School in China: international, an international division, or Chinese

Yes, your children can go to school in China, and you have three routes: a school for children of foreigners, the international division of a Chinese school, or an ordinary Chinese school. The ordinary school is open to foreign children, but lessons are in Chinese and admission follows fixed enrolment rounds and, for senior high school, an entrance exam. You pay the fees of an international school yourself, unless your employer covers them; that allowance is tax-free in China until the end of 2027. So negotiate it before you sign.

Which routes are there?

Route	Language and curriculum	How you get in
School for children of foreigners	own language and curriculum, from kindergarten to senior high	directly with the school
International division of a Chinese school	own curriculum for foreign pupils	same admission rules as the international schools (Shanghai)
Ordinary Chinese public or private school	Chinese, with Chinese classmates	via the education bureau or the city's enrolment platform

In Beijing there are sixteen schools for children of foreigners, in the Chaoyang, Haidian and Shunyi districts, most from kindergarten up to and including senior high. Shanghai publishes a list of more than thirty international schools, kindergartens and international divisions, from American and British to German, French, Japanese and Korean schools.

How do you get into an ordinary Chinese school?

Foreign pupils at an ordinary school take part in all educational activities, just like Chinese pupils. Enrolment differs per city:

• Beijing: for primary and junior high school you enrol via the city's compulsory education enrolment platform, usually in May; for senior high school you contact the school directly.
• Shanghai: for public primary and junior high schools the proximity principle applies, so your address decides the school; private schools draw lots. For a kindergarten you go to your district's education bureau.

Senior high school has its own gate. In Shanghai the way into senior high school runs through the city's entrance exam (zhongkao). For 2026 group registration ran from 19 to 30 January and individual registration from 25 to 27 February, and all documents had to remain valid until 7 May. A child who arrives at twelve or thirteen without Chinese has a short run-up. So choose deliberately for teenagers, and not only in the exam year.

For 2026 a pupil with a foreign passport who is under eighteen and lives in Shanghai on a valid visa may register in one district, the district of their own school; that district's education bureau allocates a place based on the exam results. If the parents themselves do not live in the city while the child is at school there, Beijing asks for an official entrustment appointing a permanent resident as guardian, with a notarised birth certificate and a letter of attorney; the guardian has the acceptance notarised in Beijing.

Which time limits count?

What	Time limit
Enrolment for primary and junior high school, Beijing	usually in May, via the city's platform
Group registration for senior high school, Shanghai 2026	19 to 30 January, via the pupil's own school
Individual registration, Shanghai 2026	25 to 27 February
Documents valid until, Shanghai 2026	7 May
Residence permit for a child on their own study visa (X1)	apply within 30 days of arrival; extend 30 days before expiry
Tax-free allowances from your employer	up to and including 31 December 2027

What does this mean for your district and your budget?

In Shanghai your address decides the public school, and the international schools in Beijing are concentrated in three districts. The choice of school and that of district therefore go together: choose the school first, then the home, and only then the tenancy agreement.

For money, two things matter. International school fees are a big item, and the amounts differ per school; ask for them before the salary negotiation. And for tax, a scheme for foreigners applies in China up to and including 31 December 2027: allowances for housing, language lessons and children's school fees are tax-free, if you choose this instead of the ordinary special additional deductions. You choose one of the two per tax year and cannot switch within that year.

Tax choice for foreigners, up to and including 2027	What it means
Exempt allowances	housing, language lessons and school fees from your employer tax-free
Additional deductions	the ordinary deductions for Chinese residents
Switching	not within the same tax year

How insurance for your family works is in healthcare in China; what else your employer is obliged to do, in working in China.

In Vertrekklaar this is phase 5 of 5 of the journey, step 5.7: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to China or go straight to step 5.7 in the open plan.