Family guide
Moving abroad with children: a school timeline
Relocation checklists usually put schooling somewhere between shipping and pet paperwork. In practice it has the longest lead time of anything in the move, and the least flexibility once term has started.
Prepared by InternationalSchools.orgPublished July 2026Last reviewed July 2026
In short
- Settle the curriculum question first. It narrows the school list more than budget or location does.
- Start contacting admissions around six months out, earlier for the years that sit inside an examination block.
- Documents and assessments take longer across time zones than families expect. Build in slack.
- Nothing is decided by the calendar alone. Availability in your child's year group decides what is actually possible.
The timeline
Compress it if your notice period is shorter. Keep the order, even when the dates move.
Twelve months out, or as soon as the move is likely
Decide the curriculum question first, because it constrains everything after it. Work out which system your child would continue in, and whether a change of system is being forced by the destination or chosen by you. Note where your child sits relative to the examination years.
If a further move is possible within a few years, portability matters more than any other single factor at this stage.
Six months out
Set your requirements in writing: year group, start date, curriculum, budget range, and the distance you are willing to travel each morning. Start contacting admissions teams. Ask about availability in your child's specific year group rather than about the school in general.
Three months out
Applications, documents and assessments. Gather school reports, passports, immunisation records and any learning-support documentation. Expect at least one assessment, and expect scheduling to take longer across time zones.
Ask each school what is refundable and by when. Deposit terms differ more than fees do.
One month out
Confirm the offer, the year group, the start date and the fee schedule in writing. Ask what the first day looks like, what uniform or equipment is needed, and who your child's named contact will be. Tell the current school the leaving date and request final reports.
The first weeks after arrival
Expect a settling period measured in months, not days. Book an early check-in with the class teacher or year lead, and keep a short record of what your child says is hard. Raise anything academic before the first reporting cycle rather than after it.
When the move is not twelve months away
Worked example
Six weeks' notice
Short-notice moves are ordinary in international work. The order of the timeline still holds, but two things change. First, you compare fewer schools, so requirements have to be decided in a single conversation rather than over months. Second, you contact admissions before anything else in the relocation, because a document request that takes a week is the constraint on everything else.
A mid-year start into a school that has a place is usually better for a child than a long gap waiting for a preferred school. See waiting lists and availability for how places free up during the year.
What we do at the six-month point
The step families find hardest is the one in the middle: turning a city and a year group into a short list of schools worth contacting. Complete one form and receive your own private school search with a recommended shortlist and other suitable schools to explore. Compare your options and choose up to three admissions teams to contact directly. No family account is required.
Admissions, assessment, availability and enrolment are decided by each school. You decide which of them hears from you.
Continue reading
School year and intake timing
Where the real intake points fall and how to time an application around a move.
Transferring between curricula
Which moves are smooth, which are not, and at which ages.
Understanding fees
The full cost of a school year, beyond the tuition figure.
Entry year and age cut-offs
Why two schools can place the same child in different year groups.
Last reviewed: July 2026
Lead times vary by city, school and year group. Where a step is described as typical, treat it as a starting point to confirm with each school rather than a rule.
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