To enrol a foreign child in a preschool in Ho Chi Minh City you will usually need the child's passport with the current visa or residence page, a birth certificate that names both parents, the vaccination record and sometimes a recent health check, passport copies for both parents, a few passport-size photos, an emergency contact list and a signed list of adults allowed to collect your child. Reports from a previous nursery are welcome but rarely required at this age.
Exact lists differ from school to school, and a private bilingual preschool tends to ask for less paperwork than a public kindergarten. What causes delays is almost never a missing document. It is a mismatch: a name spelled one way on the passport and another way on the birth certificate, a record in a language nobody at the school reads, or an original left in a shipping container. This guide walks through each item, explains why the school wants it, and ends with the questions worth emailing the admissions office before you fly.
The core file at a glance
The table lists what most preschools in the city ask for when a child holds a foreign passport. Treat it as a starting point and confirm the final list with the school you choose.
| Item | Why the school asks | Practical tip |
|---|---|---|
| Child's passport, photo page and visa or residence page | Identity, legal name, date of birth, and the basis on which the child is staying in Vietnam | Scan both pages in colour; renewals change the number, so send updated copies |
| Birth certificate | Confirms parentage and who holds parental responsibility | Bring the long-form version if your country issues one; it lists both parents |
| Vaccination record | Infection control in a group setting | Covered in detail in a separate guide; bring the original and a printed summary |
| Health check or doctor's letter | Allergies, chronic conditions, medication at school | Some schools use their own form, filled in by a local clinic after arrival |
| Parents' passports and contact details | Emergency contact and who signs the enrolment contract | Include a local phone number as soon as you have one |
| Authorised pick-up list | Child protection at the gate | Add the nanny or driver by full name and attach a copy of their identity card |
| Passport-size photos | Student card, classroom cubby, emergency file | Four to six photos on a white background cover most requests |
| Previous nursery reports | Helps the teacher plan the first weeks | Optional at most schools, but worth packing in your hand luggage |
Notice that very little on this list proves anything about your child's ability. At preschool age the file is about identity, safety and health. Schools that ask for an entrance test for a two-year-old are rare, and you are entitled to ask what such an assessment is used for.
Passport and immigration pages: what the school is checking
The passport photo page fixes your child's legal name and date of birth for every school record that follows: the class list, the medical file, the end-of-year report and any certificate you might need years later when your child moves on to primary school. Ask the school to copy the name exactly as it appears in the machine-readable line, including middle names, and to tell you if their software cannot hold a long name. A shortened name on a school record can create small headaches later when another institution compares documents.
The visa, exemption stamp or residence card shows that the child is lawfully staying in the country. Schools generally keep a copy and may ask for a new one when it expires. This guide does not cover which visa or residence card a family should apply for; the Thao Dien neighbourhood site in our network keeps a full guide to visas, temporary residence cards and work permits for foreign residents.
One detail families often miss is the date the child entered the country. Some schools note it for their own reporting, and it is printed on the entry stamp rather than the visa itself. If your child travelled on a different passport from the one you hand in, for example a second nationality, tell the school which passport you used at the border and keep that one consistent across the school file, the landlord's residence declaration and any clinic registration. Using one passport for everything in Vietnam saves a surprising amount of explaining.
Birth certificate and parental responsibility
A passport proves who the child is. A birth certificate proves who the parents are. Schools want it because the person who signs the enrolment contract, authorises medical care and collects the child should be someone with legal responsibility, or someone that person has named in writing. Short-form certificates from some countries list only the child, so if you have a version that names both parents, bring that one.
Families with a more complicated picture should say so at the start rather than at the gate on a difficult afternoon. If parents are separated, if one parent has sole custody, if there is a court order about contact, or if the child was adopted or born through surrogacy, give the school a copy of the relevant order and ask how it will be recorded. Staff cannot enforce an arrangement they have never been told about. A school with clear procedures will mark the file, brief the class teacher and the gate staff, and explain what happens if an unlisted adult arrives.
Name consistency matters here too. A child carrying a double surname, a hyphenated name or a name written differently in two alphabets may appear in three versions across passport, birth certificate and vaccination book. Write a short note for the school listing each version and which one is the legal name. It takes ten minutes and saves the class teacher from guessing which spelling to put on a cubby label, a medicine form or a report.
Health papers: vaccination record and the school health form
Nearly every preschool in the city asks for the child's immunisation history before the first day, and many also ask for a health declaration that covers allergies, chronic conditions, regular medication and any history of febrile seizures or asthma. The vaccination record has its own guide in this section, because comparing a foreign schedule with what Vietnamese schools expect raises questions of its own. For the enrolment file, the practical rule is simple: bring the original record in your hand luggage and a printed copy for the school.
Some schools accept a letter from your family doctor at home. Others prefer their own health form, completed by a clinic in Ho Chi Minh City after you arrive, which means one appointment in your first week. Ask which applies before you book the flight, because the answer decides whether you need to see your current doctor before leaving.
Allergies deserve a separate page. A one-line note saying "nut allergy" is not enough for a kitchen that cooks Vietnamese meals with fish sauce, peanuts, shrimp paste and sesame. Describe the allergen, past reactions, whether your child carries an adrenaline auto-injector, and the action plan your doctor gave you. The school nurse and the cook both need to read it, and translating it into Vietnamese is worth the effort.
If your child needs vaccine doses to catch up, or you want to understand Vietnam's national schedule, the guides on our sister site Trung Tam Tiem Chung cover vaccination centres and the immunisation calendar in detail.
Translations: when English is enough and when it is not
A bilingual or international preschool in Ho Chi Minh City will normally accept documents written in English without translation. Documents in other languages are a different matter. A Korean family health booklet, a French carnet de santé or a German Impfpass may be perfectly clear to a doctor but unreadable to the admissions officer filing it. The usual request is a plain translation into English or Vietnamese, not a certified one. Ask before you pay for anything formal.
Certified translation and consular legalisation are a step up in cost and time. They are generally needed for official procedures with Vietnamese authorities rather than for a private preschool file. A public kindergarten, or a school that has to report your child's enrolment to the local education office, may set a higher bar, so this is one question where the school's written answer matters more than a general guide.
If you do need a translator, choose one who handles medical vocabulary for the vaccination record and allergy plan, because a mistranslated vaccine name causes more trouble than a missing one. Our sister directory Danh Ba Dich Thuat lists translation services and explains the difference between a simple translation, a notarised one and consular legalisation.
A small saving of effort is to translate only what the school will actually read. For a preschool file that usually means the birth certificate, the vaccination summary and the allergy plan. Most passports already carry English alongside the issuing language, and the school rarely needs anything else from your home country at this age.
Packing the file: originals, copies and scans
Families who arrive with a well-organised folder usually finish enrolment in one visit. A simple order of work:
- Make one master scan folder in the cloud with a colour scan of every document, named in English with the child's name and the document type. Share it with your partner.
- Print two copies of each document on A4 paper, which is the standard size in Vietnam; letter-size copies sometimes get rejected by school photocopiers and filing systems.
- Keep originals in hand luggage, never in shipped boxes. A container can take several weeks to clear customs and reach your new home.
- Prepare the name note and the allergy page described above, in English and, if you can, Vietnamese.
- Photograph your nanny's or driver's identity card once you have hired them, with their consent, so the pick-up list can be completed on the first day.
- Bring photos and a small envelope of cash for any registration fee the school publishes, in case card payment is not available at the front desk on the day.
- Ask for a checklist receipt when you hand in the file, listing what the school has received and what is still outstanding.
The last step is the one most families skip, and it prevents the familiar situation of a school asking for a document three weeks later that you are sure you already handed in.
Questions to email the admissions office before you fly
Sending these questions in one message, in writing, gives you an answer you can refer back to. Each one addresses a point where families commonly get stuck.
- Which documents must be originals, and which are copies or scans acceptable for?
- Do you need translations of documents that are not in English, and does a simple translation do?
- Do you use your own health form, and must it be completed by a clinic in Vietnam?
- Can my child start before the residence card is issued, if the visa is valid?
- How do you record custody arrangements and the list of adults allowed to collect a child?
- Will my child's full legal name appear on school records exactly as in the passport?
- What happens to the file and the data in it if we leave the school?
Keep the reply. When a new staff member asks for something different, a dated email from the admissions office settles the question quickly and politely.
Câu hỏi thường gặp
Can a foreign child attend a public kindergarten in Ho Chi Minh City?
Public kindergartens are organised mainly around Vietnamese families and residence, teach in Vietnamese and may set their own conditions for foreign children. Some do accept them. Most expat families choose private bilingual or international preschools, so ask the specific kindergarten and the local ward education office if the public route interests you.
Do I need my child's residence card before enrolling?
Many private preschools enrol a child on a valid visa and simply ask for a copy of the residence card once it is issued. Others prefer to wait. It depends on the school, so ask in writing, and keep the school informed whenever the visa or card is renewed and the number changes.
Does a preschool need my child's previous school reports?
At preschool age reports are usually optional. They help the new teacher understand routines, language and any support your child had before, so bring them if you have them. A separate guide in this section explains which records are worth carrying and how teachers use them.
What if the names on my child's documents do not match?
Write a short signed note listing every version of the name, which document each appears on, and which one is the legal name in the passport. Give it to the school with the file. Most schools will then record the passport name and note the others, which avoids confusion at the clinic and the gate.
Should I get my documents legalised before moving?
Not for a private preschool file in most cases; a plain translation of documents that are not in English is usually enough. Legalisation is more often needed for formal procedures with Vietnamese authorities. Check what those procedures require before you leave, because legalisation is easier to arrange in your home country.
How long does enrolment take once we arrive?
If the file is complete and a place has been agreed, enrolment at a private preschool can often be finished in a single visit. Delays usually come from a missing health form or an untranslated record, which is why it helps to confirm the list by email before you fly.