Moving abroad with kids: the international school checklist

Start with the decisions that affect the move

Begin the school search when a move becomes likely. Establish which schools your child can attend, which year group they would join and when applications close. You can often make enquiries before immigration documents are complete, but an application or offer is not permission to start school.

Keep three lists: deadlines, documents and costs. Record requirements separately for each child and school. Include any language or learning support needed from the start, and discuss it before paying application fees where possible.

A planning sequence you can adapt

This sequence is a checklist, not a six-month minimum or a guarantee of a place. Work backwards from the earliest relevant school deadline. If the move is urgent, ask about current vacancies and alternatives immediately.

1. When the move becomes likely: compare curricula, entry years and eligibility. Identify schools within budget and ask about places for every child. Line up the receiving school’s calendar with the current school’s term dates.
2. Before applying: discuss support and language requirements. Obtain the document checklist, application charge and assessment arrangements. Submit a complete application within the relevant window.
3. Before accepting: confirm the offered year group, start date, conditions, support provision and complete first-year cost. Read deposit, withdrawal and refund terms.
4. While arranging housing: check the actual school journey and transport. Where public-school placement depends on residence, confirm the district’s address and registration requirements before relying on a specific school.
5. Before departure: collect the records and transfer documents the receiving school has requested. Arrange any required certification or translation through the appropriate process.
6. Before the first day: confirm registration is complete, order essentials and arrange orientation. Agree who will help your child settle and when you will review progress.

Coordinate housing and school placement

For an independent school, a confirmed place helps you choose a workable location. For a public school, the address may determine eligibility or placement, so the order can be different. Ask the district whether a catchment address guarantees the named school or whether capacity can lead to placement elsewhere.

Time the journey at the actual start and finish times, and factor in bus stops, pickup times, late buses, after-school activities and the cost for each child. Include siblings at different campuses in the plan. A short distance on a map can still mean a long daily routine.

Work from the receiving school’s document checklist

Common requests include identity documents, recent school reports, birth and vaccination records, teacher references and any existing support plan. The number of reports, accepted language and certification requirements vary, including who must issue each document, whether a scan is enough initially and when the original is due.

A transfer or leaving certificate can require specific wording and signatures. Dubai British School Mira’s instructions distinguish local transfers from pupils arriving from outside the UAE and publish country-dependent attestation requirements. Use the receiving school’s current checklist; do not assume another school’s country list or an older PDF will apply unchanged.

Contact the current school early about its format and turnaround, then agree the issue date with the receiving school. Avoid ordering a final certificate too soon or waiting until staff have left for the holidays. Keep copies of documents submitted and confirmation that they were accepted.

Separate application, offer and permission to start

Some immigration documents are needed to apply and others must be in place before attendance. If a document is pending, get any provisional arrangement and its deadline in writing. A school-specific exception should not be treated as a countrywide grace period.

Dubai British School Mira describes manual registration using a passport and transfer certificate while Emirates IDs are pending. By contrast, HKIS’s entry requirements require valid visa status or right of abode before the start of school. Each school sets its own conditions.

Placement depends on the child’s date of birth, completed schooling and intended start date. A move between different academic calendars may affect placement and course coverage. Ask for an explanation of the proposed year group, including any repeated or missed material.

Agree support before committing to a place

Share existing reports and support plans with the receiving school’s relevant team, and find out what further information it needs before commissioning a new assessment. A new educational-psychology report is not automatically necessary for every child who has received support.

Ask whether the school can meet your child’s needs in the intended grade, who would provide support, how often it would take place and what it costs, and whether provision is available at the proposed start date. A general inclusion statement does not answer these questions.

For example, UWCSEA explains that it usually cannot make first-round offers to learning-support applicants because it assesses existing students’ continuing needs through February. The timing of support decisions can therefore differ from general admissions. See our language and learning-support guide for questions to discuss with schools.

Course compatibility for older children

For a child already studying towards examinations or graduation, ask the receiving school to review subjects, exam boards, coursework and credit requirements before offering placement. Even schools using the same broad curriculum may teach topics in a different order or offer different subjects.

A written plan should show what will transfer, what must be completed and whether graduation timing changes. If a mid-course transfer would cause a substantial problem, discuss whether the family’s move can be timed differently. Our curriculum guide explains the main pathways.

What the employer will actually pay

Compare the school’s itemised quotation with the employer’s written policy before accepting an assignment package. Do not assume that “school fees covered” includes every child or every charge.

• Allowance: confirm the annual amount, currency, eligible ages and number of children, plus how future fee increases and exchange-rate changes are handled.
• Additional charges: check application, registration, capital, transport, meals, uniform, devices, examinations and support fees individually.
• Payment timing: find out whether the employer pays the school or reimburses you. A refundable loan or debenture can still require a large payment before reimbursement.
• Refunds and ownership: confirm who receives any returned deposit or debenture funds and who bears a loss if plans change.
• Assignment changes: ask what happens if the posting ends early, employment changes or a child needs to finish an examination course.
• Tax: request advice appropriate to your home and destination jurisdictions before treating the allowance as entirely available for fees.

Our fees comparison guide can help organise the budget; the school’s current quotation and your employer’s terms determine the actual commitment.

Plan the first weeks with your child

Explain what the first day will involve: the journey, timetable, uniform, lunch and where to go for help. Find out about orientation and whether there is a buddy or mentor. Give your child space to raise concerns and, where practical, involve them in choices about activities.

Arrange a check-in with the class teacher or year head after the child has had time to settle. Discuss friendships, attendance, workload and any support plan together. Avoid assuming that every child will struggle initially or recover on a fixed timetable.

Keep records for a possible later transfer

Keep reports, transcripts, support plans, course descriptions and examination records in an organised file. Before a future move, check the next school’s entry and recognition requirements and the current school’s withdrawal notice period.

For older pupils, contact the receiving school early enough to review credits and subject choices, and find out when the final transcript or leaving certificate will be available. A planned return date may need to account for examinations and graduation requirements as well as the employer’s assignment dates.