International Relocation Payment

What is it?

The International Relocation Payment (IRP) is a single payment of £10,000, it will be piloted in the 23/24 academic year for any International teachers or trainees looking to teach in the United Kingdom.

The payment is intended to cover the following:

• Immigration health surcharge
• The costs of visas
• Relocation expenses

The payment will offer support to teachers around the world who wish to come to the UK and train, teach or work in English schools. The payment will be made at the end of the teacher’s first term and it will not need to be repaid. Along with the IRP, trainee teachers can also receive a bursary or a scholarship if they’re eligible.

Am I eligible?

There are multiple requirements to be eligible for the IRP but the three main ones that will deem you eligible will be if you:

• If you are an International teacher or trainee and not already living in the UK, you are eligible for this scheme, however, you must meet the other requirements as well.

• You will need to meet the necessary employment and immigration requirements to prove that you are eligible to work as a teacher and move to the UK. The Home Office will check all visa and immigration papers.

• If you teach a Language subject that is offered throughout schools in the UK (not English) or Physics you will be eligible to apply for the IRP. The subject that you teach can be combined with another subject but the main subject (languages or physics) must take up 50% of your teaching time.

How does the scheme work?

The scheme will work differently for certain applicants depending on their teaching situations.

Teachers will need to apply to the Department for Education for the payment from Autumn 2023 once they’re in the UK and started teaching in a school.

Trainees on fee-paying courses don’t need to apply for the payment as training providers will pay the IRP directly to the trainee along with any additional payments that apply to them.

Salaried trainees will need to apply for the IRP on their own accord, they can do this by applying through the Department of Education from Autumn 2023 after they have arrived in the UK and begun their teaching role.

For graduates who are eligible and wish to train in the UK, the process of application will depend on if the trainee is already completing a fee-paying or salaried course.

I am eligible, what do I do next?

Teachers planning to move to the UK and trainees that already have places on salaried courses will be recommended to email the Department of Education so that they can make their interest in the IRP known, this way they will get updates about the scheme and alerts when they will be eligible to apply for the payments.

The Department of Education will do the following before releasing any placements:

• Contact the employing school of the applicant or salaried teachers. This way they can get information on their employment status and teaching subjects

• Work with Home Office to ensure the applicant has the necessary visa and immigration requirements

If you would like to discuss your options further, register your interest here with the subject line “International Relocation Payment”.