Where Can You Teach English Abroad Today

Teaching English abroad is open to you in most of Asia, the Gulf, Europe and Latin America, but each region sets its own rules. A 120-hour TEFL certificate is the usual minimum, most of Asia and the Gulf also need a bachelor’s degree for a work visa, and your passport decides where you can legally work.

Key takeaways

• East Asia and the Gulf pay the most, and most posts there need a degree as well as a TEFL certificate.
• South Korea’s E-2 teaching visa is limited to seven nationalities: the UK, Ireland, the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
• Europe is the easiest region for EU citizens. UK and US teachers need a visa or a government programme to work there legally.
• Latin America pays less, but degree rules are looser and hiring is often face to face.
• An accredited 120-hour certificate is the standard entry level. An Ofqual-regulated Level 5 diploma helps for the better paid and stricter markets.

Where can you teach English abroad?

You can teach English abroad in four broad regions, and they work very differently. East Asia has the largest number of jobs and the most structured hiring. The Gulf states pay the highest salaries. Europe offers lifestyle and short travel times from home, and Latin America offers the easiest entry with the lowest pay.

Within each region, the type of employer matters as much as the country. Government programmes such as EPIK in South Korea and the JET Programme in Japan place teachers in state schools with fixed pay and support. Private language schools hire all year round and set their own terms. International schools usually want a full teaching licence, and universities often ask for a master’s degree.

If you are still weighing up what you need before you choose a country, our guide to the qualifications to teach English abroad covers the paperwork in detail.

Which countries pay the most for teaching English abroad?

The Gulf and East Asia pay the most for teaching English abroad, and many contracts there also include housing or flights. The table below gives typical starting pay from our country guides, which are checked against official and employer sources. Euro figures are approximate, converted at European Central Bank reference rates for 1 July 2026 and rounded.

Headline pay is only half the picture. A South Korean salary with free housing can leave you with more savings than a higher Gulf salary once rent is paid, and a modest Vietnamese or Thai wage goes a long way where living costs are low. Each country guide breaks down rent, transport and everyday costs, so compare those before you compare salaries.

Do you need a degree to teach English abroad?

You need a bachelor’s degree for most teaching jobs in East Asia and the Gulf, because it is a condition of the work visa rather than an employer preference. South Korea, Japan, China, Vietnam, Thailand and the UAE all ask for one. No TEFL qualification at any level replaces a degree where the visa requires it.

Without a degree, your options narrow but do not disappear. Parts of Europe and Latin America hire teachers without one, and some government programmes accept students. Our guide to teaching English abroad without a degree lists the countries where it is realistic.

What TEFL certificate do you need to teach abroad?

Most employers abroad ask for an accredited TEFL certificate of at least 120 hours. That is the level schools mean when an advert says “TEFL required”, and it is enough for most language schools, government programmes and online platforms. Our 120-hour TEFL certificate covers that baseline.

A higher qualification starts to matter in the stricter and better paid markets. The Level 5 TEFL Diploma is Ofqual-regulated, sits on the public Ofqual register (qualification number 610/1571/4) and is awarded by Highfield Qualifications, so an employer or visa office can check it rather than take your word for it. On EPIK in South Korea, a TEFL certificate can also move you onto a higher pay level.

How do work visas work for English teachers?

In most countries your employer sponsors your work visa, and you apply only after you have a signed job offer. The rules are set by each government, so they change, and the details below are a starting point rather than legal advice.

• South Korea: the E-2 visa needs citizenship of one of seven English-speaking countries, a bachelor’s degree, an apostilled criminal record check and a health check.
• Japan: a bachelor’s degree is the standard requirement for a teaching work visa. The JET Programme handles the visa for its own participants.
• The Gulf: your degree must be attested, and school posts in the UAE also need a UAE teaching licence.
• Europe: EU citizens can work freely across the EU. Most other nationalities, including British teachers since Brexit, need a work permit or a government programme.

Before you accept any offer, check the current entry rules on your own government’s travel advice pages. UK readers can use GOV.UK foreign travel advice, which covers entry requirements for every country.

Can you teach English abroad from the UK after Brexit?

Yes, but Europe is harder than it used to be. Since the UK left the EU, British teachers no longer have an automatic right to work in Spain, Italy, France or the rest of the EU, so most need a visa sponsored by an employer or a place on a government scheme such as Spain’s language assistant programme. Irish passport holders keep full EU rights.

Outside Europe, little has changed for British applicants. The UK is one of the seven nationalities eligible for South Korea’s E-2 visa, and British graduates are recruited across Japan, China, South East Asia and the Gulf on the same terms as before.

When should you apply for teaching jobs abroad?

Apply three to six months before you want to start, because visa paperwork such as degree apostilles and criminal record checks takes weeks. Timing also depends on the country.

• South Korea: EPIK teachers start in late February or late August, and applications close several months before each intake. Private academies hire all year.
• Japan: the school year starts in April, so most hiring runs through the winter before.
• Europe: private language schools hire mainly for the September term. In Poland, for example, most recruiting runs from late August to October, with a second wave in January.
• The Gulf and South East Asia: hiring runs year round, with peaks before each school term.

What is a teaching job abroad actually like?

Most teaching jobs abroad are one-year contracts with a set number of classroom hours, plus lesson planning on top. The shape of the week depends on the employer more than the country.

In a state school on a government programme, you usually work school hours from Monday to Friday, often alongside a local co-teacher who handles discipline and translation. Classes can be large, the curriculum is set for you, and holidays follow the school calendar. In South Korea, EPIK teachers normally receive free housing or a housing allowance and one month’s severance pay after completing a full year.

In a private language school, the timetable follows the students. Children come after school and adults come before or after work, so afternoons, evenings and Saturdays are common. Classes are smaller, you get more say in what you teach, and you can usually start at any point in the year.

Business English and exam preparation sit at the top end. Teaching professionals in companies, or preparing students for exams such as IELTS, tends to pay more per hour and suits teachers who already have some classroom experience.

What does it cost to move abroad to teach?

Budget for the gap between arriving and your first full pay packet, which can be several weeks. The main costs are your flight, visa fees, document checks, a deposit on a flat and living costs until payday.

How much of that you pay yourself varies a great deal. Government programmes and many contracts in South Korea, Japan, China and the Gulf cover housing, and some reimburse flights at the end of the contract. In Europe and Latin America you usually find and pay for your own accommodation, so you need more savings before you go.

Paperwork costs are easy to forget. Criminal record checks, degree apostilles or attestation, medical checks and certified copies of your TEFL certificate all add up, and some countries need them legalised before they are accepted. Start this early, because it is also the slowest part of the process.

Should you teach abroad or teach English online?

Teach abroad if you want to live in another culture and are free to move for a year. Teach online if you want to keep your home base, start quickly or test the job before committing to a contract overseas.

The two are not exclusive. Many teachers start online while their visa paperwork is processed, and others keep a few online students while they teach abroad. The same 120-hour certificate is accepted by most online platforms, so the qualification you need is the same either way. Our guide to teaching English online explains how online work compares.

How do you choose the right country to teach in?

Start with the rules you cannot change, then choose on lifestyle. Check which countries accept your passport and your degree status first, because that removes most options in a few minutes. Then compare what you would save, not what you would earn, using each country guide’s living costs.

After that, think about the job itself. Government programmes suit first-time teachers who want support and fixed hours. Private schools offer more choice of city and start date. If you want ideas on where to live once you have a shortlist, our ranking of the best cities to teach English abroad compares the main teaching cities region by region.

For a step by step plan from qualification to first contract, read how to become an English teacher abroad.

Get qualified to teach English abroad

Whichever country you choose, the first step is the same: an accredited TEFL certificate that employers and visa offices will accept. Our Level 5 TEFL Diploma is Ofqual-regulated and on the public register, so it carries weight in the strictest markets, and you can study it online at your own pace. The TEFL Institute Group has certified 161,000 teachers since 2017, now working in 80 countries.

Get TEFL qualified to teach abroad

Jessica Jeffery

Recruitment and Partnerships Specialist. Holds a business degree plus TEFL and CELTA, taught in Thailand and Italy, and helps students find high quality jobs and internships.