The United Kingdom has removed Nigeria, Ghana and India from the list of countries whose teachers can use the direct application route for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) in England.
The change, which took effect on September 9, 2026, was announced through an updated guidance by the UK Department for Education (DfE). The development means teachers trained in Nigeria and Ghana can no longer use the “Apply for QTS in England” service that was previously available to eligible overseas-trained teachers.
QTS is the professional teaching status used in England and is a legal requirement for teaching in many schools, while most schools also prefer teachers to hold the qualification. However, the UK government stressed that losing access to the direct QTS application service does not amount to a blanket ban on Nigerian or Ghanaian teachers working in England.
The DfE said the eligibility framework requires countries participating in the route to have a national regulator capable of confirming teachers’ professional standing and to provide employment references that meet its verification requirements.
For Nigeria and Ghana, the department cited difficulties with employment-reference verification. According to the updated guidance, more than 70 per cent of applications from teachers in the two countries included work-history references using public email services such as Gmail or Hotmail rather than official school email domains.
The department said this creates additional work for assessors attempting to verify information supplied by applicants and that it needs to be confident that information provided by overseas teachers is genuine before awarding QTS.
Data cited in reports on the change showed that teachers trained in Nigeria and Ghana submitted 2,143 QTS applications during the 2024–25 academic year. Nigeria accounted for 1,076 applications, while Ghana accounted for 1,067. Of the applications from the two countries, 560 resulted in QTS awards, while 1,348 were declined.
Full list of countries still eligible
Under the updated UK guidance, teachers with qualifications from the following countries and regions can continue to apply through the direct QTS service, provided they meet the other requirements:
- Australia
- Canada
- European Economic Area (EEA)
- Guernsey
- Hong Kong
- Jersey
- New Zealand
- Switzerland
- Ukraine
- United States
Teachers trained in Jamaica, Singapore and South Africa can also apply if they meet additional requirements, including working in a valid teaching role in England. Some applicants from those countries may also need to demonstrate a subject specialism in mathematics, science or languages and qualifications to teach children aged 11 to 16.
The UK guidance states that eligible overseas-trained teachers generally need a bachelor’s degree equivalent to a UK undergraduate degree, full professional recognition as a teacher in their country of training, completion of mandatory induction requirements, no restrictions on their teaching practice and qualifications allowing them to teach children aged between five and 16.
Applicants are also normally required to have at least one school year of teaching experience after qualifying.
The DfE said teachers who are no longer eligible for the direct QTS service can explore alternative routes into teaching in England. QTS itself does not guarantee employment or provide immigration permission; teachers must separately secure employment and meet the relevant visa or immigration requirements.
The latest decision therefore changes the qualification pathway available to Nigerian and Ghanaian-trained teachers but does not by itself prevent them from seeking teaching opportunities in England through other routes.
