A relocation timeline for families moving to Ho Chi Minh City with young children

A relocation to Ho Chi Minh City with a child under six goes most smoothly on a timeline of about three months: shortlist preschools and areas around twelve weeks out, secure a school place and sort health and identity papers between ten and four weeks, pack and say goodbye in the last three weeks, then use the first week in the city to set up home, a clinic and the school route before your child starts. Less time is possible, but each step squeezed into the final fortnight adds stress for the whole family.

Many families get far less notice than three months, especially when a job starts quickly. If that is your situation, read the plan below as a list of priorities rather than a calendar, and do the steps in the same order, just faster. The plan focuses on the child's side of the move. Immigration, work permits and the rental contract are mentioned only where they touch the school; the Thao Dien neighbourhood site in our network covers visas, residence cards and renting in detail.

Twelve to ten weeks out: decide where to look

This first phase is about narrowing the city down to something you can actually research. Most of the work is reading and asking.

• Map the fixed points: the workplace or workplaces, any regular travel such as the airport, and the parts of the city where the company or colleagues suggest families live.
• List preschools within reach of those points, using school websites, parent groups and the guides in this site's section on choosing a preschool in Saigon.
• Note age groups and calendars: which group your child would join, and whether you would arrive just before a long closure such as Tết.
• Check the employer package: whether school fees are covered, what paperwork the company needs, and whether there is a relocation agent who can help with viewings.
• Start the visa and residence process through the employer or your own adviser, because the school will eventually need copies of the child's papers.

By the end of this phase you should have two or three candidate areas and a shortlist of three to five preschools. Resist the temptation to sign anything yet; the next phase is about checking that what you have read matches reality.

It also helps to talk to one or two families already living in the city with children of a similar age. Colleagues, the employer's human resources team or an online parent group can usually connect you. Ask them practical questions, such as how long their school run takes and what they wish they had known before arriving, rather than which school is best; the answers travel better from one family to another.

Ten to seven weeks out: talk to schools and hold a place

With a shortlist, you can start real conversations. Families moving from abroad do most of this by email and video call.

• Email each school with your child's age, your expected arrival date, the language situation at home and any additional needs.
• Book a video call or virtual tour with the two or three schools that answer most clearly. A separate guide in this section explains what to ask to see on camera.
• Ask for the full document list and the published fee schedule, including deposits, notice periods and how a mid-year start is charged.
• Decide how to hold a place, usually by paying a deposit or registration fee, and keep the written confirmation.
• Tell the schools you are not choosing, so the places go to other families.

If possible, choose the school before the home. Once you know where your child will spend each weekday, the search for a home becomes a search for a reliable route to one gate, which is a much easier problem to solve.

Keep a simple comparison table as answers come in: age group offered, start date, languages in the classroom, the length of the school day, what the fee covers and the notice period. Seeing the answers side by side makes the final choice faster, and it shows which school answered your questions most clearly, which is itself a useful signal.

Seven to four weeks out: papers, health and records

The middle phase is the one that takes the most appointments in your home country, so start it early and in parallel.

• See your child's doctor for an immunisation history, any doses that are due, an allergy plan and a prescription in generic names for regular medicines.
• Collect nursery records: the latest report, an export of the learning journal and, if possible, a short handover note from the key person.
• For a child with additional needs, ask therapists for written reports and whether they can continue online for the first weeks.
• Translate documents that are not in English, such as birth certificates or health booklets, if the school has asked for it.
• Build the document folder: colour scans in the cloud, two printed copies on A4, originals for hand luggage.
• Book temporary accommodation for the first two to three weeks if you will not have a home on arrival, ideally within reach of the chosen school.

This is also a good time to begin telling an older preschooler about the move, using a simple picture story. A toddler needs much less warning, and a few days is usually enough for children under three.

If anything in this phase stalls, such as a delayed passport renewal or a doctor's appointment that cannot be moved, tell the preschool at once. Schools deal with late paperwork all the time and can often accept a document after the start date, but only if they know it is coming.

The last three weeks: pack, say goodbye, fly

The final phase is the busiest for parents and the most unsettling for children. The aim is to keep the child's days as normal as possible while the house empties around them.

• Pack the child's room last and set aside a travel bag with the comfort object, bedtime book, night light, a few favourite toys and familiar snacks.
• Let your child pack a box of their own toys, mark it with a sticker they choose, and promise they will open it in the new home.
• Plan goodbyes: a last visit to the playground, a picnic with friends, a goodbye at nursery, a regular video call time agreed with grandparents.
• Keep nursery attendance going until the last few days if you can; the familiar routine helps far more than extra time at home among boxes.
• Plan the flight around sleep: an overnight flight for a child who sleeps well on the move, or a daytime flight with a stopover for one who does not.
• Carry everything essential: documents, medicines, a change of clothes for each person, and enough nappies and food for a delay of a day.

Expect your child to be more clingy or tearful in this period, and to sleep less well. That is a normal response to a home being taken apart, and it eases once routines settle again on the other side.

On travel day itself, give yourselves more time than seems necessary at the airport, and assume at least one thing will go wrong. A calm parent with an extra hour is worth more to a small child than any amount of careful packing.

If you have less than six weeks

Short-notice moves are common, and families manage them every month. The trick is to protect the few things that are hard to fix later and accept compromise on the rest. Three things deserve priority whatever the timeline: the child's documents and health records, a confirmed preschool place or at least a strong shortlist, and the comfort items and routines that travel with the child.

What can safely wait is the long-term home. Booking two or three weeks of serviced accommodation near a preschool you like, then searching for a lease after arrival, is often better than signing a year's contract from abroad on the strength of photos. It also lets you test the school route in person before you commit to it.

Some steps can run in parallel rather than in sequence. While one parent handles visas and shipping, the other can email schools and book video calls. Ask the current nursery for records on the first day you know about the move, not the last, because staff need time to prepare them. And tell your child's doctor early, since appointment waiting times are often the slowest part of the whole process.

The first week in Ho Chi Minh City

Arrival week is for building a base, not for starting everything at once. A realistic order for the first seven days, assuming your child starts preschool in the second week:

Many families find that one or two items slip to the following week, usually because shipping, a residence document or a clinic appointment takes longer than promised. Build that slack into the plan instead of shortening the child's rest days.

Weeks two to four: start school and settle the household

Most young children can start preschool in their second week in the city, once jet lag has eased and the household has a base. Some schools suggest shorter days at first; the section of this site on the first weeks at a new school explains how that tends to work and how to coordinate with the teacher.

For the family, weeks two to four are when the practical pieces fall into place. Shipped belongings usually arrive in this period, and unpacking the child's room fully, with the box they packed themselves, gives a sense of the new home being really theirs. If you used temporary accommodation, this is when you move into the long-term home, so try to keep the school routine untouched through that second move.

It is also the time to look after your own settling in. Find one or two other families at the school gate, learn the route to the nearest pharmacy and supermarket, and set a weekly time to call family at home. Children read their parents' mood, and a parent who is beginning to feel at home helps a child do the same.

At around the four-week mark, take stock. Is your child sleeping and eating roughly as before? Is the school run manageable? Are the papers complete? If any of these is still very unsettled, that is the moment to talk to the teacher, the doctor or the relocation adviser, while small problems are still small.

Câu hỏi thường gặp

Is three months enough time to move to Ho Chi Minh City with a toddler?

Yes, three months is comfortable for most families. Six to eight weeks is workable if you do the same steps in the same order and accept some compromises, such as temporary accommodation on arrival. What is hard is choosing a school and a home in the final fortnight.

Should we choose a school before we arrive?

If you can, yes. Securing a preschool place from abroad lets you look for a home near it and gives your child a clear start date. If you cannot decide remotely, hold a place at your preferred school and confirm it after a visit in the first week.

How much temporary accommodation should we book?

Two to three weeks is a common choice for families with young children. It covers jet lag, viewings and school route tests without rushing into a lease. Try to stay within reach of the preschool you chose, so your child can start school before you move into the long-term home.

When should our child start school after we land?

Many young children are ready in the second week, once sleep has adjusted and the family has a base. Starting on the first day after landing is usually too soon. A separate guide in this section looks at timing in more detail.

What should we carry rather than ship?

Carry all identity documents, health records, medicines, the comfort object and bedtime items, and enough clothes and supplies for at least a week. Shipments often take several weeks to arrive and clear customs, and the first weeks are when children most need what is familiar.

Should we keep our child in nursery until we leave?

Usually yes, until the last few days. The familiar routine, friends and teachers help a child cope with the upheaval at home far better than extra days among boxes. Ending a few days before the flight leaves time for goodbyes and packing.