The United Kingdom has removed Nigeria, Ghana and India from the list of countries whose teachers can apply for Qualified Teacher Status in England through the country’s direct overseas-trained teacher route.
The change, introduced by the UK Department for Education, took effect on September 9, 2026, and means teachers trained in the three countries can no longer use the “Apply for QTS in England” service.
Qualified Teacher Status, commonly known as QTS, is the professional status required to teach in many schools across England. The route allows eligible teachers trained outside the UK to have their qualifications and professional experience assessed for recognition.
The decision followed the release of data on applications from overseas-trained teachers for the 2024–2025 academic year.
According to the figures, Nigeria recorded 1,076 applications during the period. Of these, 364 resulted in QTS, while 599 applications were declined. Ghana recorded 1,067 applications, with 196 resulting in QTS and 749 declined.
Explaining the policy change, the Department for Education said countries covered by the service must have a national regulator capable of confirming a teacher’s professional standing and providing references that meet its requirements.
The department specifically raised concerns about employment references submitted by applicants from Nigeria and Ghana.
It said more than 70 per cent of applications from teachers in both countries contained work-history references using public email services such as Gmail or Hotmail instead of official school email addresses. According to the department, this required assessors to spend additional time and resources verifying information supplied by applicants.
The UK government said it needed to be confident that information provided by overseas-trained teachers was genuine before awarding QTS, particularly to ensure that successful applicants had the skills and experience required to teach in English schools.
India was also removed from the route, with the department stating that the country does not have a national regulator capable of confirming teachers’ professional standing to the standard required for the service.
Under the previous route, applicants were required to hold a valid passport, an undergraduate degree equivalent to a UK bachelor’s degree and professional recognition as a teacher in the country where they trained.
They were also required to have completed any mandatory induction requirements for full teacher registration, demonstrate that they were qualified to teach children aged five to 16, and have at least nine months of teaching experience gained after qualifying.
Applicants were further required to provide employment references verifying their work history through email addresses linked to their schools’ official domains.
Despite the latest change, the UK government clarified that Nigerian, Ghanaian and Indian teachers are not automatically prohibited from working as teachers in England. Instead, they are no longer eligible to use the specific QTS application service affected by the policy.
The Department for Education said affected teachers could explore other routes into teaching, noting that teachers in England are employed by individual schools rather than directly by the department. Schools may therefore consider alternative routes when recruiting overseas-trained teachers.
Following the removal of Nigeria and Ghana, South Africa becomes the only African country listed among the countries eligible for the standard service. Teachers trained in Jamaica, Singapore and South Africa may also apply under specified conditions, including additional requirements depending on the subjects and age groups they are qualified to teach.
Other countries and regions that remain eligible include Australia, Canada, countries in the European Economic Area, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Jersey, New Zealand, Switzerland, Ukraine and the United States.
The new policy has effectively closed the direct QTS application route to thousands of teachers trained in Nigeria and Ghana, while leaving alternative pathways open for those seeking to work in England’s education sector.
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