any suggestions how American teachers might teach..and stay in England?

Just returned to the US after a 6 month visit to England on a tourist visa- to say i love England would be an understatement- I want to move there badly- but how??

Im a special education teacher in my mid 40s- Im wondering if my teachers licence (MA) could enable me to become a Qualified teacher to teach in England.
an xpat from New York who has lived in London for 15 years told me higher education is the best path- she got her PhD and has been teaching on the college level for years

someone else told me I should think of moving to the Netherlands or Czech Republic, and over a few years from there move to England. Any xpats here who teach in England? What advice would you offer? Thanks!

Just returned to the US after a 6 month visit to England on a tourist visa- to say i love England would be an understatement- I want to move there badly- but how??

Im a special education teacher in my mid 40s- Im wondering if my teachers licence (MA) could enable me to become a Qualified teacher to teach in England.
an xpat from New York who has lived in London for 15 years told me higher education is the best path- she got her PhD and has been teaching on the college level for years

someone else told me I should think of moving to the Netherlands or Czech Republic, and over a few years from there move to England. Any xpats here who teach in England? What advice would you offer? Thanks!

What subject do you teach?  I believe you can obtain sponsorship for secondary (high school) math and science.  Otherwise it's near impossible.  Unfortunately the UK is a very anti-immigration country at the moment and with Brexit there is no telling what changes we will see (promises to make it even harder for foreigners to immigrate).

Do you have a romantic interest in the UK?  If so, it is much easier to obtain sponsorship as a spouse.

Just returned to the US after a 6 month visit to England on a tourist visa- to say i love England would be an understatement- I want to move there badly- but how??

Im a special education teacher in my mid 40s- Im wondering if my teachers licence (MA) could enable me to become a Qualified teacher to teach in England.
an xpat from New York who has lived in London for 15 years told me higher education is the best path- she got her PhD and has been teaching on the college level for years

someone else told me I should think of moving to the Netherlands or Czech Republic, and over a few years from there move to England. Any xpats here who teach in England? What advice would you offer? Thanks!

I lived in the Czech Republic for several years with my English teaching wife.   It was a great experience for us, but that was back in 1995 and many things have changed since then.  I doubt you can just show up and start teaching  English without any specific qualifications or experience.  If you want to teach something else, language will be a problem.   

That said, there are English language colleges in Prague and if you can teach at that level it could work.  I have no idea how you'd sort the visa.

Good Luck!

That said, there are English language colleges in Prague and if you can teach at that level it could work.  I have no idea how you'd sort the visa.

Oh, it's easy. You show up at the border, tell the border guard that you're there for a holiday, start working, and a few weeks later your employer will drive you to Germany in a van in the dead of night and apply for a work permit for you from the Czech embassy in Berlin. I'm not even kidding. CZ can't give entry visas for work to non-EU citizens because they're bound by the EU regulations, but there's a loophole in their laws that allows work permits to be granted to people who are already working. Legal? Not exactly, but that's how it's done there. I did this in 2008, and I would emphatically not recommend it to anyone. EFL teaching in Prague is dodgy at best and straight up fraudulent at worst. The pay is terrible because people think it's still 1995, when in fact the cost of living is now so high in the city centre that Czech people can't afford to live there. Not only that, but if you don't have a British partner, working in CZ or in NL won't be of any benefit to you if you want to move to the UK.

tl;dr: Czech Republic--AVOID (except for holidays of course, it's a fascinating country. But if you work there you will be so poor you won't be able to enjoy it)

Oh, it's easy. You show up at the border, tell the border guard that you're there for a holiday, start working, and a few weeks later your employer will drive you to Germany in a van in the dead of night and apply for a work permit for you from the Czech embassy in Berlin. I'm not even kidding. CZ can't give entry visas for work to non-EU citizens because they're bound by the EU regulations, but there's a loophole in their laws that allows work permits to be granted to people who are already working. Legal? Not exactly, but that's how it's done there. I did this in 2008, and I would emphatically not recommend it to anyone. EFL teaching in Prague is dodgy at best and straight up fraudulent at worst. The pay is terrible because people think it's still 1995, when in fact the cost of living is now so high in the city centre that Czech people can't afford to live there. Not only that, but if you don't have a British partner, working in CZ or in NL won't be of any benefit to you if you want to move to the UK.

tl;dr: Czech Republic--AVOID (except for holidays of course, it's a fascinating country. But if you work there you will be so poor you won't be able to enjoy it)

Ha!  That sounds like the Prague I know and love, dodgy at best.  I'm pleasantly surprised that from the sounds of it things haven't really changed.  Even in 1995, my wife was paid roughly £600 per month and all the rents were way higher than that.  We had to do our laundry in the shower for years because we couldn't afford the laundromat. 

We could afford beer, and fried cheese and that makes up for a lot of hardship. 

Most of the time I lived there I was illegal, I can't remember anyone asking too many questions--- except when I got arrested for bombing that hospital.  See my other post for more details.

Fried cheese near the castle and white sausages in Wenceslas square is all I miss about Prague. Well, and the streetcars. My dodgy-bordering-on-fraudulent employer did pay for my travel permit, so when I couldn't afford to do anything else I would ride the streetcars and watch the city.

I get the impression that Prague in the 90s was a sort of wild west scenario, but it's not the same now. Dodgy stuff still goes on but it doesn't feel fun or free, it just feels difficult and frustrating. Or at least to me it did, YMMV.

Fried cheese near the castle and white sausages in Wenceslas square is all I miss about Prague. Well, and the streetcars. My dodgy-bordering-on-fraudulent employer did pay for my travel permit, so when I couldn't afford to do anything else I would ride the streetcars and watch the city.

I get the impression that Prague in the 90s was a sort of wild west scenario, but it's not the same now. Dodgy stuff still goes on but it doesn't feel fun or free, it just feels difficult and frustrating. Or at least to me it did, YMMV.

I'm really very sad that you didn't have the amazing time that my wife and I did.  It's funny that you've got a lot in common with my wife and I'd bet that you both taught in the same places. My wife taught at the French Institute and a school called Linguarama. Even with all that in common, we had vastly different experiences.

Our mileage did vary as we gradually found decent jobs, moved from our hovel in Zizkov into a great flat, met nice people and had big adventures.  Once I even went to a party with one of my all time heroes, President Vaclav Havel.  I was too embarrassed to say anything with my horrible Czech.

Anyway, back to the original poster, I think you can take away the fact that living in an another country just to qualify for a UK visa is not an easy way.  It's a huge adventure (or ordeal) in itself. 

Ok. Ignore what your friend has said and start at the beginning:

How can you work in the UK?
You must find a sponsor. This means an employer who has advertised a job and has not been able to find anyone in the UK or EU who is qualified (not suitable, but qualified). If they cannot find anyone else, then they can consider you. If you are offered the job, they must submit paperwork proving there was no one else (this is called the resident labour market test). They must also be approved as an employer to sponsor Tier 2 General workers. They could then issue you a restricted certificate of sponsorship and you could apply for your Tier 2 General (work) visa. the Restricted bit means you applied from outside the UK.

How you do look for work as a teacher?
Many jobs are advertised on tes.co.uk and the guardian websites. There is currently a teacher shortage in some areas, but not all. The current shortage occupations list is: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/486107/Shortage_Occupation_List_-_November_2015.pdf

Shortage occupation means you are exempt from the RLMT, but you still have to find a job and sponsor first.

Currently only high school Physics, Chemistry and Maths teacher are on the official shortage list, but I've read a lot about many schools struggling to recruit in previously abundant subjects (I am a physics teacher).

How can I get my qualifications recognised?
You will have to apply for QTS (qualified teacher status) through the following website:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/qualified-teacher-status-qts
It should be really straightforward as long as you do not have any sort of 'probationary' status...

FE has had funding cuts up the wazoo over the last 5 or so years - I wouldnt touch it with a barge pole! I've heard some pretty grim horror stories. Not that I would ever recommend teaching in the UK full stop. I wouldn't if you pride your professionalism, your home life, or your sanity. Only 60% of teacher trainees get through the first year...

I am a US teacher in Scotland. It is difficult to find a special ed job because inclusion doesn't occur to a heavy degree here. So, most special needs jobs are in separate schools, and many disabilities go undiagnosed. There is not a lot of demand for special educators because of that. At least, that is my experience here. Anyway, add math or science to your certification, but make sure it meets the teaching council standards. England is more lenient than Scotland. Then hook up with a company like U Teach or Timeplan to help you get here. If you really want to do this, apply to a University here to add the maths or science certification, then get a school to sponsor you for a Visa.
Good Luck!!