UK Right to Work Check for Pakistani Students: Share Code and Part-Time Jobs (2026)

What is a right to work check?

It is a legal check that every UK employer must carry out before a person starts work, whatever the person's nationality. The employer confirms that you are allowed to do the job, and for non-British workers the check also looks at any limit on hours. The GOV.UK employer guidance says employers can check online if the applicant has given a share code, or check original documents, and can also use an identity service provider.

For a Pakistani student the check is routine but it has teeth. Your employer is legally exposed if they get it wrong, and your visa is exposed if you work outside its conditions. Treat the check as the start of your compliance, not as paperwork.

This guide is about the check and its practical link to your visa. For the wider question of whether students can work at all, read our overview on whether Pakistani students can work part-time while studying in the UK.

How does a Pakistani student prove the right to work?

As of 3 November 2026, GOV.UK says that if you are not a British or Irish citizen you can prove your right to work with a share code, and that your employer cannot reject you because you gave an eligible immigration document instead of a share code. In practice nearly all students use the share code, because most now hold an eVisa. Our guide to the UK eVisa that replaces the BRP explains how the digital record works.

What the share code shows

The GOV.UK right to work service lets an employer see the types of work the person is allowed to do and how long they can work in the UK for, if there is a time limit. You are told what the employer will see before you confirm your code. The employer does not get your full immigration file.

As of 3 November 2026, the GOV.UK eVisa guidance states that a share code lasts for 90 days and that you must give the employer your date of birth with it.

What no longer works

GOV.UK tells employers they can no longer accept biometric residence cards or permits and must ask for a share code instead. If a manager asks you for a photo of an old card, politely offer a code. This protects you as much as them.

What are the steps before your first shift?

1. Read your visa decision and your eVisa record so you know the course you are on and the dates of your permission.
2. Check your university term dates, because the limits differ between term time and vacation.
3. Sign in to your UKVI account and test that the security code reaches your phone or email.
4. Generate a share code for right to work, not for another purpose, and copy the code and the date you generated it.
5. Send the code and your date of birth to the employer, or enter them when the employer's system asks.
6. Ask the employer for the contract in writing, with the maximum weekly hours stated.
7. Keep your own file: screenshot of the code, contract, rota and payslips.

How many hours can you work?

Be careful here, because the hours are set by the Immigration Rules and your own visa, not by the employer's contract. The Immigration Rules Appendix Student sets the weekly limit in the Student route, and in our reading a full-time degree-level student is typically limited to 20 hours a week in term time, while a full-time student below degree level is typically limited to 10 hours. Outside term time a full-time student is typically allowed to work full time. The GOV.UK Student visa page says how much you may work depends on what you are studying and whether you are working in or out of term time. You are told what you can and cannot do if your application is successful.

Treat this table as a guide to what to ask, not as legal advice for your case. Your decision letter and eVisa record are the final word, and your university international office can confirm your term and vacation dates. The employer must see evidence of your study and vacation times, so ask your university for an official letter of term dates if the employer requests one.

How hours are counted

The limit is a weekly limit, so it is safest to keep every week inside it rather than averaging across a month. If you hold two jobs, both count toward the same total. Overtime, training shifts and unpaid trial shifts also count as work. Write your hours in a notebook or a phone note each week and compare them with your payslips.

What work is not allowed?

The GOV.UK Student visa page says you cannot claim public funds, work in certain jobs such as a professional sportsperson or sports coach, or be self-employed. That list matters for Pakistani students, because several common side hustles fall on the wrong side of it.

• Self-employed delivery work. Signing up as a self-employed courier on an app is self-employment, even if the app is easy to join.
• Freelance tutoring or design under your own name. That is self-employment too.
• Running an online shop. Selling items for profit as your own business is self-employment.
• Professional sport or coaching. The visa page names these roles specifically.
• Unpaid work that is really a job. Calling it a "trial" or "volunteering" does not change the nature of the work.

Employed work with a normal contract, PAYE tax and payslips is the safe route. If you are unsure whether a role counts as employment, ask your university international advice team before you start.

Placements and internships

Some courses include a work placement that is assessed as part of the degree. Those are governed by the Immigration Rules and your CAS, and the length limits depend on the course type. If your course has a placement, ask the university to explain in writing how it fits your visa. Do not arrange an unrelated internship during term time just because it looks good on a CV.

What does the employer do and keep?

The employer enters your share code and date of birth into the Home Office service, checks that the photo matches you, confirms that the work is permitted and saves a record. As of 3 November 2026, GOV.UK tells employers to keep copies of right to work evidence during the employment and for 2 years after the person stops working for them. The employer must also do a follow-up check when your permission is due to expire, so expect a request for a fresh code after any visa extension.

As of 3 November 2026, GOV.UK sets a civil penalty of up to £60,000 for each illegal worker, which is why employers take the check seriously.

For you this means your employer has every reason to check properly, and a reason to stop your rota if your permission lapses. Keep your visa dates in your own diary and tell the employer early about an extension.

Tax and National Insurance

A legal job also means tax paperwork. Our guide on the National Insurance number for Pakistani students explains how to apply, and a payslip with the right number on it is the cleanest record of lawful work.

What if the employer asks for the wrong document?

• "Send me a photo of your BRP." Offer a share code, because GOV.UK tells employers they cannot accept those cards.
• "Start now, we will check later." The check should come before the person starts. Offer the code today and start after it is done.
• "We pay cash, no paperwork." Decline. Cash work with no check and no payslip is the most common way a student ends up in trouble.
• "Work as many shifts as you like." Remind the employer of your weekly limit in writing and agree a capped rota.
• "Register as self-employed with the app." Say no. Student visa holders cannot be self-employed.

If an employer pressures you to break your conditions, leave the job. A lost shift can be replaced. A visa curtailed for breaching work conditions is hard to repair, and it can affect later applications to extend, switch or return.

For students nearing graduation, work done in breach of conditions can also complicate a later switch. Our guide on the switch from a UK student visa to a Skilled Worker visa shows why a clean record matters. Keep the UK study hub bookmarked for the other steps.

How should you keep records so you can prove you stayed within the rules?

Good records are your protection if the Home Office, your university or a later visa officer ever asks how much you worked. They cost nothing and take five minutes a week. Build the habit in your first month, not after a problem.

The five-document file

• Visa evidence. A screenshot of your eVisa record showing your dates and your decision letter.
• Term dates. The university calendar or a letter from the international office stating term and vacation periods.
• The contract. The signed offer with the weekly hours and the start date.
• Rotas and timesheets. Weekly records of the hours you actually worked.
• Payslips. Monthly or weekly slips that match the timesheets.

Store the file in a folder you can open from your phone. If your phone is stolen or your laptop fails, email a copy to a family member in Pakistan so that someone else holds it.

Questions to ask at interview

Employers meet student applicants constantly, and the good ones expect careful questions. Ask how the right to work check is carried out, who will do it, and when. Ask whether the rota can be capped to your weekly limit during term time, and whether extra shifts will be offered only in official vacations. Ask who to contact if your visa is extended. A clear answer to each question is a good sign about how the employer runs the business.

On-campus and university jobs

Many universities hire students as ambassadors, library assistants or research helpers. The same rules apply: a right to work check, a contract and a weekly limit. Do not assume an on-campus job is outside your hours limit. Ask the university employer to confirm in writing that hours worked on campus are counted, and add them to any off-campus work you do.

When your circumstances change

If you extend your visa, change course, take a break or switch university, your conditions may change. Check your new decision before you carry on working under the old assumptions, and tell the employer. If you finish your studies, your right to work depends on what you switch to next, so do not keep working on a student basis after your permission has changed. Ask your university or an adviser before the date, not after it.

What does a realistic timeline look like?

This is an invented example of a Master's student in a university city who wants a weekend job in a cafe.

None of this is slow. The time sink is a surprise, such as a login problem, so test the account early.

Which mistakes put your visa at risk?

• Starting before the check is complete. You carry the risk as well as the employer.
• Counting only paid hours. Unpaid training and trial shifts count.
• Ignoring term dates. Vacation rules apply only in vacation, and your university sets the dates.
• Taking a second job without adding the hours. Both jobs share one weekly limit.
• Joining a gig platform. Platform work is usually self-employment.
• Forgetting the follow-up check. Your permission ends on a date, and your employer must check again.
• Using someone else's share code. A code belongs to the person who generated it.

Frequently asked questions