Turkish teachers: QTS recognition documents

First, what QTS is and is not

Qualified teacher status (QTS) is the professional status that maintained schools in England generally require for teaching posts; academies and independent schools have more discretion, and Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own arrangements. Teachers who trained outside the UK apply for QTS through the Teaching Regulation Agency’s online service, Apply for QTS in England. The TRA has, since 2023, extended eligibility to teachers from a wider range of countries on the basis of a professional-recognition assessment; whether Türkiye is on the current list, and on what terms, must be checked on the service itself at GOV.UK, because the list has changed and we did not verify Türkiye’s position for this page. Nor did we verify the TRA’s exact wording on translated documents. This guide is the sequence and the Turkish documents, with our certified-translation format; the TRA’s own document list prevails where it differs.

What the TRA assesses

The service asks a teacher trained overseas to show, in broad terms, a degree-level qualification, a recognised teacher-training qualification, the age ranges and subjects the training covered, proof of teaching experience or induction where the country’s route requires it, and identity. For some countries it also asks for evidence of a period of teaching in a school. Applications are made online, documents are uploaded, and references may be checked directly with the schools and institutions named. A decision is a recognition of status, not an offer of work; schools then recruit in their own way and run safeguarding checks.

Turkish documents that support an application

• Eğitim fakültesi lisans diploması, or a subject degree together with the pedagojik formasyon belgesi (teacher-training certificate), translated in full. Details.
• Transcript showing the pedagogy and subject modules and teaching-practice placements. Details.
• MEB appointment and service record (atama kararnamesi, hizmet belgesi, or the e-Devlet service extract) for teachers who worked in state schools, and school letters for private-school teachers, covering the teaching experience the TRA asks about. Details.
• Candidacy completion (adaylık kaldırma) documents where the TRA’s criteria for Türkiye ask for evidence of induction.
• Passport (bilingual data page, no translation) and any name-change decision.
• Adli sicil kaydı, not for the TRA but for schools’ safeguarding checks and, in an education occupation code, the Skilled Worker visa. Details.
• A UK ENIC statement is sometimes requested to confirm degree level; our ENIC guide covers it.

Our translation format

Each page of our translation carries a statement that it is a true and accurate translation of the original document, the date, the signatory’s name and signature, our stamp, and the company’s contact details and Ankara registry number. The translation is complete and made directly from the Turkish. That matches the GOV.UK description of a certified translation. If the TRA service specifies a different or additional form of words, send it to us; if we cannot meet a particular condition we will say so rather than guess.

Timing, fees and the school side

The TRA’s service is free of charge at the time of writing, but check. Processing times vary with demand and with whether references need checking abroad; Turkish schools and the MEB may take weeks to answer. Schools recruiting from abroad will need the criminal record certificate with translation and may sponsor a Skilled Worker visa in a teaching occupation code where the role and salary qualify under the rules in force since July 2025; our Skilled Worker guide covers that. Translation of a diploma, formasyon certificate, transcript and a service record is about £60–110 with us, in one to two working days, no UK VAT.

Where applications stall

• Applying without first checking whether Türkiye is on the TRA’s current eligibility list for the professional-recognition route.
• A subject degree submitted without the pedagojik formasyon certificate, so no teacher training is evidenced.
• Service records that give dates but not the age range and subjects taught.
• References from a school that has since closed or cannot be contacted.
• Assuming QTS is needed to teach in an independent school; check the school’s own requirement.

Whether you obtain QTS, and on what conditions, is the TRA’s decision; we prepare the Turkish documents in a form UK bodies accept and point you to the regulator’s page for the current rules.