The UK government has tightened its eligibility requirements for qualified teacher status, barring Nigerian-, Ghanaian-, and Indian-trained teachers from using the direct application service for QTS in England.

The change took effect from September 9, according to the Department for Education.

“From 9 September 2026, teachers who trained to teach in Ghana, India, or Nigeria will no longer be eligible to use the ‘Apply for QTS in England’ service,” the department said.

It said teachers must meet mandatory requirements, including having a bachelor’s degree equivalent to a UK undergraduate degree, holding professional teaching status, completing recognised teacher training, having no restrictions on their teaching practice, being qualified to teach pupils aged between five and 16, and having teaching experience.

The department also said countries must have a national regulator that can confirm teachers’ professional standing.

According to the department, India failed to meet the requirement of having a national regulator, while over 70 per cent of teachers from Nigeria and Ghana applied using public emails instead of the official school domains.

“India does not have a national regulator that can confirm professional standing. Our data shows that more than 70 per cent 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.

“This means assessors spend additional time and resources trying to verify information provided in applications,” the department said.

The department emphasised that it must ensure that applicants’ information is genuine during the verification process.

“This helps ensure that overseas teachers awarded qualified teacher status have the skills and experience needed to teach in schools in England,” it stated.

It also said teachers are employed by individual schools and not the Department for Education, and that the QTS application service does not guarantee a job or provide a visa.

The department encouraged those ineligible for the service to explore other routes.

Teachers from Jamaica, Singapore, and South Africa who hold a teaching qualification and work in England can, however, apply for QTS if they meet the requirements.