Guidance

Apply for qualified teacher status (QTS) if you teach outside the UK

Routes to QTS for those with non-UK teaching qualifications or experience and UK citizens with teaching experience who live overseas.

• From: Department for Education
• Published: 29 June 2021
• Last updated: 29 April 2024 — See all updates

Applies to England

• Publication for Northern Ireland
• Publication for Scotland
• Publication for Wales

Documents

Routes to qualified teacher status (QTS) for teachers and those with teaching experience outside the UK

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Details

This guidance is for:

• non-UK-qualified teachers
• non-UK citizens with teaching experience
• UK citizens with teaching experience living and working overseas

If you are a teacher who trained in the UK, visit qualified teacher status (QTS): qualify to teach in England.

Published 29 June 2021
Last updated 29 April 2024 + show all updates

1. 29 April 2024

   Updated to reflect the support available from the Get into Teaching service.

2. 10 January 2024

   Zimbabwe has been removed from the list of eligible countries because DfE has been unable to verify required documentation from that country.

3. 28 September 2023

   Updated to remove links to withdrawn pages.

4. 13 July 2023

   Qualified teachers from Guernsey and Jersey can now use the ‘apply for qualified teacher status in England’ service to check they meet the requirements and apply.

5. 26 January 2023

   Updated information about who can use the service to apply for QTS in England.

6. 1 December 2022

   Updated to include information about the new 'apply for QTS in England' service.

7. 4 April 2022

   Added information to 'Qualifications and experience you’ll need to be eligible for an assessment only QTS' about contacting Get into Teaching for help with international qualifications and added fee information to 'How to apply for an assessment only QTS'.

8. 29 June 2021

   First published.