The United Kingdom’s Department for Education (DfE) has excluded teachers trained in Nigeria, Ghana and India from using its “Apply for QTS in England” service to obtain Qualified Teacher Status.
The change took effect on September 9, 2026, according to updated guidance published by the DfE and seen by The Telegraph on Tuesday.
QTS is the professional teaching status awarded to qualified teachers in England and is recognised by schools across the country.
Under the revised rules, teachers trained in Ghana, India or Nigeria are no longer eligible to use the online service to apply for QTS.
The decision followed the release of data on applications for QTS from overseas-trained teachers during the 2024/2025 academic year.
The data, released on August 27, showed that teachers trained in Nigeria submitted 1,076 applications, of which 364 resulted in QTS awards, while 599 applications were declined.
Ghana recorded 1,067 applications, with 196 resulting in QTS awards and 749 declined.
According to the DfE, the eligibility requirements were updated to ensure that countries covered by the service have a national regulator capable of confirming a teacher’s professional standing and providing references that meet its requirements.
The department said India was removed from the list because it “does not have a national regulator that can confirm professional standing.”
Explaining the decision on Nigeria and Ghana, the DfE said, “Our data shows that more than 70% of applications from teachers in Ghana and Nigeria include work history references that use public email addresses, such as Gmail or Hotmail, rather than a school’s official email domain.”
It said this required assessors to spend “additional time and resources trying to verify information provided in applications.”
The department said it needed to be confident that information submitted by applicants was genuine to ensure that overseas-trained teachers awarded QTS had the necessary skills and experience to teach in English schools.
“Teachers who are not eligible to apply for QTS in England service can explore other routes into teaching,” the department said.
QTS requirements
Before the latest change, overseas-trained teachers seeking QTS were required to hold a valid passport and an undergraduate degree equivalent to a UK bachelor’s degree, as well as professional recognition as a teacher in the country where they trained.
Applicants were also required to have completed any mandatory induction requirements for full teacher registration in their country of qualification.
They must demonstrate that they are qualified to teach children aged between five and 16 and have at least nine months of teaching experience gained after qualifying as a teacher.
Applicants are also required to provide employment references verifying their work history, using an email address linked to the school’s official domain.
Depending on the country in which a teacher trained, additional requirements may include qualifications to teach pupils aged between 11 and 16 and a specialism in subjects such as mathematics, science, biology, chemistry, physics, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Mandarin, Russian or Spanish.
However, teachers in England are employed by individual schools rather than the DfE, meaning schools may consider alternative routes into teaching.
The department said teachers who are no longer eligible to use its QTS application service can explore other routes into teaching in England.
Countries still eligible
With Nigeria and Ghana removed from the list, South Africa is currently the only African country that remains eligible under the general service.
Other countries and regions that remain eligible include Australia, Canada, the European Economic Area, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Jersey, New Zealand, Switzerland, Ukraine and the United States.
Teachers qualified in Jamaica, Singapore and South Africa may also apply under specified conditions, including additional subject and age requirements where applicable.
