The United Kingdom's Department for Education has removed Nigeria and Ghana from the list of countries whose teachers can use the direct overseas application service to obtain Qualified Teacher Status in England.

The change took effect on September 9, 2026 and also affects teachers trained in India.

Qualified Teacher Status, commonly known as QTS, is the professional status required for teachers in many schools in England.

Under the revised rules, teachers who qualified in Nigeria, Ghana or India can no longer use the Apply for QTS in England service.

The change does not amount to a ban on Nigerian, Ghanaian or Indian teachers working in England. The Department for Education says affected teachers can explore other routes into teaching.

UK EXPLAINS WHY NIGERIA AND GHANA WERE REMOVED

The Department for Education said it updated the eligibility requirements to ensure countries included in the overseas QTS service have systems capable of providing information that can be reliably verified.

For Nigeria and Ghana, the department raised concerns about the verification of employment references submitted with applications.

It said more than 70 percent of applications from teachers in Ghana and Nigeria contained work history references using public email services such as Gmail or Hotmail instead of email addresses connected to a school's official domain.

According to the department, this required assessors to spend additional time and resources attempting to verify information submitted by applicants.

The department said it must be confident that information supplied during the application process is genuine before granting QTS.

INDIA ALSO REMOVED FROM ROUTE

India has also been removed from the direct application service.

The Department for Education gave a different reason for India's removal.

It said India does not have a national regulator capable of confirming the professional standing of teachers in the manner required by the QTS assessment process.

The changes mean teachers trained in all three countries will have to consider alternative pathways if they want to obtain QTS or pursue teaching opportunities in England.

MORE THAN 2,000 APPLICATIONS CAME FROM NIGERIA AND GHANA

The decision follows the publication of overseas QTS application data for the 2024 to 2025 academic year.

According to figures cited in reports on the policy change, Nigeria recorded 1,076 applications, with 364 resulting in QTS and 599 declined.

Ghana recorded 1,067 applications, with 196 resulting in QTS and 749 declined.

Those figures indicate substantial numbers of unsuccessful applications from both countries.

However, application outcomes can include categories beyond awards and declines, meaning the figures should be interpreted according to the Department for Education's methodology rather than treating all applications without a QTS award as rejected.

SOUTH AFRICA REMAINS ELIGIBLE

Following the removal of Nigeria and Ghana, South Africa remains among the African countries whose qualified teachers can use the overseas QTS service, subject to applicable eligibility requirements.

Teachers qualified in South Africa may face additional requirements concerning the age ranges and subjects they are qualified to teach.

The Department for Education also lists countries and territories including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Switzerland, Ukraine and the United States among those covered by the service.

Teachers from European Economic Area countries and certain other jurisdictions also remain eligible under the applicable rules.

Jamaica and Singapore are among countries whose teachers can apply subject to specified additional conditions.

QTS REQUIREMENTS FOR OVERSEAS TEACHERS

For overseas trained teachers who remain eligible for the direct service, applicants must meet several requirements.

These include having an undergraduate degree equivalent to a UK bachelor's degree and being professionally recognised as a teacher in the country where they trained.

Applicants must also have completed any mandatory induction required for full teacher registration in their country of qualification.

They generally need to demonstrate that they are qualified to teach children between the ages of five and 16 and have at least nine months of teaching experience after qualifying.

Employment references must verify an applicant's work history and satisfy the Department for Education's verification requirements.

Additional requirements can apply depending on where a teacher received their qualification.

NIGERIAN AND GHANAIAN TEACHERS NOT BANNED FROM ENGLAND

The removal of Nigeria and Ghana from the Apply for QTS in England service does not prevent teachers from those countries from pursuing teaching careers in England.

Schools in England employ teachers individually, and alternative routes into the profession remain available.

The Department for Education specifically advises teachers who are no longer eligible for the direct overseas QTS application service to explore other routes into teaching.

Depending on an applicant's circumstances, these can involve training or assessment pathways that lead to QTS.

Teachers considering moving to Britain would also need to satisfy the relevant immigration and employment requirements separately from the professional teaching qualification process.

NEW RULES ALREADY IN EFFECT

The revised eligibility rules have been in force since September 9.

The decision represents an important change for Nigerian and Ghanaian teachers who had previously been able to apply directly for QTS from overseas.

The Department for Education says the changes are intended to ensure it can reliably verify applicants' professional standing, employment history and teaching experience.

For prospective applicants from Nigeria and Ghana, the key distinction is that the direct overseas QTS service has been closed to teachers trained in the two countries, rather than England closing its teaching profession entirely to them.