If you are an International student studying on a student visa at Oxford Brookes University there are certain things you need to know and consider. If you did not enter your programme with the placement year already chosen, your visa may need to be extended. Please seek advice from the International Student Advice Team.
If you are thinking of taking a placement you will need to complete this expression of interest form first before you do anything. You can find the link to the form below.
Which one of the placement options are available to an International Student in the School of Arts?
Option 1 is the most preferable for an International Student to take due to visa restrictions. You need to ensure your placement starts in September and runs until at least the end of March within the academic year. If your placement provider wishes for you to start earlier then this will be allowed because you are able to work full-time during the holidays, but you may need a different contract and you should speak to your placement provider and the ISAT team to double check.
Option 2 is available but for only working with 2 employers for at least 12 weeks each. You must make sure these placements are in place before we sign off your placement year due to the reporting of your actvity whilst on the visa.
Option 3 – the enterprise residency – is not available to international students at this time. However, once you graduate from your programme at the end of your final year, you can apply for a graduate start-up vsia with Brookes Enterprise Support if you have a Business Idea you would like to pursue.
Visa Sponsorship
Oxford Brookes will remain your sponsor whilst you are out on placement and so will request that the employer notifies us of any absences of more than 7 days. If we cannot get hold of you to confirm the reasons for the absence then this will get reported to the UKVI. We obviously want to support you before we need to get to that stage so it is vital you stay in contact with us throughout your placement. We can do regular check ins and we would expect you to still check your Brookes email account for information and notices. You will also have the Moodle page where you can access resources for the module as well. As part of your Visa conditions you must have your placement approved officially before you start work otherwise you will be breaching your visa conditions, and that means all placements if you are working for more than one employer. In order to do this you will need to complete the Placement Approval form and send it to the Module Leader. Follow the link below to download the form.
Working Hours:
Usually International students both UG and PG cannot work more than 20 hours per week during term time unless they are on a placement year. If you are on a Sandwich mode or placement module classed as a full year out then you need to get your placement approved by the TDE Placement office officially.
The time you spend working for your placement employer is outside of the visa restrictions on working in the Uk whilst studying as long as the placement is officially approved. So you can also work part-time in addition to your placement hours up to the maximum of 20 hours per week. However you cannot reduce your placement hours in order to take on part-time work and your placement needs to be full-time. We don’t, therefore, recommend taking on additional part-time work. Any part-time work will not count towards your placement so it is important that you focus and prioritise your placement work.
Eligibility to work:
You may need a letter from OBU to your employer to confrim you are a student with the university. It will include:
A statement to confirm you are studying a degree which includes a work placement as an integrated and assessed part of the course
Information on how your placement must be approved before you start the placement
Information on how your eligibility to work will change once your placement has been approved to allow you to work more than 20 hours per week
Information on your Placement Provider’s responsibilities during the placement
If you do need a letter like this then please contact the placement office
tdeplacement-enquiry@brookes.ac.uk
Work you cannot do on a placement:
There are certain job roles which are not permitted within the student visa conditions and they are:
- working as an entertainer
- working as a professional sports person
- being self-employed
- working within a business where you are a shareholder with 10% or more shares.
- be employed in a permanent role, your role must be a fixed term contract only.
A Placement Overseas:
All students have the option of undertaking an International Placement outside the UK. If you wish to do a placement overseas, Ocford Brookes University will continue to sponsor you on your Student Visa. You will need to seek immigration permission from the country where you will work, unless you plan to work in your home country. Please note it is your responsibility to apply for the relevant visa for the country you will be working in. The University is not able to apply for you. You must follow the same guidelines as if you were working in the UK and keep us informed of any changes.
Latest date to secure a placement
You must inform the University you have a placement immediately before these dates, whichever is the earliest date that is relevant to you/your course:
Undergraduates
- 31 July – for all Undergraduate courses; or
- One calendar month before your placement is due to start – whichever comes first.
The very final date to let us know is the week before your final year induction week – we will ask you for an update in June to see if you need more time beyond the 31 July date, otherwise you will be transferred to the full-time version of your course. You must contact the Module Leader if you don’t have a placement secured by then but you want to continue looking for a placement.
Postgraduates
- The deadline set by your course team (e.g. May); or
- 31 July – for all courses that started in September; or
- 30 November – for all courses that started in January; or
- One calendar month before your dissertation deadline, or module (if applicable); or
- One calendar month before your placement is due to start – whichever comes first.
The very final date to let us know is set by your course team
Breaks between study and placement; and/or breaks during placement
You should not usually have a break between your studies, working on your dissertation and starting your placement unless it is during an official University vacation period. You cannot have a break of longer than 60 days at the start, during the middle or at the end of your studies within semester time. So you must make sure your placement/s are all secured before we sign them off so that we can manage your working dates.
If, in exceptional circumstances, you need a break between your studies, working on your dissertation, starting your placement or during your placement for any reason you must notify the Student Advice Team urgently. You may be able to request an Authorised Absence for a short period without affecting your visa but you must get this approved and so speaking to the ISAT team is very important.
If you need a longer break, you may need to suspend your studies and return at a later date.
Monitoring during your placement
Throughout your placement, the University will continue to monitor your attendance to see if you are still actively engaging in your studies/placement. The University is required to do this by UKVI. To do this, the University will send monthly emails to your employer to check if you attending your placement as normal.
Please note that if you do not actively take part in your placement or you change your placement provider (employer) without informing University, this could have serious consequences to your Student Visa. The University is obligated to report any breach of your conditions to UKVI. Failure to do so could result in your Visa being curtailed.
When placements should finish
Your placement must finish before your course finishes, or before your final year begins. If you are on an undergraduate course, you will usually start your fourth (and final) year in September, which means your placement must have finished before your final year induction week. If you are on a postgraduate course, your placement is usually the last part of your course and this must finish before your course end date. If you do continue working on placement after your course end date, this will be a breach of your Student Visa conditions.