International relocation payments
Updated 3 April 2024
Applies to England
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/international-relocation-payments/international-relocation-payments
Changes to international relocation payment (IRP) eligibility and payments
Teacher trainees in languages or physics who train to teach in the 2024 to 2025 academic year are no longer eligible for the IRP. This applies to all trainees starting courses from 1 July 2024 onwards.
Payments to teachers applying from September 2024 will be split into two £5,000 payments rather than awarded as a single £10,000 sum.
The international relocation payment (IRP) is a sum of £10,000 available to eligible non-UK teachers of languages and physics.
The payment is designed to cover:
- the costs of visas
- the immigration health surcharge
- other relocation expenses
The IRP offers financial support to teachers from all over the world who wish to come and work in English schools. It will not need to be repaid.
We are running the IRP as a pilot in the 2023 to 2024 and 2024 to 2025 academic years.
Eligibility
To be eligible, teachers must:
- be coming to England to work in the 2023 to 2024 or 2024 to 2025 academic years
- have moved to the UK no more than 3 months before the start of their job
Check Get into Teaching for full details of the eligibility requirements for teachers.
How teachers will be paid
Teachers who start their teaching job in the 2023 to 2024 academic year can apply for the IRP by visiting Get into Teaching.
Teachers must apply in either the first or second term of their job.
Applications are open between 2 April and 31 May 2024.
Eligible teachers who apply before September 2024 will receive a single £10,000 payment, around the end of the term of employment in which they apply.
Eligible teachers who apply from September 2024 and those who start their teaching job in the 2024 to 2025 academic year will receive two payments of £5,000 each.
Teachers can apply for the first payment at the start of their first year of employment and the second at the start of their second year.
We’ll publish further details about how payments will be made to teachers on Get into Teaching in due course.
Future applications
Teachers are encouraged to express an interest in the IRP by emailing IRP.ExpressInterest@education.gov.uk if they:
- start their job after 31 May 2024
- miss the May 2024 deadline for applications
DfE will then email them when applications re-open later in 2024.
Employment and immigration checks
Before any payments are released DfE will:
- work with the Home Office to check all visa and immigration requirements
- contact the employing school of teachers who have applied to check their:
- employment status
- teaching subject
Contact us
If you have questions about the international relocation payment email teach.inengland@education.gov.uk.