulations of applying for tourist visas also slipped my mind when I saw pictures of the Eiffel Tower, the gondolas of Venice, the Greek Islands and lots more.

How many hours can you work?

UK

For those of you who are international students you can work 20 hours during term time and 40 hours during the holidays, you also have to apply for a National Insurance number.

Studying in the UK >

Australia

20 hours per week during term time is the legal working limit for students. In order to work part time you will need to obtain a Tax File Number from the Australian Tax Office.

Studying in Australia >

US

Working part time in the US is a tad more complicated. International students are issued with an F1 visa which allows you to work under certain conditions. On campus work is the category that does not require prior approval from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service. Again the 20 hour per week rule applies during term time and full time during the holidays.

To be honest I was quite happy with the work hours as I did not want to spend all my free time with Whoppers and onion rings. It gave me enough time during term to study, socialise a bit and have enough money at the end of the month to buy some eggs and a bit of shopping (you can claim your tax back at the airport on a trip home).

Studying in the US >

Going on holiday?

During the holidays, I was able to work longer hours and save a bit to go travelling. I must warn you that depending on what passport you hold this is not an easy feat. Holding an Indian passport I have had to make numerous trips to embassies, so much so that the last time I went to the French embassy I got told off by the visa officer for not having all my papers in order considering I had been there before. It is worth checking if you require a visa to visit the country you are going to.

If you want to go travelling, plan well in advance; book your flights, accommodation, travel insurance, bank statements and letter from the university all must be ready. Batting your eyelashes gets you nowhere. If you are travelling to a European country you can apply for the Schengen visa if it is part of the Schengen states, again you will need to check if you require this visa to travel as a large majority won’t.

You have the choice of getting a multiple entry or single entry depending on how many countries you are going to. However you should apply for a visa at the embassy of the country that is the first port of entry for you. I must admit I recently went to Greece, got my visa from the Belgium embassy which resulted in me holding up a single queue at the Greek airport for 15 minutes as they tried to figure out the visa which was in French. I got on the bus with most of the people in the queue; you can imagine my state at the end of that journey...