HUNDREDS of overseas teachers planning to work in the UK for a year or longer will be able to stay only until August under work permit rules announced this month.

Many could decide it is not worth coming to this country for such a short period, says the TimePlan supply agency, which had expected 600 teachers to arrive over the next few months, more than a third of them in January.

The majority are experienced teachers who need work permits either because they are over 28 and do not qualify for a working holiday visa or come from Jamaica, the United States and other countries not covered by this visa scheme.

Some, such as Victor van der Merwe, 55, a maths teacher from South Africa, have already bought their flights and still plan to come. But Mr van der Merwe and his wife, who had hoped to stay for at least 18 months, fear for their pre-retirement “adventure”.

“The whole move cost us quite a bit of money and we would not have done this if we had known that it would only be for six months,” says the former deputy principal.

Work permits are normally issued to employers, rather than recruitment agencies, but in October 2000, the Home Office began granting permits to TimePlan and two other agencies, Dream Education and Protocol Teachers. The Home Office, which says this was an error, is piloting a scheme that allows all supply agencies to apply for permits for overseas teachers.

But with the scheme running only until August 31, 2002, agencies will no longer be able to guarantee a year’s work to teachers such as Natasha Scott, from New York.

One of 50 American teachers recently recruited by TimePlan, Ms Scott decided to come to the UK despite her nervousness about flying after the events of September 11. She is taking a year’s sabbatical from her Brooklyn school and giving up her rented apartment to work at St Anthony’s primary in Newham, east London, in January. “I’m still more than likely to come although there is some hesitation in my mind about moving to another country with my daughter and then coming back after a few months,” she says.

TimePlan predicts that the decision to put a time limit on work permits of the end of August will lead to a renewed teacher supply crisis next September. Earlier this week the agency successfully applied to the High Court for an order instructing the Home Office to explain its conduct - the first step in seeking an injunction. However, Dream Education and Protocol Teachers take a more relaxed view of the situation.

Most of the Australian, Canadian and South African teachers recruited by Dream to start work in January are on two-term contracts. Those wanting to stay beyond August could be re-employed directly by schools or LEAs, which would then be able to apply for new work permits for them, says a spokeswoman for the agency.

Protocol, formed from the merger of Spring Education and Initial Education, has recruited about 1,000 teachers from all over the world for the current academic year. Of these, 300 or so need work permits. But, since all but a handful are employed by schools or LEAs, which are not affected by the August 31 cut-off, the agency does not have a problem with the new regulations.

The Home Office says the pilot scheme will be reviewed in the spring and could be extended. So teachers such as Victor van der Merwe and Natasha Scott may have their work permits renewed - but only after facing months of uncertainty in a foreign country.

WORK PERMITS: WHO’S EXEMPT?

Applications for work permits can only be made by employers or - for the duration of the pilot scheme - by teacher-supply agencies. Individuals cannot apply.

People who do not need work permits include:

* citizens of countries in the European Economic Area - Austria,Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden;

* Commonwealth citizens with a grandparent born in the UK;

* husbands, wives and dependent children of people who have work permits or who come under one of the above categories;

* teachers and language assistants taking part in approved exchange schemes; and

* Australians, New Zealanders, Canadians and South Africans up to the age of 28 who hold two-year working holiday visas.

Further information is available on www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk