As a 52 year old looking at school teacher job advertisements and then scrolling down to person criteria the same no older than 40 or 60 is listed.  Age limits teach abroad work & residency chart below I complied to help or prevent people from making a costly mistake.

When a young woman in her twenties called me dad on the bus, then maybe I am definitely aging. Sure, the lines on my face are getting deeper, that does not mean I am any less capable than someone half my age.  Us older teachers and lecturers have built up considerable knowledge, skills, experience; know what works, and what does not.

Age requirement

Have you seen on the internet references to age limits for school, language centre, universities and people talking about employer’s age preference?

Yes, it’s good you are offered a job and told to start the paperwork, medical, arrive by a certain date. Some things are out of a school and our control, namely obtaining a work & residency permit for the country you have been offered a job.  Forget countries Saudi Arabia, Brunei or teaching at a government school in South Korea after a successful education career in your home country.  You are already too old at 61 for these 3 countries to obtain a work permit or to reside legally for the duration of your contract.

Government departments decide and issue permits for a foreign teacher to work and teach at a school in the country.  Even if you are over the advertised age limit case by case school requests to the immigration department can happen in a number of countries.

Reported in a gulf regional newspaper The National, since January 2011 the Ministry of Labour in United Arab Emirates schools can request an over 60 year old teacher be given a work related residency. This makes the UAE age limit 65 effectively.  Normally, what would happen is that you would receive a 12 months visa, instead of a 2-3 year visa that younger teachers receive.   This would be for an international school teacher, management position or a university lecturer.

Looking at Kuwait where there is always international school jobs for kindergarten, primary and high school, you can be employed by a school up to 60 years.  Kuwait has no official working age limit, although they do have a hiring limit to age 60 for foreign educators. Reported in the Arabtimesonline working age limit can extend to 65+ as long as you work for the same employer.

I taught in Kuwait in 2006/7 and one teacher was hired at 67 from Canada.  The hire age limit was reduced to 60, and talk of it being lowered once again, as local workers take over the jobs of expatriates.

How to search for teacher jobs overseas

This guidance is from my personal experience teaching overseas:

• Conduct through research on the legal requirements to work and stay in the country you wish to teach.  You could contact the embassy, look/ask questions on forums

• Be realistic of what you can achieve. Some countries give older educators permission to teach case by case, for example you have specialist/shortage skills, no younger person applied to fill the post

• Make a list of countries to teach abroad where age is not an issue to work as an older teacher, see if one or more fits in with what you are looking for

• Do not be tempted to teach on a business visa I was offered.  You would not be legal, except possibly Cambodia

• Look at paying for your own medical insurance or top up.  Schools and universities in some countries can not get insurance to cover you for accident or other eventualities over a certain age

• Apply for jobs in countries and areas where there is a greater need for teachers. Maybe you wish to spend time working in China, but you are too old for Beijing, Shanghai or Chengdu.  Why not look to experience other provinces in China that older teachers are readily accepted by schools and issued legal Z visa’s by the immigration department. You can then visit the area during holidays or when you complete your contract

• Don’t apply, or at least expect to be offered a job during peak recruitment time of January to April.  Wait until May on wards or even until just before schools start. A school can ask immigration in certain countries, such as Oman for permission to sponsor a teacher above the standard age limit.  Oman is always looking for English teachers to work in government training colleges

• State your specialist knowledge, skills, experience, cultural awareness, up to date with curriculum & technology in the classroom

• Rumour and gossip does not count. Actual facts are what matters, such as government forms, websites and national press reporting government quotes or interviews. Thailand is widely quoted online as 50 age limit a working visa.  This is not true.    Yes, Thailand hires teachers and experience, qualifications, age and image are top of their list.  Schools seem to like hiring younger teachers under 50 years old

• Ask a school if they have obtained or been denied a working visa for teachers over the standard age limit requirement.  You could also enquire when speaking to recruitment agents

• Think very carefully before flying off to a country, starting or looking for a job, completing all paperwork and medical in that foreign country.  Recruiters and some schools are looking to fill a post and may not have your best interests to mind.  All about risk. Do you wish to fly out to Qatar or Taiwan on a tourist visa, as you can, arriving and finding out you can not obtain a work permit?     This happened to me for Qatar.  I was informed a 12 week wait before the school can start the process for my paperwork.  The school had used up it’s allocation of British people for visas.  Was I happy after giving notice on my house rental and giving away most of my possessions to start a new chapter in my life?

You are an asset, a qualified teacher with successful classroom experience.  Around the world there is a short of teachers. Governments realise this and are slowly allowing older teachers work & residency visa’s where before they were denied because of age restrictions.

A country official retirement age is a good indicator of when the maximum age limit a person can obtain a legal residency & work permit.

The following table is a guide only as laws are changing all the time September 2017

Country                           School/University               Age Limit                                Comments

Add a comment below or send your experience via the contact button above.  The above table of age limits for teach abroad work & residency via will be up dated periodically.