The United Kingdom through its Department for Education is offering non-UK citizens teaching opportunities in the 2023/24 UK Teacher Recruitment exercise with Visa sponsorship.
All eligible applicants will receive a single payment of £10,000 from the Department for Education (DfE) around the end of their first term training or working in England. The IRP is a grant – you will not have to pay this money back. You can only receive the IRP once.
The international relocation payment (IRP) is designed to cover some of the costs of moving to England, including:
the costs of visas
the immigration health surcharge
other relocation expenses
Applications are open from 4 September to 31 October 2023. If you are eligible, you should receive the money by 31 January 2024.
If you miss this deadline, to remain eligible for the IRP you must apply at the next opportunity after the start of your job. Applications for teachers will re-open between January 2024 and February 2024.
You will need a teaching job to apply for the IRP. Check here to see UK schools that are recruiting.
Criteria for Teachers
To be eligible for the international relocation payment (IRP), you must meet all 3 of the following requirements.
Teaching subjects for teachers
You must be employed by and in an English state secondary school on a contract beginning in the 2023 to 2024 academic year (which runs from 1 September 2023 to 31 August 2024). Your contract must last at least one year and you must be working as:
a physics teacher
a general or combined science teacher – you must teach the physics element of these subjects
a language teacher – any language is eligible except English
If you are employed to teach more than one subject, physics, general or combined science or a language or languages must make up at least 50% of your time in the classroom. The Department for Education will validate this with the school as part of the application process. Check with your school if you’re not sure whether you are eligible.
Examples of eligible teaching jobs include:
50% modern foreign languages (for example, French, Spanish or German) and 50% another subject (for example, history)
50% modern foreign languages (for example, French, Spanish or German) and 50% English language
50% physics and 50% maths
50% general or combined science (must include the physics element) and 50% maths
State schools are schools funded by the UK government. Secondary schools teach children aged 11 to 16 or 11 to 18. You will not be eligible if you teach in a school for pupils aged 16 to 18 only.
Ongoing or permanent contracts lasting longer than 1 year are also eligible. Check the type and age range of the school where you’ll be teaching. You can also find out about the different types of state school in England
You must come to England on one of the visas listed here.
For the following visas, you must have applied for your visa from outside the UK:
Skilled worker visa
Youth Mobility Scheme
India Young Professionals Scheme visa
Family visa
UK Ancestry visa
British National (Overseas) visa
High Potential Individual visa
For the following Ukrainian and Afghan visas, you can apply for your visa from within or from outside the UK:
Afghan citizens resettlement scheme
Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy
Ukraine Family Scheme visa
Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme
Date of arrival for teachers
You must move to England no more than 3 months before the start of your job.
Non-eligibility for teachers
You will not be eligible for the international relocation payment if you are:
a UK citizen, including citizens of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
an Irish citizen
a non-UK citizen who moved to England to live permanently more than 3 months before the start of your job
in England on a dependant partner visa linked to your partner’s skilled worker or student visa
teaching only English language
employed on a contract lasting less than one year
employed by a recruitment agency – an agency can find and place you in a school, but your contract must be with the school and your salary must be paid directly to you by the school, not by the recruitment agency
PS: Teachers who have started their teaching jobs can now apply for the international relocation payment (IRP)
Apply for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS)
Qualified teacher status (QTS) is the professional status teachers in England gain at the end of their teacher training. Schools use QTS as a measure of teaching skills and experience, so you will find it much easier to get a teaching job in England if you have QTS.
However, if you’re a qualified teacher from outside the UK, you can work as a teacher in England for up to 4 years without QTS
After that, you will need QTS to teach in many schools in England, although it is not a legal requirement in some types of school (for example, academy schools, free schools and private schools).
It’s important to note that, even if you decide to apply for QTS, you will have to apply for your teaching job and your visa separately. Click here to Apply for QTS
NOTE: If you are starting a teaching job after the end of October 2023, or have missed the 2023 deadline, you can express your interest in the IRP by emailing us at IRP.ExpressInterest@education.gov.uk. We will email you when applications open in 2024.
How to Apply For Teacher Jobs in UK
Find a teaching job in England. You can search for teaching jobs online at websites such as the UK government’s Teaching vacancies service. You can also contact schools directly.
Make sure the school is eligible for the IRP grant. Not all schools in England are eligible for the IRP grant. You can check the eligibility criteria on the UK government’s website.
Apply for the job. When you apply for a teaching job, be sure to mention that you are interested in the IRP grant. The school will then apply for the grant on your behalf.
Get a job offer. If you are offered a teaching job, the school will reimburse you for your visa, work permit, and relocation expenses.
APPLY HERE
