International Schools in Thailand: Fees and How to Choose in 2026

International schools in Thailand should be compared by program, specific class and payment structure. International School Bangkok (ISB) publishes an annual fee of 1,015,000 ฿ for the primary level (KG–5), and British International School Phuket (BISP) publishes 982,700 ฿ for the Year 12 class. These are different levels, not interchangeable offers for the same child.

Current as of publication. Terms may change; the update date does not mean that all fees refer to the same academic period. Tuition and the money needed at enrollment vary: check fees, services and the deposit separately.

Start with your child’s needs, then request an individual fee estimate from the suitable campus. To link education costs with housing and commuting expenses, see cost of living in Thailand: school fees cover only part of the family budget.

How Much International Schools in Thailand Cost: Published Fees

Start with the class the school is willing to offer your child. Foreign level designations cannot be automatically equated with Russian grade levels, and the senior school fee cannot be applied to primary school.

Published fees:

The fee page of Mill Hill Thailand School has conflicting dates. The amounts are published, but for the chosen start date a written fee estimate from the school is required.

These examples do not define the average price across the country. For comparison, request offers for levels suitable for your child with an equally detailed list of included services and the payment period specified.

Read the table row by row: first the school and class, then the amount and the limits on its use. If your child is offered a different level, the price published here remains a reference for getting to know the school, but does not replace your child’s own fee. Ask the admissions office to link the offer to your child’s age, enrollment date and class designation in the contract.

First-Year and Following-Year Budget: Tuition, Fees and Deposit

Split the estimate into tuition, enrollment payments, annual charges, services and deposit. Each item should have a clear purpose, payment deadline and refund terms.

Published payments:

Amounts for International School Bangkok (ISB) are published on the official ISB fee page. The annual charge is listed for the 2026/27 school year; this is not a basis for assigning the same period to all other line items in this list.

The fee document of British International School Phuket (BISP) publishes the second-term payment deadline — December 4, 2026. It should be entered in the family payment calendar, separately from the initial enrollment terms.

Use these formulas:

• Tuition and service costs = tuition + separate charges + selected services.
• Money needed at enrollment = required payments + deposit.

This is where mistakes are easy to make: the deposit requires money at enrollment, but it cannot be treated as a final expense without conditions. At British International School Phuket (BISP), the refund depends on settling all charges and giving notice of withdrawal a full term in advance. These conditions do not apply to other schools.

When comparing the first and following year do not automatically repeat the initial payments and do not exclude the annual ones. Ask the school to mark which items recur and which are tied only to enrollment or a selected service.

For convenience, create separate columns: purpose of payment, period, payment date and refund terms. This way the deposit won’t be mixed up with tuition, and the transport payment won’t be mixed up with registration. An empty line in the published price list does not yet mean there is no cost: ask the school to state in writing whether it is included in your offer and for which period it will be billed.

Check the individual fee estimate against this list:

• meals and school bus;
• uniforms and learning materials;
• technology and examination fees;
• language and other learning support;
• the deposit, withdrawal notice procedure and refunds.

These are questions for the school, not a mandatory list of costs for every student. The estimate will be complete only after the required payments and selected services are determined.

Bangkok, Phuket and Chiang Mai: School, Housing and the Daily Commute

Offers from International School Bangkok (ISB), British International School Phuket (BISP) and Mill Hill Thailand School help assess individual options in Bangkok, in Phuket and in Chiang Mai. They do not prove that any one city is cheaper on average: classes differ, and the mix of services also needs to be compared.

First choose a suitable campus and get confirmation of your place. Then check housing and the daily route; the guide to renting housing in Thailand will help you prepare the housing part of the move.

Do not rely on the map alone. Travel the route during the hours when classes start and end, and ask about school bus stops and the return route. Plan a backup way to pick up your child if the bus or the family schedule does not work.

For each option, create a combined table: tuition, initial payments, housing and commuting. If you are considering a boarding school, list accommodation separately so that the comparison with day schooling stays clear.

Discuss who is responsible for daily trips and how the school calendar fits with the parents’ work. An attractive tuition fee does not yet answer whether the chosen neighborhood is convenient for the family.

International, Bilingual and Thai Schools: What’s the Difference

Look for differences in the curriculum, languages of instruction, support and graduation qualification. The name of a format helps start the search but does not explain how a child will study at a specific campus.

For an international school, ask which program it offers at the needed level and what document a graduate receives. Request the breakdown of subjects by language: the school’s name alone does not confirm English in every lesson.

For a bilingual option, find out the balance of Thai and English, the required level of both languages, and the support available. When choosing a Thai school, also compare the language of instruction and the program with your child’s preparation.

Ask for a sample timetable and an explanation of how mastery of material is assessed. Also discuss participation in lessons, homework and help with transitioning from a different educational environment.

If you specifically want education in Russian, read the guide to Russian schools in Thailand. Preschool-level options are easier to consider separately through the guide to kindergartens in Thailand, keeping the same questions about program, language and support.

British, American and International Baccalaureate Programs: How to Choose

Compare international schools in Thailand with regard to your child’s current studies and the next educational transition. The same name for a track does not confirm the same subjects, exams and available levels.

In the British track, ask about examination qualifications (IGCSE, A-Levels). In the American track, ask about grade point average (GPA) and Advanced Placement (AP) courses, and for the International Baccalaureate, ask about programs for the relevant levels (IB PYP/MYP/DP). These labels are for discussion with the admissions office, not a list of what each campus offers.

The name of a program does not guarantee admission to a university in a particular country. Start with the subjects, workload and support your child needs, then compare the graduation qualification with the requirements of the intended field of study.

If a university has not yet been chosen, discuss which further study options the program keeps open. When transferring, ask both schools to assess the compatibility of their curricula: it is not possible to promise a problem-free transition or an unavoidable loss of a school year in advance.

Admission and Adjustment: Class, English and Confirmation of Place

The steps below will help organize communication with the admissions office. This is a recommendation for families, not a single official procedure for all schools.

1. Provide your child’s age, current class and program.
2. Agree on the desired start date.
3. Obtain an individual list of documents.
4. Discuss an assessment of academic and language readiness.
5. Request written terms for enrollment, payment and confirmation of place.

International School Bangkok (ISB) has a specific age rule: for admission to groups (Pre-K1), (Pre-K2), the preparatory class (Kindergarten) and the class (Grade 1), the child must turn respectively 3, 4, 5 and 6 years old no later than September 1 of the enrollment year. Original wording of the rule:

(For families with children applying to Pre-K1 / Pre-K2 / Kindergarten / Grade 1, placement is strictly based on their age and your child must be 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 years old on or before September 1st of the enrollment year.)

This is International School Bangkok’s (ISB) rule and cannot be applied to other schools. Class designations (Year/Grade) also do not mean an automatic match to a Russian class.

Preliminary contact, an invitation to an assessment and a confirmed place are different outcomes. Ask the admissions office to state explicitly at which stage the application is.

If your child is not yet studying in English, discuss before paying the availability of support, its cost, and the criteria for moving to a regular timetable. Ask whom to contact in case of difficulties, who coordinates the adjustment, and how parents receive feedback. A promise that the child will settle in within a fixed period does not replace a concrete description of the help.

It helps to separate the conversation about English from the one about mastering subjects. Ask the school to explain how it will notice difficulties with lesson content if your child struggles to express answers in the language of instruction. Then agree on who will discuss progress and possible changes in support with the family: this will help turn a general promise of help into a clear communication process.

For enrollment after the school year has started, confirm that a place is available, that subjects are compatible, the start date and payment for the chosen period. For further transfer, including a return to a Russian school, discuss the necessary proof of study with the receiving school. To link these decisions with the rest of your preparation, see the guide to moving to Thailand with children.

License, Accreditation and Results: What to Check

A license, foreign accreditation, quality assessment and association membership are different confirmations. A general answer such as “we have certificates” is not enough to understand the status of the chosen campus.

According to the Association of International Schools in Thailand (ISAT), an international school must obtain accreditation from a recognized foreign agency by the end of its fifth year of operation. The same association reports that international schools must undergo accreditation by the Thai educational quality assessment body (ONESQA). These statements apply to international schools; they cannot be transferred to every bilingual school or family center.

Request from the chosen campus:

• license information;
• current status of foreign accreditation and its scope;
• information on quality assessment;
• graduate outcomes and further study destinations;
• a list of available subjects and a description of learning support.

If the school mentions international organizations (CIS, NEASC, WASC), find out the campus’s exact status. Membership in the Association of International Schools in Thailand (ISAT) alone does not prove accreditation or quality.

Consider graduate outcomes together with available subjects and your child’s support. Ask about the size of the specific class, interaction with teachers and how feedback is given. Documents and published achievements must relate specifically to the campus where study is planned.

Family Discounts and Scholarships: Current Terms and Ended Offers

British International School Phuket (BISP) publishes tuition discounts of 5% and 15%. Their applicability depends on the full terms of the offer; you may not allocate the percentages among children by seniority on your own or apply them to enrollment payments.

The Mill Hill school scholarship offer (Senior Scholars Award) provided a reduction in tuition by 20% with a published deadline of July 31, 2026. This deadline has passed; the presence of the offer page does not confirm an extension for new applications.

Before including the discount in your budget, ask:

• who is eligible for the offer and how decisions are made;
• what period of study it covers;
• whether the discount applies to additional charges;
• whether it can be combined with another benefit;
• what the conditions for renewal are;
• what payment will apply after the discount ends.

Compare the base cost with a written individual offer. This will show whether the family can continue studying if the discount is not kept.

It is simpler to check this before paying. One school’s terms cannot be applied to another, even if the offers have the same name.

Student Visa and Parents’ Status: Separate Questions

The basis of stay for a child is chosen based on the family’s situation. It cannot be claimed that only an education visa suits all students; a separate route is covered in the guide to ED student visa.

On the education visa page of the Thai Embassy in Washington, the following are listed:

• validity period of the education visa (ED) — 90 days;
• consular fee of this embassy — 80 US dollars (USD);
• applications must be submitted at least 30 business days before the intended trip;
• a school letter confirming enrollment information is among the documents.

These are the conditions for a specific application location. They cannot be automatically applied to Russia or another consulate.

A visa’s validity period is not the same as permitted stay, and an early application does not guarantee a promised issue date. The school letter is part of the documents; it does not guarantee a visa and does not replace the full set.

Consider each parent’s status separately: a child’s enrollment does not confirm the basis of stay for the whole family. For an introduction to the topic, see the guide to family visa to Thailand.

Separately, review residence notification: it is not an extension of the visa. Agree on the applicable visa route with the competent consulate and immigration office, and obtain from the school a description of the documents it issues.

New Campuses and a Checklist Before Payment

An announcement of a new campus does not confirm the actual start of classes, admission to the required class, or the availability of all advertised services. Ask the operator for the venue for classes at launch, available levels, the program and written enrollment terms.

Do not count on open places or discounts just because the campus is new. Compare its offer with your child’s needs using the same criteria as for an established school’s offer.

Before paying, go through the checklist:

• Program and subjects: whether they suit your child’s current level and future plans.
• Confirmed place: which class and start date are stated in writing.
• Individual fee estimate: tuition, charges, selected services and payment dates.
• Deposit and withdrawal from school: grounds for refund and notice procedure.
• Language support: availability, scope and cost.
• License and accreditation: status of the chosen campus and scope of the documents.
• Calendar: start of classes, breaks and whether enrollment on the chosen date is possible.
• Bus: stops, return route and a backup way to pick up your child.
• School documents for the visa process: what exactly the school issues and how the interaction is organized.

If the admissions office’s answers differ from the payment documents, ask for an agreed written version before transferring money. Do not rush into a non-refundable payment while material terms remain verbal.

Keep the school’s offer, payment terms and admissions office replies together. They will help you return to the agreed set of services if family plans change before classes start.