How to teach in England from overseas

Getting QTS with the DfE Apply for QTS service

Qualified teacher status (QTS) is the professional status that lets you teach in maintained schools in England without time limits. If you trained as a teacher in an eligible country or region, you can apply for QTS through the Department for Education's free online service, Apply for QTS in England.

The DfE does not charge to assess your application or award QTS. It says it assesses 90% of applications within 12 months. Applications backed by verified teaching experience in England may be assessed faster, and requests for more information, references or verification can cause delays.

• A bachelor's degree of the same standard as a UK undergraduate degree (verified by UK ENIC).
• A teaching qualification at level 6 or above lasting at least one year full-time, completed in the eligible country, with full professional teacher status there and no restrictions.
• At least one school year of teaching after qualifying, in mainstream compulsory education, teaching unsupervised and responsible for planning, teaching and assessing.
• Qualified to teach children aged between 5 and 16. Since 13 October 2026, eligible-country applicants can apply whatever subject they teach.
• Evidence of English (an exemption, a degree taught in English, or an accepted B2 English test), a valid passport and work-history references.

Sources (checked 6 Nov 2026): Overseas trained teachers: apply for QTS in England (DfE) · Apply for qualified teacher status (QTS) in England — service

Which countries' qualifications are recognised

Apply for QTS depends on where you trained, not your nationality. DfE lists these countries and regions: Australia, Canada, the European Economic Area (EEA), Guernsey, Hong Kong, Jamaica, Jersey, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, Ukraine, the USA.

From 9 September 2026, teachers who trained in Ghana, India or Nigeria are no longer eligible for this service. Teachers who qualified in Wales already hold QTS. Teachers from Scotland, Northern Ireland and Gibraltar need a level 6 qualification and recognition as a teacher there.

If you trained somewhere else, DfE describes other routes to QTS for teachers with overseas experience, such as assessment-only routes run by accredited providers or international QTS (iQTS) training.

Sources (checked 6 Nov 2026): Overseas trained teachers: apply for QTS in England (DfE) · Routes to QTS for teachers with experience outside the UK · Get Into Teaching: teach in England if you trained overseas

Visa routes for teachers

Most teachers who need a visa use the Skilled Worker route. You need a job offer from a school, academy trust or local authority that holds a Home Office worker sponsor licence, and a certificate of sponsorship from that employer.

For eligible teaching jobs the salary must be at least £25,000, or the job's going rate if that is higher, and it must also meet the relevant national pay-scale rate. School teaching codes (SOC 2313 secondary, 2314 primary, 2315 nursery, 2316 special needs, 2321 headteachers) are not on the current Immigration Salary List.

You may not need sponsorship at all. GOV.UK and DfE list routes that allow work without employer sponsorship, including the Graduate, Youth Mobility Scheme, family, British National (Overseas), High Potential Individual, India Young Professionals Scheme and UK Ancestry routes. Irish citizens already have the right to work. Settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme also gives the right to work; EEA or Swiss nationality alone does not.

• Skilled Worker application fee from outside the UK: £819 (up to 3 years) or £1,618 (more than 3 years).
• Immigration health surcharge: usually £1,035 a year.
• Funds: usually £1,270 available, unless your sponsor certifies maintenance.
• The immigration skills charge is paid by the school; it must not be passed on to you.
• English: CEFR level B2 for new Skilled Worker applications from 8 January 2026.

Sources (checked 6 Nov 2026): Skilled Worker visa (GOV.UK) · Skilled Worker visa: if you work in healthcare or education · Skilled Worker visa: how much it costs · Skilled Worker visa: knowledge of English · Get Into Teaching: visas for non-UK teachers

Pay and pension basics

Teachers in maintained schools are paid on the national pay ranges, which differ by pay area (rest of England, London fringe, Outer London and Inner London). Academies and independent schools can set their own pay, but many follow the national ranges. For a Skilled Worker visa, the Home Office also checks the salary against its published national pay-scale rates.

Most teachers in state schools in England are enrolled in the Teachers' Pension Scheme. It is a career average scheme: each year you build up 1.75% of that year's pensionable salary, increased each year by CPI plus 1.6%. You pay a contribution based on your salary (from 7.4% to 12% in 2025/26), and your employer pays 28.6% until 31 March 2027.

If you later leave the UK, the pension you have built up normally stays in the scheme. GOV.UK explains that any transfer abroad must go to a qualifying recognised overseas pension scheme (QROPS) and may be taxed. Check with Teachers' Pensions before you decide.

Sources (checked 6 Nov 2026): National pay scales for eligible teaching and education jobs (Home Office) · Teachers' Pensions: benefits of the scheme (leaflet) · Teachers' Pension Scheme annual accounts 2025 to 2026 · Transferring your pension to an overseas scheme

Finding schools that sponsor

Check whether a school, trust or local authority holds a worker sponsor licence on the Home Office register of licensed sponsors. A licence means it can sponsor, not that it will sponsor for every role.

On SchoolJobs you can filter to adverts where visa sponsorship is mentioned in the advert text (we leave out adverts that say they can't sponsor). Always confirm with the school before you apply.

We could not find an open international relocation payment scheme on GOV.UK or Get Into Teaching on 6 Nov 2026, so we do not list one.

• Ask: is the post eligible for a Skilled Worker certificate of sponsorship?
• Ask: will the salary meet both the visa rules and the national pay scales for the pay area?
• Ask: what extra pre-employment checks do you need, such as overseas criminal records certificates?

See jobs where visa sponsorship is mentioned

Sources (checked 6 Nov 2026): Register of licensed sponsors: workers (Home Office) · Recruit teachers from overseas (DfE guidance for schools)

Safer recruitment checks

Schools carry out the same checks for overseas candidates as for everyone else, plus extra overseas checks. These include an enhanced DBS check with barred list information (even if you have never lived in the UK), a teaching prohibition check, at least two references, and further checks such as overseas criminal records certificates or professional-standing letters from your teaching regulator.

Sources (checked 6 Nov 2026): Recruit teachers from overseas (DfE guidance for schools) · Criminal records checks for overseas applicants · Keeping children safe in education