MatricMap

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Teaching abroad

Every step from first year to working abroad. See all nine countries for Teaching.

2 routes

Teacher to England 4years to moving Established82 a yearTeachers recognised as teachers in South Africa who were awarded English QTS via the Apply for QTS service (2025)157 in 2022/23 and 146 in 2023/24, so roughly halved over two years

Where it leads: Secondary school teacher of maths, science or languages. Typical employers: state secondary schools and academy trusts.

Worth knowing: Other subjects do not qualify directly: the alternatives are the Assessment Only route after two years of teaching (about GBP 1,500-4,000) or working in an English school first.

  1. Study · 4 yrs BEd, or degree + PGCE4 years; for this route the subject matters
  2. Register SACE registrationRecognised as a teacher in South Africa
  3. Register Apply for QTSFree, online. South Africa is only conditionally eligible: maths, science or language teachers for ages 11-16
  4. Move Job offer + Skilled Worker visaFrom a school that sponsors
  5. Work England

Full Teaching pathway for United Kingdom

Teacher to New Zealand 6years to moving No count for this career. All careers: 3 194 a year · New Zealand work visa applications approved for South African nationals, all work visa types (2026)

Where it leads: Primary or secondary school teacher. Typical employers: state and state-integrated schools.

Worth knowing: England restricts South African teachers mainly to maths, science and languages; New Zealand and Australia do not.

  1. Study · 4 yrs BEd, or degree + PGCE4 years
  2. Train · 2 yrs SACE registration + experienceA few years of classroom experience helps
  3. Register Qualification assessmentInternational Qualifications Assessment, about 6-12 weeks
  4. Register Teaching Council registrationProvisional certificate with mentoring
  5. Move Job offer + Green List visaA pathway to residence
  6. Work New Zealand

Full Teaching pathway for New Zealand

Years are typical minimums from the first year at university. Steps after a bar take no set time. Open a route for where it leads and every step.

How many have done this: 6 official counts, with sources
How to read the board

Timelines are typical minimums from the first year at university; visas, exams and job searches often take longer.

“Well-trodden” means at least 1 000 people counted on an official register (or 200 a year); “Established” means at least 200 (or 50 a year). Counts come from regulators and statistics offices and are never estimated.

Register counts are people working there today, by where they trained. Visa counts are people per year, by occupation, because no country publishes visas by degree. UK visa figures count visas issued abroad only and understate every route: in 2025 South Africans received 793 Skilled Worker visas from abroad but 2 256 more by switching from inside the UK.

Illustrative, well-trodden routes assembled from the MatricMap research. Employers named are examples of the kind of organisation that hires on each route, not endorsements or job offers.