Working while studying as an international student in USA, UK, France, Germany, Spain, Netherlands

Working while studying as an international student

For international students, pursuing a full-time MBA in the USA or Europe can be a huge financial decision. The cost of an MBA goes well beyond just tuition and living costs as you’ll be investing a significant amount of time, energy and forgoing income during your program duration.

MBA programs come with a steep price tag – the average total cost of a top MBA in the USA is around $243,267 while that in Europe, it would be around $140,130.

Being able to offset the costs by taking up work opportunities while studying can help ease some financial pressure. Students who work during study period or vacations needs to comply with country-specific rules related to the number of hours they’re allowed to work for and the type of employment permitted.

Working in USA as an international student

USA is the most popular MBA destination, home to the elite Ivy League Universities and the prestigious M7 business schools. Being able to study at a top university in the USA can be a dream come true for several international MBA aspirants.

Most of the MBA programs in the USA have a 2-year duration compared to Europe/UK where most of the programs are around a year long. This increases the overall budget requirement for program completion.

International students on an F-1 status may take up on-campus employment during the first year of study. The employment has to be for the school or for a company that contracts with the school to serve students directly.

They may start working up to 30 days before the start of the program study sessions. They’re permitted up to 20 hours a week while classes are in session and full-time when school is not in-session or during annual vacation. During the first year, off-campus employment is not permitted.

During the second year, off-campus employment is permitted under:

Curricular Practical Training (CPT): This should be directly related to the student’s area of study and must be part of your program requirements
Optional Practical Training (OPT): Again this has to be related to your field of study and allows you to work for up to one year either before (pre-completion OPT) or after the program completion date (post-completion OPT)
Economic Hardship Work Authorization: You may be permitted to work off-campus if you have completed one academic year and you have been facing economic hardship due to unforeseen circumstances that arose after you obtained F-1 status. This allows you to work for up to 20 hours per week when school is in session and 40 hours per week during school breaks.

Working in Europe as an international student

Europe sees a diverse international class mix, with programs being more pocket-friendly primarily due to their shorter duration. The top-ranked European MBA programs are now becoming popular with candidates looking to diversify their MBA options by choosing to apply to a mix of programs across geographical locations.

United Kingdom

UK also boasts of some of the reputed business schools and renowned universities. Whether you aspire to study in the vibrant economic hub, the capital city of London or a picturesque culturally-rich student town like Cambridge or Oxford, UK offers it all.

International students on a student visa taking up full-time degree courses can work for up to 20 hours a week during university term-time however during a work placement (which is part of the course) they are allowed to work full-time. Similarly, they can work full-time during vacations. Read more: MBA in UK

There are some restrictions – such students cannot take up a full-time job position, they cannot be self-employed and they cannot set up their own business or engage in business activity. Also they cannot be employed as a professional sportsperson or as an entertainer.

However, students holding student visas for a part-time course would not be permitted to take up any work, both paid or unpaid.

Your student visa would include a wrap-up period. For example, if your course duration was 12 months or longer, you’d have a 4-month wrap-up period. For programs with duration of 6 months or greater but shorter than 12 months, the wrap-up period is 2 months. During this period, you can work and apply for a new visa.

Once your course is completed, you’d be considered ‘on vacation’ and you’d be able to work full-time. However, the same restrictions, as discusses earlier, continue to apply.

For those who wish to work in the UK after completing their graduate studies, the graduate visa (also called the graduate route) allows you to continue to stay and work or search for a job for up to 2 years (3 years for PhD students).

France

France has earned popularity for being a luxury goods and fashion hub, but it also has some of the reputed global business schools like INSEAD, HEC Paris and many more.

All international students studying in France are allowed to work up to 964 hours per year which is equivalent to 60% of the the permitted maximum working hours (50% for Algerian students). They would receive the minimum guaranteed wage of €11.65 (gross wage) per hour, from which 20% would be deducted towards mandatory social security contribution.

Student can also work in the university where they’re studying with their working hours scheduled around their class time to make it convenient for them so that they can complete their academic requirements.

For this very reason, the number of working hours permitted would also vary depending on the time of the year – not more than 670 hours between September 1st and June 30th and not more than 300 hours between July 1st and August 31st.

Read: MBA in France

Spain

Spain has some of the well-known top-ranked schools like IESE , ESADE, IE Business School among others and can be your gateway to jobs in Europe and Latin America.

International students with a student residence card are eligible to work for up to 30 hours a week and up to 5 hours per day if your card was issued after August 16, 2022 as long as the working hours do not overlap with your lecture timings.

Your course duration cannot be shorter than 90 days in which case you’d be issued a tourist visa which does not permit you to work. You may take up roles related to your coursework; only part-time jobs or internships not directly related to your studies would require additional paperwork.

Read: MBA in Spain for Indian Student

Germany

Germany offers relatively lower MBA tuition fees compared to other European countries which makes it attractive for those seeking pocket-friendly options.

Germany allows international students to work while studying – the number of hours they can work without an additional work permit has been increased from to 120 full days or 240 half days per calendar year to 140 full days or 280 half days per calendar.

Read: International student life in Germany

However, non-EU students cannot be self-employed or take up freelance work. Earlier they were permitted to work for up to 10 hours a week which has now gone up to 20 hours a week. However, these time restrictions do not apply to students working as student assistants in their universities or taking up jobs/internships as part of their studies.

Netherlands

If Netherlands is where you aspire to study, international students would need a residence permit. However, if you wish to work there, you’d need a work permit which allows you to work for up to 16 hours per week or work full time during the summer (June, July and August).

However for taking up an internship, a work permit is not required but an internship agreement needs to be signed. A residence permit for studying allows you to be self-employed without the need for a work permit and with no restrictions on the number of hours you work.

Read: International student life and job in the Netherlands: MScBA at TIAS

Our team at MBA Crystal Ball has helped thousands of students get into the top business schools across USA, UK and Europe, often with scholarships. Drop us a line at info@mbacrystalball.com if you need our help.