Guidance

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

Routes to qualified teacher status (QTS) for non-UK and UK teachers and those with teaching experience living and working outside the UK.

From:: Department for Education
Published: 29 June 2021
Last updated: 4 April 2022 — See all updates

Applies to England

Documents

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

HTML

Details

This guidance explains routes to qualified teacher status (QTS) for non-UK and UK teachers, and those with teaching experience, who are currently living and working outside the UK.

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

This guidance is for:

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

Published 29 June 2021
Last updated 4 April 2022 + show all updates

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'.
29 June 2021
First published.

Update history

2025-06-18 11:44
Updated the QTS qualification eligibility email address in the ‘Routes to qualified teacher status (QTS) for teachers and those with teaching experience outside the UK’ HTML attachment.

2024-04-29 14:32
Updated to reflect the support available from the Get into Teaching service.

2024-01-10 09:30
Zimbabwe has been removed from the list of eligible countries because DfE has been unable to verify required documentation from that country.

2023-07-13 11:47
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.

2023-01-26 10:51
Updated information about who can use the service to apply for QTS in England.

2022-12-01 09:30
Updated to include information about the new ‘apply for QTS in England’ service.

2022-04-04 12:03
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’.