Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Layla Moran has become the latest high-profile figure to back the Tes campaign to stop non-EU teachers being turned away from Britain.
The #LetThemTeach campaign was launched following an investigation which found that international teachers were being forced to quit their jobs and leave the country at short notice because they cannot renew their visas.
With Labour and Conservative MPs already behind the campaign, #LetThemTeach now has cross-party support in Parliament.
Ms Moran backed calls for the entire teaching profession to be added to the “shortage occupation list”, which gives priority for visas each month.
She said: “At a time when schools are in the middle of a recruitment and retention crisis, it makes no sense to be turning away highly-qualified teachers.
‘Great teachers are having to leave the country’
“We have also seen great teachers who have been working in our schools having to leave the country because they could not renew their visas.
“It is time to find a real fix for this problem, so I fully support the #LetThemTeach campaign. Putting the whole of the teaching profession on the shortage occupation list could make a real difference to schools across the country.
“This is a campaign that deserves cross-party backing, and I urge teachers and parents to support it.”
The Lib Dem - a former physics and maths teacher - joins unions, the chair of the Commons Education Select Committee, the Chartered College of Teaching and the Scottish government in backing the campaign.
MPs also raised the campaign with education secretary Damian Hinds when he last appeared in front of the Education Select Committee.
Tes has also launched an online petition on the UK Parliament’s website.
Please support our campaign and sign the #LetThemTeach petition. If the petition hits 10,000 signatures, the government is obliged to formally respond to it. If it hits 100,000 signatures, it will be considered for a debate in Parliament. To sign it, click here.
Find out more about Tes’ campaign by visiting the Let Them Teach homepage.
