The core documents every school wants
Every international school admissions office, regardless of curriculum or country, opens an application file with broadly the same six documents. A completed application form. A copy of the child’s passport. A copy of both parents’ passports. A recent passport-style photograph. The two most recent school reports from the current school. A signed acknowledgement of the admissions policy and fee schedule.
If those six items are missing, the registrar will pause the file before any assessment happens, send a chase email, wait, and in many cases not chase again. Applications fall out of the queue not because they are weak but because they are not actionable. This is by far the most common reason for an apparently strong family receiving no offer at a target school. Treat the core six as the floor, not the ceiling.
School records and reports
The most recent two academic reports are the standard request, although some schools ask for three years of records for upper-school applicants. Reports should be in the language of instruction at the receiving school or accompanied by a certified translation; we cover translation requirements below. The report should show grades, teacher comments, and ideally attendance and behaviour records. A typed transcript on school letterhead is acceptable; a parent-summarised version is not.
Schools also routinely ask for standardised test scores if the current school administers them. CAT4, MAP, ISA, ERB and similar internal assessments are accepted. If the child has sat an external admissions test for any other school recently, you may include the result, although schools prefer their own assessment for placement.
One file. Ready to submit. Everywhere.
Build the full documents pack once and submit identical files to every school on your shortlist. Our school finder outputs a per-school checklist so you can see what each campus requires before you start.
References from the previous school
Most international schools require a reference from the current school’s head teacher, principal or admissions registrar. The reference is normally sent school-to-school rather than via the family, which means you will be asked to nominate the contact and complete a release form. Build the relationship early: the head teacher who has known your family for five years writes a more useful reference than one who has known them for five months.
The reference covers academic performance, social and behavioural fit, attendance, and any safeguarding flags. It is not a marketing document and parents do not normally see it. If you have concerns about a previous incident, address it openly with the new school in your parent statement rather than hoping the reference will not mention it. Read our guide to references from abroad for the practical detail.
Identity and immigration papers
Passport copies for the child and both parents are universal. Schools in some countries also require a copy of the child’s residence permit or visa, although many schools accept a visa application receipt while the permit is in process. Birth certificates are increasingly requested, particularly where the child’s nationality differs from either parent. If the child holds multiple passports, schools generally ask for whichever passport will be used to enter the country of school.
For families relocating with corporate transfers, the employer letter confirming relocation timing and family status is useful, particularly where the school operates corporate priority arrangements. Read our corporate priority admissions piece for the wider context.
Medical and safeguarding records
Vaccination records are normally required before enrolment, although schools differ on which vaccines are mandatory. Provide the full childhood immunisation record from the family’s GP. Allergy, medication and any chronic condition documentation should be included up front; schools cannot plan adequate care for a child whose medical profile arrives on the first day of term.
Schools may also ask for a safeguarding declaration, often phrased as a question about any history of concerns at previous schools. Answer this honestly. Misrepresentation discovered later is a serious matter and almost always results in withdrawal of the offer. Where genuine concerns exist, a frank conversation with the admissions team in advance is almost always handled supportively.
Special cases: SEN, EAL, gifted
Children with special educational needs, with English as an additional language, or with identified gifted profiles should have the supporting documentation prepared and submitted with the application rather than disclosed later. Educational psychologist reports, EHCP or IEP documents, language assessment results and any external testing should be included.
The reason is practical. Schools have finite places in their SEN provision and finite EAL capacity. They can plan for an incoming child if they know the profile in advance. They cannot if the information emerges in the first term. Read our piece on neurodivergent children at international schools for the strategic context.
Translations and apostille requirements
Any document not in the language of instruction normally requires a certified translation. The standard is a translator’s stamp and signature, with the original document attached. Some countries additionally require apostille certification for school records: notably the UAE for KHDA registration, parts of South East Asia, and certain Latin American countries. Apostille is the legalised confirmation of authenticity and is obtained from the issuing country’s foreign office or designated authority.
Apostille processes take six to twelve weeks in most jurisdictions, considerably longer in some. Start the process the moment you confirm relocation. Families who arrive in country and only then learn they need an apostilled school record can spend a full term on temporary enrolment status.
How to submit and what happens next
Most international schools accept PDF submissions through an online admissions portal. Larger schools provide a parent account; smaller schools work through email. Submit clean, named files: child surname, document type, year. The registrar appreciates files that do not need renaming.
After submission, the school confirms receipt within a week, schedules an assessment or interview where required, and provides an admissions decision normally within four to eight weeks. For oversubscribed year groups, the file moves to the waitlist pool and you should expect the longer process described in our waitlist guide.
One operational tip that saves families a great deal of time: build a single master folder, ideally in a cloud storage service, with subfolders for identity, school records, medical, references, and supporting evidence. Each document appears once, named to a consistent convention. When the next school requests a particular item, you copy the file into a per-school submission folder rather than scanning, renaming or chasing the original. Families who treat the documents pack as a one-time exercise produce stronger applications than those who reassemble it from scratch for every school.
Expect the receiving school to come back with two or three follow-up requests after initial review. A missing page, a clarifying note on a behavioural comment, an updated vaccination certificate. Build in two extra weeks at the back of your timeline for that iteration. It is part of the normal process, not a sign of trouble with your application. Schools that handle their admissions well operate this way; schools that do not are usually the ones to avoid.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need certified copies of every document or are scans acceptable? Most schools accept high-quality scans for initial application. Certified copies or originals are normally required at enrolment, not at application.
What if the previous school refuses to release a reference? Rare but it happens. Ask the receiving school whether a letter from another adult in a professional capacity, such as a tutor or coach, can substitute or supplement. Schools handle this case-by-case.
How long are documents valid? Reports should be the most recent available; older than twelve months and the registrar will likely request an update. Passport copies are valid as long as the passport itself.
Can I submit documents in stages? Yes. Submit what you have, flag what is in process, and follow up with the missing items. Schools prefer a partial submission with a clear plan to a delayed full submission.