Student visa work hours differ by country, and within each country by whether your course is in session. In Australia the limit is 48 hours per fortnight in term time with unlimited hours in holiday breaks; in the UK it is 20 hours a week for full-time degree-level study and 10 hours a week for full-time study below degree level; in Canada it is 24 hours a week while classes are in session; in New Zealand it is 25 hours a week during the semester. Each figure is a ceiling written into that country's own rules, and your personal visa conditions are still the thing that governs what you may do.
Australia: 48 hours a fortnight in term time
The Department of Education sets out the entitlement plainly for international students' rights at work: you can work 48 hours every fortnight during term time, unless you are a PhD or master's by research student, and you can work unlimited hours during your holiday breaks.
The legal limit behind that summary is condition 8105 of the Migration Regulations 1994, which bars work of more than 40 hours a fortnight during any fortnight when your course of study or training is in session. The same compilation then reads that 40-hour reference as 48 hours where the visa held is a Subclass 500 (Student) visa, or a bridging visa granted on the basis of a valid Subclass 500 application — which is why the figure students are commonly quoted is 48 rather than the base 40 in the regulation.
If your own visa label or grant letter says something different from either figure, the Department of Home Affairs is the authority to ask; the education page is a summary of entitlements, not your individual visa condition.
UK: 20 or 10 hours a week, depending on course level
The Immigration Rules Appendix Student (ST 26.1) ties the number to what you are studying. A full-time degree-level student sponsored by a higher education provider with a track record of compliance may work 20 hours a week in term time, with full-time employment permitted outside term time. A full-time student on a course below degree level at such a provider may work 10 hours a week in term time, again with full-time employment permitted outside term time. Every other category of study, including all part-time study, carries no employment permitted at all.
Two practical checks follow from that structure. First, whether you are in the 20-hour, 10-hour or no-work group depends on how your course is classified and on your sponsor's status, so your university's student sponsorship or compliance team is the right place to confirm which line you fall under. Second, "outside term time" is not the same as "whenever you have no lectures"; the rules turn on your course's term dates, which come from your institution.
Canada: 24 hours a week, plus a 180-day cap on unlimited break work
Under IRCC's Help Centre answer on off-campus work hours, students who are eligible to work off campus can work up to 24 hours a week while classes are in session, and unlimited hours during scheduled breaks such as summer and winter holidays or a reading week.
That unlimited period is bounded in two ways. A scheduled break must be scheduled by your school and last at least 7 consecutive days, so a long weekend or a single day off is not a break for this purpose. And taking into account all regularly scheduled breaks, unlimited off-campus work is capped at a total of 180 days per calendar year. Eligibility itself depends on your study permit conditions, so read the conditions printed on your permit and ask IRCC directly if they are unclear.
New Zealand: 25 hours a week during the semester
Immigration New Zealand's page on working on a student visa states that a student visa may allow part-time work of up to 25 hours a week, and work during mid-year study breaks and the Christmas and New Year holiday period — with the reminder that you need to check the conditions of your own visa to find out whether you can work at all.
The 25-hour figure is recent. As Immigration New Zealand announced, from 3 November 2025 eligible tertiary and secondary school students may work up to 25 hours a week during the semester, an increase from the previous 20-hour limit, and this applies to all new student visas granted from that date even if the application was submitted earlier. A visa granted before that date is not covered by the change, so the limit written on your visa is the one that applies to you.
Full-time work during scheduled breaks is not automatic. Your visa conditions will allow it only if you study for at least one academic year, your course is worth at least 120 credits, and it has a minimum of two semesters over at least eight months. Doctoral and research master's students are treated differently: there is no limit on the hours you can work if you are enrolled in a PhD or a research master's at a New Zealand tertiary institution.
Term-time and holiday limits side by side
The table below is a recap for comparison; the sections above give the detail behind each row.
| Country | In term time / in session | Breaks and holidays | Who sets the rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 48 hours per fortnight, except for PhD and master's by research students | Unlimited hours during holiday breaks | Stated by the Department of Education; the binding limit is condition 8105 of the Migration Regulations 1994 |
| UK | 20 hours a week at degree level, 10 hours a week below degree level, no employment for all other study including part-time | Full-time employment permitted outside term time (for the two categories that may work) | Appendix Student of the Immigration Rules (Home Office) |
| Canada | Up to 24 hours a week while classes are in session | Unlimited during scheduled breaks, within a 180-day cap per calendar year | IRCC, under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations |
| New Zealand | Up to 25 hours a week during the semester | Full-time during scheduled breaks if the course meets the one-year, 120-credit, two-semester, eight-month test; no hour limit for PhD and research master's students | Immigration New Zealand, through your visa conditions |
How student visa work hours are counted
Counting is where most students get caught out, and the method is not the same everywhere.
In Australia, a fortnight for condition 8105 is the period of 14 days commencing on a Monday. That means the block is fixed to the calendar week rather than to your pay cycle or to however many days ago you last worked: you count every hour you work from Monday through to the end of the following Sunday, and hours do not carry forward or average out across two fortnights.
In Canada, the count turns on the academic calendar rather than a fixed block. Hours are limited to 24 a week while classes are in session, and unlimited time only counts as unlimited during a break your school has scheduled for at least 7 consecutive days, with all such days together limited to 180 per calendar year.
In New Zealand, the weekly limit applies during the semester, and full-time holiday work depends on the course meeting the credit, semester and duration tests described above.
In the UK, the official guidance reached for this answer does not define the counting mechanism. No GOV.UK page obtained here sets out how the "week" is counted for the 20-hour or 10-hour limit, or what counts as term time for a particular course. Those details sit in the Home Office's Student sponsor guidance and in your university's published term dates, so ask your institution's sponsorship or compliance team and read your term dates before you plan around them. The same caution applies to Australia's PhD and research master's exception: the education page removes those students from the 48-hour term-time figure without stating an alternative number, so confirm your position with the Department of Home Affairs.
Quick questions
Can I work full time during the holidays?
Usually yes, but not everywhere under the same conditions. Australia allows unlimited hours in holiday breaks; the UK allows full-time employment outside term time for the categories that may work at all; Canada allows unlimited hours during scheduled breaks within the 180-day annual cap; New Zealand allows full-time work in scheduled breaks only if your course meets the credit and duration tests.
Do PhD students get more hours?
In New Zealand, yes — there is no hour limit for doctoral and research master's students at a New Zealand tertiary institution. In Australia, PhD and master's by research students are excluded from the 48-hour term-time figure, but the source used here does not state what applies to them instead, so ask the Department of Home Affairs. The UK and Canadian sources used here do not set out a separate PhD allowance, so check with the Home Office or IRCC respectively rather than assuming one exists.
Who do I ask if my visa says something different?
Match the authority to the country: the Department of Home Affairs in Australia, UK Visas and Immigration or your sponsor's compliance team in the UK, IRCC in Canada, and Immigration New Zealand in New Zealand.
This is general information about published rules, not personal legal, migration, tax or financial advice. Rules change, and your own visa conditions override any summary.
Sources
- The rights of international students at work (Australian Government – Department of Education)
- Migration Regulations 1994 – Volume 3 (Australian Government – Federal Register of Legislation)
- Immigration Rules: Appendix Student (UK Government – Home Office)
- Can I work as many hours as I want if I'm eligible to work off campus? (IRCC Help Centre)
- Working on a student visa (Immigration New Zealand)
- Upcoming changes to student visa work rights (Immigration New Zealand)
Partner links. Using them costs you nothing extra and may earn us a commission.