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There are a few ways of working in the UK legally. Working during your studies. This means you have already gotten a student visa and are currently enrolled in a University in the UK.
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The number of hours you can work during term time will be specified on your Tier 4 (General) student visa if you are an international student studying in the UK. You may work up to 20 hours per week during the academic year and full-time during the Christmas and Easter breaks if you are enrolled in a publicly funded UK university at the undergraduate or graduate level or are participating in a study abroad program at a foreign higher education institution.
If you’re enrolled at a publicly funded college or a private university (of which there are just five in the nation), you aren’t allowed to work. You may only work up to 10 hours per week during term time if you are 16 or 17 years old or enrolled in lower-level coursework. As long as you don’t work more than 10/20 hours per week, you are allowed to work for more than one employer.
Your 10 or 20 hours will not include time spent finishing a legal work placement as part of your education. However, any job placements cannot eat up more than a third of your overall study time—or half if you’re enrolled in a Tier 4 (Child) visa program or attending a foreign higher education institution.
You are permitted to work in most occupations, but you are not permitted to be self-employed, engage in business activities, perform professionally as an entertainer or athlete (including coaching), or hold a permanent full-time position unless you are enrolled in an approved foundation program or are serving as a sabbatical officer for the students’ union. As long as your visa status is still valid and you do not work in a permanent position, as a self-employed person, as a doctor, or in any of the other roles that are forbidden as specified above, you are permitted to work
Employment in the UK following graduation
After completing their education, non-EU students can stay and work in the UK under a number of different immigration programs. The Start Up Visa is designed for non-EU and non-Swiss nationals who desire to launch their own business in the UK and will replace the Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) visa in July 2019. You must obtain endorsement from an approved authority, such as a UK institution, in order to apply for this visa.
In addition to paying a cost for this visa, you must also pay a surcharge to use the National Health Service (NHS). You are permitted to stay in the UK for two years if your application is approved.
The Tier 2 (General) visa, which is for skilled workers from outside the EEA and Switzerland who have a job offer to work in the UK, is the most popular route to obtaining a UK work visa. Although some roles are exempt from this requirement, most jobs must pay at least £20,800 (about US$27,300) annually to be eligible.
You must have earned a degree from an authorized Tier 4 sponsor in order to transition from the Tier 4 Student Visa to the Tier 2 Visa. Before your existing visa expires, you must apply from within the UK.
Additional criteria for eligibility and required paperwork include:
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You must cover the necessary healthcare and visa surcharges for you and your dependents before you can apply. If your application is approved, you can only stay in the UK on a Tier 2 (General) visa for a total of 5 years and 14 days, or the amount of time specified on your certificate of sponsorship plus one month, whichever is shorter. No later than 14 days prior to the commencement date listed on your sponsorship certificate may you begin your stay. A permanent residency card may be requested after five years.
You might apply for the Tier 5 (Temporary Worker – Government Authorized Exchange) visa, which is for people participating in work experience or training programs, if you’d want to work in the UK for a shorter amount of time. Similar requirements apply for this: £945 in savings and a letter of sponsorship from your UK sponsor (your employer). Depending on the scheme you apply for, this UK work visa entitles you to a stay of 12 or 24 months.
Find more information about the different kinds of work visa here