SECTION 2 Questions 11-20 Question 11 What does EEA stand for?

Presenter: Welcome everyone. My name is Pamela Stark and I’m here to tell you about international students and employment in this country. Let me start by stating the most important thing first—your ability to work in this country while you’re here as an international student depends on whether you are: an EEA national, that is a European Economic Area national, not an EEA national with a stamp saying ’restriction on working’ in your passport, or not an EEA national with a ’prohibition on working’ stamp in your passport.
    Now, if you are an EEA national, you can work freely in this country. You can work for an employer or be self-employed. If your dependants, such as your spouse or children, come with you to this country, they can work here as well, no matter what their nationality. This is thanks to EEA roles and these rules also mean that students from this country studying in other EEA member-states can work freely too.
    Now, if you have come here for a course lasting more than six months, the immigration authorities automatically put a ’restriction on working’ in your passport. It is worded in the following way: ’work, and any changes, must be authorised’. This allows you to work under certain conditions. The first of these conditions is that, during term-time, you can work no more than 20 hours per week, but you can work longer if the work placement is an essential part of your course, for example, the work period of a sandwich course. The second condition is that you cannot run your own business, be self-employed, or work as a professional sports person or entertainer. The third condition is that you cannot take up a permanent full-time position, though you can do full-time, short-term work during the holidays.
    If you are enrolled on a course lasting more than six months and you do not have this stamp, speak to an adviser at your institution immediately. Do not start work! It may be that a mistake has been made that needs to be corrected. However, even if a mistake has been made, if you start work, you are breaking the law. This could have serious consequences for your future stay here.
    Another point that I would like to make is that even if you expect to be given a ’restriction on working’, or already have one, you cannot include your earnings as evidence of your ability to support yourself financially. However, there are two exceptions to this rule. One is if you will be attending a publicly funded college or university and the institution guarantees that it will employ you and can provide details of your pay. The other is if you will be attending a sandwich course at a publicly funded college or university and the institution guarantees that there will be a job for you and can provide details of your pay. In those two cases, you can include these earnings as evidence of your ability to support yourself.
    If you are from a country outside the EEA and your course in this country lasts six months or less, the immigration authorities are likely to have put a ’prohibition on working’ in your passport. It is worded as follows: ’No work or recourse to public funds’. This means that you are not allowed to work at all while you are here. If you have come for a course of six months or less and want to be able to work, for example because your course involves a work placement, you should have explained this when you applied for entry clearance or when you landed, if you did not get entry clearance in advance. If you have already been given a ’prohibition on working’, you may be able to apply to have it changed. Ask the international officer or student adviser at your institution for advice. If you can provide evidence that you will be on a placement, your passport stamp will normally be changed. However, do not begin your placement before getting your stamp changed! Again, that is illegal and could affect your future studies in this country.
    Now, let’s take a look at the situation if you are a non-EEA national and have brought your spouse or children with you. In that case, their passports will show the conditions that apply to them. They may be given either a ’prohibition on working’ —as explained above, this means they are not allowed to work—or they may have been given an entry clearance or stamp that does not mention employment at all. In this case, they are free to work in here without any limitations other than the right to start their own business. They will have been given this stamp if they have shown evidence that you, the student, have been given permission to be here for at least 12 months.
    Finally, let’s take a look at working after your course ends, if you are a non-EEA citizen. Until now, the majority of non-EEA students have found it difficult to obtain permission to stay on in this country after their studies for work, apart from if they were training for a professional or specialist qualification before returning home. However, the government is currently reviewing its policies, and some changes may be introduced that make it easier for students to stay on for work. You can find information about the current position if you click on ’work permits’ on the website listed on the leaflet I have given you. I should say that special provisions have always applied to doctors, dentists and nurses, and these will continue.