By Lizzy Chirkpi
The United Kingdom has removed Nigeria, Ghana and India from the list of countries whose teachers can directly apply for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) in England under the overseas-trained teacher route.
The change, which took effect on September 9, 2026, means teachers trained in Nigeria, Ghana and India can no longer use England’s “Apply for QTS” service.
The UK Department for Education (DfE), however, said the decision does not amount to a ban on Nigerian or Ghanaian teachers working in England, as alternative routes into the teaching profession remain available.
QTS is the professional teaching status used by many schools in England, and obtaining it can improve the employment prospects of teachers trained outside the UK.
According to the DfE, the eligibility requirements were changed to ensure that the professional qualifications and employment records submitted by overseas-trained teachers can be properly authenticated.
The department said countries whose teachers are eligible for the direct QTS application route must have systems that enable applicants’ professional standing and employment history to be verified.
For Nigeria and Ghana, the DfE specifically identified difficulties with employment-reference verification.
The department said more than 70 per cent of applications from teachers in the two countries contained work-history references using public email addresses, such as Gmail or Hotmail, rather than official school email domains.
“This means assessors spend additional time and resources trying to verify information provided in applications,” the department said.
It added that the verification requirement was necessary because “we must be confident that the information applicants provide is genuine.”
The DfE said the process was designed to ensure that teachers awarded QTS possess the required skills and experience to teach in English schools.
India was removed from the list for a different reason. According to the DfE, the country does not have a national regulator capable of confirming teachers’ professional standing.
Under the revised rules, teachers with recognised qualifications from Australia, Canada, countries in the European Economic Area, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Jersey, New Zealand, Switzerland, Ukraine and the United States can continue to use the direct QTS application service, subject to meeting other requirements.
Teachers trained in Jamaica, Singapore and South Africa can also apply under specified conditions, including requirements relating to their employment in England and, in some cases, their subject specialisation.
South Africa is currently the only African country on the main eligible-country list, although applicants from Jamaica, Singapore and South Africa may face additional conditions depending on their circumstances.
The decision comes after a period during which the UK expanded access to QTS for eligible teachers trained outside England.
The direct application service has been available to eligible overseas-trained teachers since February 1, 2023.
DfE data for the 2024–2025 academic year showed that Nigerian and Ghanaian teachers accounted for a significant number of applications under the scheme.
The latest decision therefore closes the direct recognition route for newly applying teachers trained in Nigeria and Ghana.
Not a ban on Nigerian teachers
Despite the change, the UK government said affected teachers can still explore alternative routes into teaching in England.
The DfE states that teachers who are no longer eligible for the direct QTS service can “explore other routes into teaching.”
One option is International Qualified Teacher Status (iQTS), a UK-backed teaching qualification delivered online by approved English teacher-training providers in partnership with schools around the world.
The programme is open to non-UK citizens and leads to QTS.
The UK government also makes clear that QTS itself does not provide a teaching job or visa. Teachers are employed by individual schools, while immigration requirements are dealt with separately.
Under the revised rules, overseas-trained teachers seeking QTS through eligible routes must generally hold a degree equivalent to a UK undergraduate degree, have professional teaching status in their country of training, meet the required teacher-training standards and demonstrate at least the equivalent of one school year of post-qualification teaching experience.