Enrolling a foreign child in a Haikou school: documents and the admission route

The Haikou Municipal Education Bureau answers this in its 2024 admissions Q&A (question 22). Children of foreign nationals, and of foreigners with a permanent residence card, are admitted under the same method as children with an urban Haikou household registration.

Documents

• identity documents of the parents and the child, such as passports or a permanent residence card
• the child's valid residence permit or stay visa
• an Overseas Personnel Accommodation Registration Form (境外人员住宿登记表), issued by the police station where the child lives in Haikou
• a housing document that follows the owned-home or rental requirements for local applicants

How places are allocated

Admission follows the urban household-registration method. That is mainly one school per zone (单校划片), with several schools coordinated where places are short (多校统筹).

Applying

The Q&A has no separate process for foreign children. The general rule applies: register on the Haikou primary and secondary new-student admission service platform during the online registration window. In 2024 the window ran from 21 to 28 July. Dates change every year, so watch the bureau's yearly admissions notice.

What this does not cover

The page names no school and gives no fees. It covers the public compulsory-education route in Haikou, not private or international schools, and nothing for Sanya or for kindergarten and high school. The Hainan Department of Education also publishes a list of schools qualified to teach foreign students; the page was not available when this guide was written, so check it for private schools.

The source is listed below with the date it was opened.