How to apply to international schools in Beijing

✓Decide whether the family is pursuing a school for children of foreign nationals or a regular Beijing school rather than treating every English-language program as the same route.

✓For a foreign-national school, compare the municipal route guidance with the target school's current published eligibility categories.

✓Send admissions a concise eligibility question when the family's passport, visa, residence, work, travel-permit, or overseas-residence situation does not match a published category exactly.

✓Ask which eligibility records must be ready at application, assessment, offer, and the first day of school before paying a non-refundable fee.

✓Start with Beijing's current municipal list, then verify the exact ages, curriculum, languages, campus, and admissions contact on each school website.

✓Write down non-negotiables for curriculum continuity, language, learning support, safeguarding, activities, and target start date.

✓Compare the actual campus with likely home and work locations; Shunyi and Chaoyang journeys can materially affect the family day.

✓Keep at least one realistic alternative when a preferred grade has limited capacity or the school cannot support the applicant's current needs.

✓Send the child's date of birth, current grade or year, school calendar, expected completion date, and preferred start date to admissions.

✓Ask which grade the application should use and how the school handles a move between different age cutoffs or academic calendars.

✓Confirm whether the target grade is reviewing applications, has capacity, or requires a later start before paying the application fee.

✓For older students, ask how subject sequences, examination programs, credits, and entry late in a diploma pathway affect feasibility.

✓Create separate, clearly named files for the student and each parent rather than combining unrelated identity pages into one scan.

✓Check the chosen school's list for passport photos or identity pages, birth certificate, parent work or residence evidence, student dependent visa, travel permits, or category-specific records.

✓If parents will not reside in Beijing during schooling, ask the relevant school or district authority which guardian, entrustment, certification, and notarization rules apply to that route.

✓Use the school's approved portal or confirmed secure channel and ask how updated immigration documents should be supplied when a relocation is still underway.

✓Request legible reports or transcripts for the periods named by each school and retain the originals beside any approved English translation.

✓Tell teachers, counselors, principals, or administrators to expect confidential forms sent by the target school or its application platform.

✓Check whether older students need separate administrator, counselor, English, mathematics, or personal-statement items.

✓Track every third-party record because an application may remain incomplete until references, reports, required forms, and payment are received.

✓Ask what format, language, duration, time zone, equipment, and adult presence apply to each in-person or remote assessment.

✓Help the child understand the process without rehearsing a false performance or hiding current language, learning, behavioral, or medical needs.

✓Share relevant support history through the approved process so the school can assess fit and current service capacity responsibly.

✓Ask whether language, learning, health, or accessibility support changes the timeline, offer conditions, or complete first-year cost.

✓Use the fee schedule for the correct academic year, grade, attendance pattern, payment plan, and currency.

✓Separate refundable deposits from non-refundable application, enrollment, entry, or capital amounts.

✓Add transport, meals, uniforms, devices, trips, examinations, language or learning support, and payment charges where applicable.

✓Ask an employer which items are reimbursable, who pays first, what invoice format is required, and how withdrawal or relocation is handled.

✓Read the offered campus, grade, start date, conditions, support arrangements, acceptance deadline, payment deadline, and refund terms together.

✓Confirm school-bus availability and test the home-to-campus journey during real morning and afternoon traffic before choosing housing.

✓Ask for the first-day, health, immunization, safeguarding, technology, uniform, meal, pickup, and parent-portal handoff list.

✓Record the decision and every next step in one family calendar; Premium can keep the selected school, documents, deadlines, and relocation tasks together.