Apply for your visa to teach in England

If you’re applying for teaching jobs in England as a non-UK citizen, you will need a visa or immigration status allowing you to work in England.

The information on this page is for:

• non-UK citizens living in the UK
• non-UK citizens living outside the UK

You will not need a visa if you:

• are an Irish citizen
• have settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• have indefinite leave to remain

If you are currently studying in the UK on a student visa, you may be able to apply for a graduate visa.

EU Settlement Scheme

If you or your family are from the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland, and you or a family member were living in the UK by 31 December 2020, you may still be able to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme.

Check your status

If you’re not sure about your immigration status, you can check if you need a UK visa.

Skilled worker visa

The main visa route for non-UK citizens wishing to teach in England is the skilled worker visa.

You’ll be able to apply for your skilled worker visa if:

• you have a job offer from a school that is a Home Office licensed visa sponsor
• you have a certificate of sponsorship from this school, confirming they have offered you a job and will sponsor you
• you meet certain standards in speaking, reading, writing and understanding English
• your salary meets the requirement for a skilled worker visa

Learn more about applying for a teaching job in England.

Salary requirement for a skilled worker visa

The salary you must be paid to get a visa varies according to whether you are employed as a ‘qualified’ or ‘unqualified’ teacher. This depends on your level of experience and qualifications – your employing school can explain whether the role you are applying for is qualified or unqualified. The salary requirement also varies depending on the region you are applying to work in.

If you are employed as a qualified teacher and work in:

• inner London, you must earn £36,745
• outer London, you must earn £34,514
• London fringe, you must earn £31,350
• the rest of England, you must earn £30,000

If you are employed as an unqualified teacher and work in:

• inner London, you must earn £25,831
• outer London, you must earn £24,415
• London fringe, you must earn £23,200
• the rest of England, you must earn £23,200

Check the region you will be working in with the school employing you.

Working part time as a teacher

You can work part time, but your salary must meet the threshold for a skilled worker visa. There are 2 requirements:

• your part-time salary must be at least £23,200
• the full-time equivalent of your salary must meet the minimum set for your region and status (for qualified and unqualified teachers)

Schools have some flexibility in how they set salaries. You may be able to negotiate a different rate of pay if the salary on offer does not meet the skilled worker visa requirements.

The salary requirements for a skilled worker visa apply whether the type of school you work in is funded by the UK government or is in the private sector.

If you are successful in applying for a skilled worker visa, your partner and children may also be able to apply to come to the UK with you.

Apply for a skilled worker visa

Graduate visa

If you are already an international student in the UK, you can apply for a graduate visa on successful completion of your degree.

To apply, you must have been sponsored by a Home Office licensed student sponsor over the course of your studies.

The graduate visa will allow you to work or look for work in the UK for up to 2 years after completing your studies (3 years for PhD students) without a sponsor. This includes working as a teacher.

You will be able to switch from a graduate visa to another visa (such as the skilled worker visa) without having to leave the UK, if you meet the requirements for the new visa route.

Apply for a graduate visa

High potential individual visa

To be eligible for a high potential individual visa, you must:

• have a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree or PhD from a university listed in the Global Universities list
• have been awarded your qualification no more than 5 years before you apply
• have English language skills to B1 intermediate level
• have personal funds of £1,270
• pass a security and criminality check

You do not need an offer of a teaching job to apply for this visa and you’ll be able to stay in the UK for 2 years with a bachelor’s or master’s degree, and 3 years with a PhD.

Apply for a high potential individual visa

India young professionals scheme

To be eligible for the India young professionals scheme visa, you must:

• be an Indian citizen
• be between 18 and 30 years old
• have an eligible qualification
• have £2,530 in savings

The visa allows you to live and work in the UK for up to 2 years. To apply for the visa, you must first enter a ballot.

Apply for the India young professionals scheme

Youth Mobility Scheme visa

The Youth Mobility Scheme allows young people from certain countries to come to the UK to work without a sponsor. This includes working as a teacher.

A Youth Mobility Scheme visa lasts up to 2 years. You may be able to switch from a Youth Mobility Scheme visa to another visa route (for example, the skilled worker visa) without having to leave the UK. You’ll need to meet the requirements for the new visa route.

Other visas

Depending on your personal circumstances, you may be eligible for alternative visas that allow you to work in the UK – for example:

• on a Family visa
• on a UK Ancestry visa
• if you are from Hong Kong, on a British National (Overseas) visa
• as a family member of someone on a student visa
• as a family member of someone on a skilled worker visa

Visa fees and other charges

You will usually need to show proof of a certain level of savings or income, depending on which visa you are applying for. You’ll be guided through this process when you apply for your visa.

Visa fees

You’ll also have to pay visa fees which vary depending on which visa you are applying for.

Calculate how much your visa will cost.

Immigration Health Surcharge

You may need to pay for UK healthcare as part of your immigration application – this is called the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS).

Contact

If you have general questions about the information on this page, you can email us at teach.inengland@education.gov.uk.

You can also contact UK Visas and Immigration for help.