Relocating to the UK as a Qualified Teacher
All applicants for teaching jobs from overseas need a visa or other immigration status allowing them to work in the UK. Applicants will need a High-potential Individual Visa or Skilled Worker Visa. Multilang provides relocation services to qualified teachers from Zimbabwe, Ghana, South Africa, and Nigeria to the UK. We also assist our clients from the aforementioned countries, with a sponsor or a school where they can work and earn as a teacher.
If you are interested in teaching in the UK or looking to relocate as a qualified teacher, you might want to finish reading this article. We will explore the eligibility criteria, visa options, and requirements for relocating to the UK as a teacher.
Eligibility Criteria:
The following requirements if met, qualifies you to apply as a qualified teacher in the UK:
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Teaching skills and experience you can demonstrate to an employer.
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Pass criminal and professional safeguarding checks (these will be organised by your employer)
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A teaching qualification from any non-UK country
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The ability to teach children aged 3-18 science or language subjects equivalent to grade 4 GCSE.
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‘Qualified Teacher Status (QTS)’.
Qualified Teacher Status (QTS):
A QTS certificate is a legal requirement for teachers who want to teach in the UK. This certificate opens up vast employment opportunities and helps you get a better salary and advancement into an authoritative position. Many state schools require teachers to have a QTS certificate.
Schools where QTS is a legal requirement are called ‘maintained schools’. These schools are state-funded schools in England – funding and oversight are generally provided by a local authority.
They include:
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Community schools or voluntary controlled schools (where the local authority employs the school’s staff and is responsible for admissions)
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Foundation and voluntary-aided schools (where the school’s governing body employs the staff and is responsible for admissions)
You must also have QTS to teach in a non-maintained special school. However, internationally qualified teachers can work up to 4 years in England without QTS as it is possible to be employed as a teacher without QTS in Academy schools, free schools, and private schools. The ability to work for 4 years without QTS is also known as the "4-year rule." As a qualified teacher, one can use the 4-year rule. To be eligible, you must be a teacher outside the UK completing a teacher's course which is recognised by the relevant authorities in non-UK countries.
Visa Options for Teachers:
There are two main visa options for teachers who want to relocate to the UK - the High-potential
Individual Visa and the Skilled Workers Visa. For both visas, language proficiency is required,
and the applicant must pass a criminality check.
To be considered eligible for the high-potential individual visa, you must:
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Have a Bachelor’s degree, Master’s degree, or Ph.D. from a university listed in the global universities list
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Have been awarded the qualification no more than 5 years before applying
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Have English language skills to B1 intermediate level
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Have personal funds of £1,270
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Pass a security and criminality check
To be considered eligible for the skilled worker visa
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You have a job offer from a school that is a licensed Home Office sponsor
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You can speak, read, write, and understand English
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Your salary meets the requirements for a skilled worker visa
Multilang services
Multilang offers a wide range of services that will make relocation to the UK as a qualified teacher much easier, such as:
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Free Consultation
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Job search and application / help securing a Visa sponsor
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Visa application process
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Guidance and support with relocation and integration into the UK system
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Mentorship