Rules And Regulations To Know Before Moving With Your Children To Dubai
This guide will provide expats with the basic information they need regarding the laws that govern schools in Dubai, before they immigrate to the city with their families.
Schools in Dubai are governed by the UAE Ministry of Education, which has established standard rules and regulations for the registration process that every institute in the city must follow.
While these rules can be found on Ministry’ website, we still recommend that you get the information confirmed by the administrative staff at any school you contact.
Rules & Regulations to Know before Moving with Children to Dubai
Let’s begin the guide. There are 3 things you need to be aware of:
Legal age for admissions
Every child in the UAE is legally required to be in school before they are 6 years old, but some institutions that follow international curriculums do accept children aged 3 years and 8 months and above.
In case of the UK curriculum, the best British schools in Dubai allow admissions from the age of 3 years.
Starting dates
There are two starting dates for all private and public institutions in the city, depending upon the choice of the curriculum they follow.
Indian, Pakistani, and Japanese sessions start in April, while the rest begin in September.
If you move to the city while an academic year is already underway, it is possible to gain admission during the first and second terms, but not the third.
The current second term started on 7th of January, 2018, and will last till March 25th, before the students get their spring break. Classes for the third term will begin from April 8th.
Transfer certificate
All parents moving to Dubai are required to provide a “Transfer Certificate” from their child’s previous academic institution.
This letter, prepared by the principle, must include the following details:
- The child’s attendance records
- The date and class/grade at which they started studying at the school
- The date and class/grade at which they left
- Whether the child was promoted to the next class or not, if they left at the end of an academic year.
The transfer certificate will need to be stamped by the previous institution, legally translated into both Arabic and English, and attested by all the relevant authorities in Dubai.
Keep in mind that this certificate will only be valid for 30 days, and you’ll need to get a residence visa and Emirates ID card before you can register your child in the desired school.
Therefore, we recommend that you start the process while you’re still in your home country, and only have the transfer certificate made when you’re sure that all other legal matters have been taken care of.
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