Applying for a school place for children from abroad

School applications for foreign national children and children residing overseas 

We warmly welcome children and families from abroad who have moved or are planning to arrive to the London Borough of Barnet. 

Before applying for a school place for foreign national children, you should check that the children have a right under their UK entry conditions to study at a state-funded school. 

Read more about school applications for foreign national children and children resident outside England on GOV.UK. 

How to apply

If your child is eligible for state-funded education, you may apply online for a school place in advance of their arrival to the UK. Find out which school year group your child should be in and which application to make. 

If your child needs a school place this academic year, ending July 2024, the earliest you can apply is four weeks before your child’s expected date of arrival to the UK. 

If you are applying for a child who is due to start primary school or transfer to secondary school in September 2025, you will need to be living in Barnet or have a link Barnet address where you intend to take up residency by the start of term in September 2025. 

You can express your school preferences on the application form. For information on Barnet schools and their admission arrangements, check our primary admissions guide (PDF, 4.2 MB) and secondary admissions guide (PDF, 4.8 MB). If no places are available at any of your selected schools, we will advise you on your right of appeal and the waiting list procedures.  

If you are living abroad at the time of application, your overseas address will be used for home-to-school distance calculations. This will determine your child’s position on the waiting list for oversubscribed schools that give priority to children who live the closest.  The distance will be recalculated to your UK address once you have arrived and taken up residence locally. 

Children living in Barnet who have been refused admission to a preferred school will be allocated a place at alternative school; normally the nearest school with a vacancy. We promote sustainable travel to school, and there is free bus travel and excellent transport links in London. We will consider the home-to-school distance and journey before allocating a place. 

Information required to apply

If you are applying prior your child’s arrival for a place this academic year, you will need provide supporting information. This means evidence of:

• booked flights
• your child’s date of birth (for example, a copy of their passport or birth certificate)
• the address that you will be living at when you move to the local area (for example, a rental agreement indicating the start date of the tenancy; notification to the local authority of your proposed move to an address for Council Tax purposes or notification to a utility company of your proposed move with start date for water, gas or electricity)

We may ask for additional evidence of local address once you have arrived. 

If you are applying for school place for September 2025, we may be able to process your application if you can provide information that proves: 

• you own a property in Barnet that your family will be returning to; 
• you have a signed tenancy agreement from a recognised letting agency for a property in Barnet;
• you intend to live with family in Barnet

Check our primary admissions guide (PDF, 4.2 MB) and secondary admissions guide (PDF, 4.8 MB) for detailed information on address verification and evidence needed to support your application.