Renewing your registration before you return to NZ

If you hold a New Zealand teaching qualification, and have been teaching overseas, you’ll need to get the following things sorted before you can teach again in New Zealand:

  • Confirm your registration status with the Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand.
  • Obtain police clearance from any overseas country where you have lived for 12 months or more in the last 10 years. (It’s much easier to get police clearance before returning to NZ. If you apply for it from NZ, you may experience considerable delays).
  • Get a New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) assessment if you’ve gained qualifications overseas
  • For pay purposes, you must provide recognition of relevant work while overseas from each educational employer. This is known as a Statement of Service and must:
    • be on your employer’s original letterhead
    • state the start and finish dates of your employment
    • state whether your employment was part-time or full-time and, if part-time, it must state the number of days worked. This is especially important if your employer was an agency. It must also state whether the service was continuous.

If you are a New Zealand-qualified teacher who hasn’t been teaching while overseas, you‘ll still need to have these things sorted before you can teach again in New Zealand:

  • Confirm your registration status with the Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand and apply for registration and a practising certificate if you are unregistered or a current practising certificate if your practising certificate has expired. 
  • For pay purposes, you must provide recognition of relevant work while overseas.

If you have not taught in New Zealand for some time then it is unlikely that you will be unable to renew your full practising certificate, as you won't meet the New Zealand teaching service requirements during the last five years. In these circumstances you will need to apply for "subject to confirmation" practising certificate from the Education Council. For further information about the requirements and to access the Council's application forms visit the Teaching Council website.

 

New Zealand Teachers Council New Zealand Education Gazette New Zealand Qualifications Authority Immigration New Zealand