Taiwan

Build the shortlist around the city where you will live and work. Taipei, Hsinchu, Taichung and Kaohsiung have different school options. A place in a well-known Taipei school may not be practical for a family based elsewhere.

Taiwan’s regulations for private schools for foreign nationals restrict that school category to students with foreign nationality. Article 3 is the relevant starting point. This rule does not mean every school using “international” or “bilingual” in its name has identical admission conditions.

TAS and TES both require the child’s own foreign passport. TES also explicitly requires legal residence in Taiwan. For a dual-national child, the school decides from the documents; Taiwanese nationality neither guarantees nor automatically prevents admission.

If your child holds only Taiwanese nationality, ask the local education bureau and prospective schools about public, private or bilingual provision. Compare teaching language, the curriculum and the leaving qualification as separate questions.

Public schools can be an option for eligible international pupils with legal residence in Taiwan. Under Article 20, families apply directly with a residence permit and school records. If the school is full, they can ask the education authority about a school with vacancies.

The school may assess grade placement or offer provisional admission. Article 21 applies domestic tuition and fee rates to students admitted through this resident route. That does not mean every charge is waived or that a particular school must have a place.

Ask the local education bureau which application category applies to your child, especially where Taiwanese nationality or household registration is involved. Then discuss the language used in lessons, available Mandarin support and how a transfer would affect later qualifications.

Mandarin support varies by school. Taipei’s Xinsheng Elementary runs an assessed referral programme that places eligible pupils in regular classes with individual language support. The Taipei guide also covers Yangming’s selective high-school class for eligible overseas-talent families.

For home education or another non-school arrangement, Taiwan’s experimental-education rules distinguish individual, group and institutional provision. Applications require an education plan; the law gives 30 April and 31 October deadlines. The local education bureau decides which route and approval apply, which matters before relying on an overseas online programme.

Taipei American School offers an American curriculum with AP and IB options in high school. Taipei European School has British, French and German sections. Their different language and qualification routes are explained in our individual profiles.

Morrison Academy’s Taipei campus is in Linkou, New Taipei. Its Christian school network also has campuses in Taichung and Kaohsiung. Compare the actual campus journey with your workplace, particularly if you are looking at housing in central Taipei.

Lycée International Français de Taipei offers French schooling in Xinyi and is independent of TES’s French section.

The AEFE directory recognises LIFT’s French programme from CP through Sixième. It lists Cinquième and Quatrième without that recognition. Recognition is grade-specific, so families planning a return to France should ask about the transfer arrangements for the child’s actual class.

Bilingual schools offer another route. Kuei Shan in Beitou combines IB and Taiwan curriculum standards, with substantial Mandarin teaching before high school. Kang Chiao operates several campuses with different age ranges and application rules. These options require a language and programme discussion, particularly for children arriving without Mandarin.

Our Taipei guide explains Kuei Shan and Kang Chiao’s Xiugang campus alongside the foreign-national schools.

Hsinchu American School (HAS), Hsinchu International School (HIS) and Hsinchu County American School (HCAS) are separate schools. HCAS is in Zhubei; HAS and HIS are in Hsinchu City. Their similar names are easy to confuse when comparing fees.

Hsinchu American School’s 2026–27 semester tuition is NT$215,000 for Grades 1–5, NT$235,000 for Grades 6–8 and NT$245,000 for Grades 9–12. Books/software and annual mandatory fees are separate.

Its new-student capital charge is NT$100,000 for one child or NT$180,000 for a family enrolling more than one child.

For one new Grade 9 pupil at HAS, the published charges total NT$738,720 for 2026–27 before lunch and transport. This calculation includes two semesters of tuition and books/software, NT$95,000 in annual mandatory fees, the NT$100,000 capital fee and NT$5,000 entrance fee. It assumes a family enrolling one child.

HAS refunds 50% of tuition for withdrawal in the first four weeks of a semester and 25% in weeks five to eight. Its annual mandatory fees are non-refundable, which matters if your move date is uncertain.

Hsinchu International School: secondary fees

HIS is at 290 Niu Pu East Road. Its 2026–27 secondary fee sheet covers Grades 7–12 and lists tuition of NT$256,200 per semester. A new Grade 9 pupil’s full-year baseline is NT$603,000: two semesters of tuition, annual registration and resource charges, insurance, sports kit, entrance testing and the single-child capital fee. A required Apple laptop, English support, meals and transport are additional. This calculation does not apply to elementary grades.

The same sheet lists English support at NT$38,000 per semester. It refunds 50% of tuition, lunch and transport charges for withdrawal during the first four weeks; after that, no refund is given. Full-week proration applies to late entry, not to withdrawal refunds.

Hsinchu County American School: confirm individual support

HCAS is at 189 Gaotie 2nd Road in Zhubei. Its admissions FAQ says support decisions depend on the child’s needs and the school’s capacity. A family may need to fund additional staffing. Transport also depends on the home address, so confirm both arrangements before choosing housing.

HCAS has no published 2026–27 fee schedule that we could find, and older fee documents do not show whether boarding is currently offered.

The science-park bilingual school has a separate process

The International Bilingual School at Hsinchu Science Park follows a separate eligibility framework. Conditions depend on the relevant employment, nationality and overseas-residence category; priority rules and language assessment may also apply. Working in technology alone does not guarantee admission.

Eligibility depends on the family’s category, set out in the school’s current-year admission guide; its 2026–27 eligibility documents are listed on the official admissions page.

IBSH’s conditional admission route is available only when recruitment under the main categories falls below 80% of the approved quota. It includes specified foreign-professional and foreign-worker categories; it is not an unrestricted alternative application. Some conditional categories have separately approved fees.

The guide distinguishes the English admission exam from Chinese testing used for language-class placement. Its second-semester application window is 28–31 December 2026. The mid-semester route is limited to certain science-park employee categories applying to Grades 1–8.

American School in Taichung is a separate, non-religious day school serving Grades 1–12. It has no dormitory. Its admissions FAQ requires a foreign passport and explains that a foreign permanent-residence card alone is insufficient.

AST offers Chinese for native and non-native speakers and publishes morning, dismissal and activity-bus services. Stops and late services depend on your address, which is worth comparing with Morrison’s Taichung campus.

In Kaohsiung’s Dashu district, I-Shou offers an international study route and a separate bilingual national-curriculum programme for Grades 7–12. The latter prepares pupils for Taiwan’s examinations. Establish the intended programme before discussing fees or university destinations.

I-Shou’s admissions assessments include Chinese and English; the tests differ by grade and programme. Pupils in Grades 6–12 may apply for boarding.

Kaohsiung American School provides education from pre-kindergarten through Grade 12, using American standards alongside the IB Middle Years and Diploma programmes. It is a separate institution from Taipei American School.

KAS’s 2026–27 tuition ranges from NT$243,150 to NT$291,850 per semester. New students also pay a US$8,000 capital fee, expressly payable in US dollars. Registration, application, language support and other charges are additional.

A new Grade 9 student’s two semesters of tuition plus annual registration total NT$618,700, with the US$8,000 capital fee payable separately. The fee sheet also lists NT$5,000 for application and admissions testing; the admissions webpage describes assessment as conditional, so confirm whether it applies. Meals, transport and support are excluded from this example.

The NT$10,000 semester capital charge is for returning students, rather than an additional charge in the new-student example. English support costs NT$10,000–65,000 per semester according to assessment. Supplemental learning support is billed at cost.

KAS requires pupils to hold a foreign passport. English-support places in Pre-K–Grade 2 are limited; older applicants must demonstrate English literacy, and Grades 8–12 require strong academic English. Discuss the assessment and available support before making relocation commitments.

KAS describes classroom support, small-group or individual lessons, one-to-one teaching assistants and curriculum modifications. It also contracts with outside specialists when needed, and some of that provision is charged outside tuition. A service list is not a promise of a place in each service.

Morrison gives first admission priority to missionary children, followed by children of Christian workers. Other applicants are considered individually, including their family’s alignment with the school’s values.

Its published policy says it does not knowingly admit non-missionary pupils who have learning needs, and that profound learning needs exceed its admission provision. This is a significant restriction to resolve before applying; send existing assessments to the admissions team.

For Grades 6–12, pupils whose English is assessed as more than one grade below average are ineligible under the stated policy. The Taichung boarding programme also has separate eligibility and applications; a day-school offer is not a boarding offer.

These examples are for one new Grade 9 day pupil attending two semesters. Each includes tuition, building charges, annual registration, the entrance fee and one admissions test. Meals, transport, support and activities are additional.

At the Taipei campus in Linkou, the total is NT$751,500: two semesters of NT$314,000 tuition and NT$30,000 building fees, plus NT$30,000 registration, NT$30,000 entrance and NT$3,500 testing.

At Taichung, the equivalent total is NT$717,500. Semester tuition is NT$297,000; the building, registration, entrance and testing charges match the Taipei example. Boarding adds NT$185,300 per semester for the dormitory and NT$25,000 for the food plan.

At Kaohsiung, the equivalent day-pupil total is NT$674,500. Tuition is NT$288,000 and the building fee NT$17,500 per semester; registration, entrance and testing match the other examples. The school lists lunch at NT$12,000 per semester and asks families to obtain outsourced bus prices separately.

The Taichung dormitory normally serves Grades 9–12, with limited routes for younger applicants. Its policy normally requires a previous year at Morrison, with specified exceptions. Children of non-missionary parents living outside Taiwan are normally ineligible. Families based overseas must nominate an adult in Taiwan for times when the dormitory is closed. Resolve these conditions before treating boarding as an option.

NT$ means New Taiwan dollars. Keep NT$ and US$ in separate columns until you make a dated currency conversion. Distinguish semester tuition from annual totals and separate additional charges from advance payments credited to tuition.

For TAS, the NT$50,000 enrolment deposit is already included in the published annual tuition. At TES, a returning student’s NT$50,000 deposit is credited to the next semester. Adding either deposit to full tuition again overstates the cost.

Ask your employer which charges its education allowance covers: application, capital, prescribed support, transport, equipment and examinations may be treated differently. If the allowance has an annual cap, ask how a large one-time charge is handled.

For a posting that might end mid-year, compare withdrawal deadlines before paying. A deposit described as non-refundable can still be part of tuition, while a capital fee may have separate refund rules.

First confirm eligibility for each child. Then check availability in the correct grade and language section, and have the school review any learning-support reports. Once a place is plausible, compare the complete cost and both the school and work journeys.

For older pupils, send current subjects and school reports early. Ask which credits transfer and whether the proposed qualification meets the requirements of likely next schools or universities.

Before accepting, request a written offer, a fee breakdown, the withdrawal terms and the transport arrangements. Keep the school’s current documents with your relocation plan so that deadlines are easy to find.

Taipei American School: fees, AP and IB, and admissions

Taipei European School: language sections, support and fees

We checked the linked official sources on 4–5 September 2026. The school profiles contain the detailed fee and policy references. This is a researched starting point, not a complete national directory or a guarantee of admission.

Availability, support and transport must be confirmed for your child. We have not used old parent anecdotes to describe the current atmosphere of a school.