The Student Room Group

Teaching jobs with visa sponsorship as a non-UK citizen

Hi,

I'm thinking of doing an MFL PGCE starting in 2024 since I can actually afford to do it thanks to the bursaries offered to non-UK citizens next year. But I'm wondering if secondary schools usually sponsor visas. I don't want to end up with a useless degree, a year lost, and no way to work in the UK. Most job ads I see right now don't seem to offer visa sponsorships but maybe that's because this is not the best time to be looking at teaching job ads? I would very much appreciate any insight on the topic! Thanks!
Original post by muzeyyen
Hi,

I'm thinking of doing an MFL PGCE starting in 2024 since I can actually afford to do it thanks to the bursaries offered to non-UK citizens next year. But I'm wondering if secondary schools usually sponsor visas. I don't want to end up with a useless degree, a year lost, and no way to work in the UK. Most job ads I see right now don't seem to offer visa sponsorships but maybe that's because this is not the best time to be looking at teaching job ads? I would very much appreciate any insight on the topic! Thanks!


Hello @muzeyyen

Some school's do offer sponsorship, but it's going to be geographically affected. For example, London schools are more likely to do so than schools in Cornwall. (That not to say Cornish schools couldn't or wouldn't, but will be more limited.)

The majority of schools will advertise their vacancies around Easter time (for teachers to move to a new school at the start of the academic year) in places such as the Teaching Vacancies, the Times Educational Supplement, or ETeach.

Hope this has helped a little.

Jane
Reply 2
Original post by Get into Teaching
Hello @muzeyyen

Some school's do offer sponsorship, but it's going to be geographically affected. For example, London schools are more likely to do so than schools in Cornwall. (That not to say Cornish schools couldn't or wouldn't, but will be more limited.)

The majority of schools will advertise their vacancies around Easter time (for teachers to move to a new school at the start of the academic year) in places such as the Teaching Vacancies, the Times Educational Supplement, or ETeach.

Hope this has helped a little.

Jane


Hi Jane @Get into Teaching

This is very helpful, thanks!

Is there any chance you could say more about the locations and the type of schools that do sponsor visas? What areas should I be looking for apart from London?

Are there any resources where I can find some data about the number of schools that do offer sponsorships? Also, is there a place where I can get further information about the sponsorship process in schools in general to better prepare myself?

Thanks!!

Yasemin
(edited 11 months ago)
Reply 3
Original post by muzeyyen
Hi,
I'm thinking of doing an MFL PGCE starting in 2024 since I can actually afford to do it thanks to the bursaries offered to non-UK citizens next year. But I'm wondering if secondary schools usually sponsor visas. I don't want to end up with a useless degree, a year lost, and no way to work in the UK. Most job ads I see right now don't seem to offer visa sponsorships but maybe that's because this is not the best time to be looking at teaching job ads? I would very much appreciate any insight on the topic! Thanks!

Hi, I am currently on the PGCE route on student visa, but it is becoming extremely difficult to find teaching jobs with visa sponsorship. There is little to no support provided to find a job from the university and it is the student's responsibility to find one by contacting schools personally. The pgce is intensive and therefore there is hardly any time to contact individual schools.With the new changes in immigration there is a general hesitation to hire overseas teachers. Anyway do your research before embarking on the journey.Good Luck!
Reply 4
Original post by Sar777
Hi, I am currently on the PGCE route on student visa, but it is becoming extremely difficult to find teaching jobs with visa sponsorship. There is little to no support provided to find a job from the university and it is the student's responsibility to find one by contacting schools personally. The pgce is intensive and therefore there is hardly any time to contact individual schools.With the new changes in immigration there is a general hesitation to hire overseas teachers. Anyway do your research before embarking on the journey.Good Luck!

Hi are you an International student studying pgce in UK?
Reply 5
Original post by Llilyrose
Hi are you an International student studying pgce in UK?

I will be in september, if I get accepted!
Reply 6
Original post by muzeyyen
I will be in september, if I get accepted!

Ok.. i have checked the schools. You can hardly find a school with visa sponsorship to work as teacher. It's discouraging
Reply 7
Original post by Llilyrose
Ok.. i have checked the schools. You can hardly find a school with visa sponsorship to work as teacher. It's discouraging

Thanks for your reply! Are you currently an international PGCE student? What subject? What exactly do you mean when you say you've checked the schools? Have you contacted them ? If yes, how many schools have you contacted exactly? Thanks!!!
Original post by muzeyyen
Hi Jane @Get into Teaching
This is very helpful, thanks!
Is there any chance you could say more about the locations and the type of schools that do sponsor visas? What areas should I be looking for apart from London?
Are there any resources where I can find some data about the number of schools that do offer sponsorships? Also, is there a place where I can get further information about the sponsorship process in schools in general to better prepare myself?
Thanks!!
Yasemin

Hi @muzeyyen,
if you go on the website Teaching vacancies, once you have entered your search, you can filter the results by schools that offer visa sponsorships. As Jane mentioned, visas are more likely to be sponsored by schools in big cities or in their suburbs- think London, Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham. For the other websites suggested, it is a case of looking at each advert, I am afraid. Monitor the website regularly, we are about to enter a busy season for teaching jobs so I would monitor this weekly till July to see where the land lies.
Good luck!
Laure
Reply 9
Original post by Get into Teaching
Hi @muzeyyen,
if you go on the website Teaching vacancies, once you have entered your search, you can filter the results by schools that offer visa sponsorships. As Jane mentioned, visas are more likely to be sponsored by schools in big cities or in their suburbs- think London, Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham. For the other websites suggested, it is a case of looking at each advert, I am afraid. Monitor the website regularly, we are about to enter a busy season for teaching jobs so I would monitor this weekly till July to see where the land lies.
Good luck!
Laure

Hi, thanks for your reply. I'm aware of the filtering function on the government's website and there are alarmingly few ads there that do offer sponsorships. Do most schools post their ads on the government's website?
Reply 10
Am applying for physics pgce as an International student.. but was checking vacancies online so they nearly all say you need to have already the right to work here :frown:
Reply 11
Original post by Llilyrose
Am applying for physics pgce as an International student.. but was checking vacancies online so they nearly all say you need to have already the right to work here :frown:

This may be wishful thinking but I'm hoping that by going through all of the job websites, and not just the government's, and by contacting schools directly, we may find more schools that would be willing to sponsor. It's clear that this will be an uphill battle. And these are shortage subjects!
Reply 12
Original post by Llilyrose
Hi are you an International student studying pgce in UK?

Yes
Original post by muzeyyen
Hi, thanks for your reply. I'm aware of the filtering function on the government's website and there are alarmingly few ads there that do offer sponsorships. Do most schools post their ads on the government's website?

I think most of them do these days as I believe it is free to do so- but it is jobs for state-funded schools which is not all the schools in England. You might also want to consider the fact that sponsoring visa for schools is still a fairly new process as until recently, people from the EEA could work here with no visa requirements, for example, so I am guessing we are in a transition period at the moment and eventually, more schools will become familiar with the process.

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