Relocating · the sequence that works
Moving to Dubai: the schooling checklist
The order of operations matters more than the paperwork. Six steps, in the sequence experienced families follow.
- Shortlist before you land. Use the School Finder and save candidates to your shortlist — it works offline once you’ve installed the app, flight included. Check which year group your child enters and the admissions timeline for your arrival date.
- Collect documents from the current school before you leave. Recent report cards and, for Indian-curriculum moves especially, the Transfer Certificate (TC) — CBSE schools in Dubai will ask for it, and it’s far easier to obtain (and, where required, attest) while you’re still in the country. Add passports, visas, photos and vaccination records to the folder.
- Apply — to more than one school. Deposits hold places; read refund terms. Waitlists move constantly in Dubai, so an application is a position, not a verdict.
- Budget the real year. Tuition plus 15–30% extras plus transport — the calculator gives you the honest range per term and per year. 2026–27 tuition is frozen by KHDA directive.
- Visit if you possibly can. Every school page here carries a Visit Kit — questions tuned to that school’s rating — with private notes saved on your device. A morning on campus tells you what no website can.
- Enrol, and let the school drive the paperwork. Once you accept, the school’s registrar handles KHDA registration and transfer formalities and will list exactly which documents they need — requirements vary by school and by where you’re arriving from, so treat their list as the final word.
One calendar warning worth repeating. UK, US and IB schools start late August; Indian-curriculum schools run April to March. Arriving in, say, February means very different entry points depending on curriculum — factor it into the job start date if you can.