Can an international student become a paralegal in the UK?

Dec 15, 2022

Written By Zara Arif

Being an international student looking for work experience in the UK can be a challenge due to limitations set on working hours by overseas student visas. An excellent way to get valuable legal work experience is working as a paralegal. But is this an option that is open to international students?

What do paralegals do?

A paralegal is an important support to other professionals in the legal field. They can work in law firms and other organisations in the public and private sector.

Typical paralegal tasks and duties include but are not limited to: research, legal drafting, interviewing clients and witnesses and liaising with clients. Being a paralegal, just like any type of work within the legal field, is typically a full time job, although there are part-time options. The average working week for a paralegal is 40 hours. As with any legal job, some weeks may require even longer hours to help close a deal.

The hours and type of work involved, therefore, make working as a paralegal somewhat complex for international students.

What qualifications do I need to be a paralegal?

There are many different ways to become a paralegal. Options include: completing a law degree, taking a college course, doing a paralegal advanced apprenticeship, or working your way up from a legal assistant job. All of these options are available to international students, providing you have good secondary school grades or relevant work experience.

Working as an international student in the UK

Most international students who have long stay visas in the UK (for more than six months) are allowed to work part-time during term time. This means they can undertake up to 20 hours of paid work. This makes a full-time paralegal role difficult to secure as an international student, although there are part-time and job share options.

International students can work full-time in their vacations between term times. This means that a vacation scheme or temporary role within the legal field might be better suited to international students as long as the dates of employment fall outside of their term dates.

Additionally, some firms and employers are also able to sponsor international students for a Tier 2 Visa which is for skilled workers. This visa allows you to come to the UK to do a job with an approved employer and allows stays of up to 5 years. Therefore, this type of visa may allow international students to legally paralegal for a longer period of time and gain some experience of the UK legal system before going on to further studies or a full-time paralegal job.

Finding any type of work as an international student in the UK is difficult, but if you are able to manage your hours and term dates with your paralegal employment, it is definitely an option that is open to international students. The best thing to do would be to ask employers to what extent they can assist you with visas and to research the conditions of the visa you hold to be in the UK.

Becoming a Lawyer in the UK - International Students