Teachers trained in Nigeria and Ghana can no longer apply directly for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) in England from September 9, 2026. India was also removed from the list of eligible countries. The UK Department for Education said more than 70 per cent of applications from Nigeria and Ghana used Gmail or Hotmail addresses for references rather than official school email domains, making them difficult to verify. Countries on the eligible list must now have a national regulator for teachers and references that can be authenticated. Other routes into teaching in England remain open, including assessment-only QTS, teacher training in England and international QTS. Overseas-qualified teachers may also teach in England for up to four years without QTS under certain conditions. South Africa remains eligible.