Overseas-trained

Teachers

Overseas

Teachers

Thank you for considering applying to work in an LDBS Church school!

Overseas-trained teachers make a huge contribution to many London schools and add to the overall richness and diversity of our school communities. We can help schools that want to appoint teachers who trained outside the UK.

LDBS is an “A rated” sponsor for Skilled Worker visas. We can help your school attract and retain overseas trained teachers (OTTs). Anyone coming to the UK to work or study, excluding Irish citizens needs to apply for permission in advance.

  • If you would like to retain an OTT who is on a Tier 5 Youth Mobility visa, we can explain the UKVI visa process and application/Home Office costs and sponsor the individual. The earlier we start the Certificate of Sponsorship process the better. 

  • If your teacher cannot get a Tier 5 Youth Mobility visa, is living outside the UK, or needs a Skilled Worker visa extension, we can apply for a defined Certificate of Sponsorship for a Skilled Worker visa. 

  • If your teacher wants to switch from a Tier 4 student visa to a Skilled Worker visa, we may be able to issue undefined Certificates of Sponsorship from our annual allocation of Certificates of Sponsorship, which we receive in April.

Please be aware that there is no guarantee that every application will be successful. The more time and notice we are given the better.

Email ldbsvisas@london.anglican.org with your question, and we will see how we how we can support you.

The most up-to-date guidance from the Home Office on right to work checks was published on 23rd September 2024.

With regard to overseas job applicants: since 6th April 2022, holders of biometric residence cards have not been permitted to use their physical card as evidence of right to work, and have been required to use the Home Office online service. By 2025, almost all physical immigration products are due to be replaced with an eVisa, a digital record of a person’s immigration status. Almost all biometric residence permits and biometric residence cards are due to expire on 31st December 2024: the expiry date refers to the document only and not to the holder’s underlying immigration status.

Holders of Irish passports (including Irish passport cards) may provide the same evidence as UK citizens. There are two ways of going about this: physical documents may be checked by the employer, or the employer may use Identity Document Validation Technology (IDVT) via the services of an Identity Service Provider (ISP) to complete the digital identity verification element of right to work checks.

Overseas teachers eligible to apply for qualified teacher status (QTS).

As of October 2024, applicants with a teaching qualification from the following countries or regions can apply for QTS in England:

Australia, Canada, the EEA, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Jersey, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Switzerland, Ukraine and the USA.

Applicants from the following additional countries can apply for QTS if they have a subject specialism in languages, mathematics or science, and a qualification to teach 11 to 16 year olds:

Ghana, India, Jamaica, Nigeria, Singapore and South Africa.