This call covers named international/bilingual schools, curricula, and tuition only — not broader education-system info.
Good to know
Good to Know
- Demand for IB places in Munich consistently outstrips supply — Bavarian International School and Munich International School in particular can have waitlists stretching 12-18 months, so apply well before you have a firm move date.
- Munich offers a genuine three-way choice: fully international English-medium schools (IB or British curriculum), German-English bilingual private schools (often cheaper and leading to the Abitur), or state Gymnasiums with a bilingual stream (most affordable, but require German fluency by lower secondary).
- Two of the best-known IB schools — Munich International School and part of Bavarian International School — sit outside the immediate city center (near Starnberg and in Haimhausen respectively), so factor commute time into your housing choice if you want your kids at one of these.
- Some large multinational employers relocating staff to Munich include international school fees in the relocation package — worth checking with HR before committing to a school.
- Several bilingual and smaller schools (Phorms, IBSM, the European School, Japanese, Italian and German-only options) don't publish tuition fees publicly, so budget figures for those are estimates based on the general Munich market rather than confirmed school-specific numbers.
- For international/bilingual school places in Munich, start applying 10–12 months before you need a spot — the most in-demand schools (BIS, MIS) and entry years (Kindergarten, Grade 1, Grade 6/Year 7, pre-IB years) fill fastest.
- Apply to two or three schools in parallel rather than pinning hopes on one — priority tends to go to siblings and corporate-sponsored families first, and being ready to accept an offer within about 48 hours matters.
- Most schools won't tell you your exact position on a waitlist, but positions do move as corporate relocation postings and family plans change through the year, so it's worth staying in touch with admissions rather than assuming a 'no' is final.
- Homeschooling is not a legal option for families based in Munich or anywhere else in Germany — school attendance is compulsory by law with only very narrow exceptions (mainly medical), and there's no documented open homeschool co-op scene in the city given this legal backdrop.
Schools
Bavarian International School (BIS)
- Locations
- Two campuses: City Campus in Schwabing (central) and a larger campus in Haimhausen (north of the city, roughly 30 minutes' drive)
- Ages Grades
- 3-19, full IB continuum
- Size And Profile
- Regarded as Munich's flagship international school and the city's only full IB continuum school across two campuses, enrolling roughly 1,250-1,400 students from 60-70+ nations.
- Tuition Annual Low
- €20,000
- Tuition Annual High
- €30,000
- Language Of Instruction
- English, with German taught from Grade 1 and French/Spanish/Japanese/Mandarin from Grade 6
- Tuition Note
- Approximate published range for fully English-medium international schools in Munich; BIS does not publish a single official fee schedule online, so this is a market-level estimate rather than BIS's own quoted figure.
Curricula
- IB Primary Years Programme (PYP), ages 3-12
- IB Middle Years Programme (MYP), ages 13-16
- IB Diploma Programme (DP) and Career-related Programme (CP), ages 16-19
Munich International School (MIS)
- Locations
- 55-acre campus near Starnberg/Baierbrunn, outside the city core (roughly 20-30 minutes from central Munich)
- Ages Grades
- 4-18
- Size And Profile
- Founded in 1966 and IB-authorised since 1980, with over 1,300 students; the full IB Diploma is the standard pathway for nearly all senior students rather than an elective track.
- Tuition Annual Low
- €20,000
- Tuition Annual High
- €30,000
- Language Of Instruction
- English
- Tuition Note
- MIS does not publish fees publicly; figure is the general market range for Munich's fully international IB schools, not an official MIS quote.
Curricula
- IB Primary Years Programme (PYP)
- IB Middle Years Programme (MYP)
- IB Diploma Programme (DP)
St. George's, The British International School Munich
- Locations
- Neuhausen district (central, easily accessible from most of the city)
- Ages Grades
- 3-18
- Size And Profile
- Part of the Nord Anglia Education group since 2013; Munich's leading British-curriculum school, known for small class sizes and pastoral care.
- Tuition Annual Low
- €11,900
- Tuition Annual High
- €26,000
- Language Of Instruction
- English
- Tuition Note
- Published starting fee is around EUR 11,900 for the youngest year groups, rising through secondary and Sixth Form/IB Diploma years; exact fee depends on grade level.
Curricula
- EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage)
- British National Curriculum
- Cambridge IGCSE
- IB Diploma Programme (DP)
- IB Career-related Programme (CP)
- BTEC
Phorms Bilingual School Munich (PBSM)
- Locations
- Munich campus (Ersatzschule status)
- Ages Grades
- Primary through Abitur/IB Diploma
- Size And Profile
- Genuine 50/50 German-English immersion model; a favourite with mixed German-international families who want an Abitur pathway with an internationally recognised alternative.
- Tuition Annual Low
- €11,000
- Tuition Annual High
- €19,000
- Language Of Instruction
- German and English, taught via full immersion
- Tuition Note
- Phorms does not publish its fee schedule publicly; figure is the general market range quoted for Munich bilingual private schools, roughly 30-40% below the fully international schools.
Curricula
- Bavarian state curriculum (LehrplanPLUS)
- Cambridge International Certificate of Education (ICE) content for English-taught subjects
- IB Diploma Programme for Years 11-12 (since autumn 2014)
- German Abitur
International Bilingual School Munich (IBSM)
- Locations
- Lerchenauerstraße campus (Feldmoching, outer Munich), with a further Feldmochinger Campus in development
- Ages Grades
- Primary only, ages 6-11
- Size And Profile
- State-approved since 2010; runs four classes of up to 25 pupils, described as the only Munich school combining PYP and the Bavarian curriculum consistently in both English and German.
- Language Of Instruction
- Bilingual English-German, with a one-language-per-classroom teaching model and a chosen focus language per family
- Tuition Note
- IBSM does not publish tuition fees publicly; as a primary-only bilingual private school it would be expected to sit toward the lower end of the general Munich bilingual-school fee range (roughly EUR 11,000-19,000/year), but this could not be confirmed directly.
Curricula
- IB Primary Years Programme (PYP), state-approved IB World School since 2017
- Bavarian LehrplanPLUS primary curriculum
European School Munich
- Locations
- Munich (part of the network of 14 European Schools established by the EU)
- Ages Grades
- Primary and secondary
- Size And Profile
- Primarily serves children of EU institution staff and other eligible international families; fee structure differs by admission category rather than a single flat tuition.
- Language Of Instruction
- Multiple language sections, with most subjects taught in English on the IB pathway
- Tuition Note
- Fees for European Schools are tiered by admission category (children of EU staff vs. other categories), and a specific current figure for Munich could not be confirmed at the time of research — check the school directly.
Curricula
- European Schools curriculum leading to the European Baccalaureate
- IB Middle Years Programme (from 2021) and IB Diploma Programme (added 2024)
Japanische Internationale Schule München (Japanese International School Munich)
- Locations
- Sendling district
- Ages Grades
- Not confirmed at the time of research
- Size And Profile
- A dedicated Japanese-curriculum school serving Munich's Japanese expatriate community.
- Language Of Instruction
- Japanese
- Tuition Note
- Specific tuition figures were not found for this school; likely relevant mainly to Japanese-national relocating families rather than the broader nomad audience.
Curricula
- Japanese national curriculum
Leonardo Da Vinci Schule München
- Locations
- Munich
- Ages Grades
- Primary through Gymnasium
- Size And Profile
- A private Italo-German school emphasising multilingualism and cultural diversity.
- Language Of Instruction
- German and Italian
- Tuition Note
- Specific tuition figures were not found for this school.
Curricula
- German-Italian bilingual programme, continuous path from primary through Gymnasium
Obermenzinger Gymnasium
- Locations
- Obermenzing district
- Ages Grades
- Gymnasium-level, roughly 340 pupils
- Size And Profile
- A private German Gymnasium with STEM emphasis and small classes via a two-teacher system; the bilingual stream suits families wanting deep German integration with an English component.
- Language Of Instruction
- Primarily German, with a bilingual German-English stream
- Tuition Note
- Specific tuition figures were not found for this school at the time of research.
Curricula
- German curriculum, G9 pathway (Wirtschafts-Wissenschaftliches Gymnasium and Sprachliches Gymnasium branches)
- German-English bilingual B-class track (since 2013)
- ABIplus (Abitur plus vocational qualification)
Comenius-Grundschule München
- Locations
- Munich
- Ages Grades
- Primary (Grundschule)
- Size And Profile
- A private bilingual primary school with a special 'Europa' subject and an emphasis on music, drama and healthy living alongside German-English immersion.
- Language Of Instruction
- German-English bilingual, with two native-speaking teachers per classroom
- Tuition Note
- Specific tuition figures were not found for this school.
Curricula
- Bavarian curriculum (state-recognised, staatliche Anerkennung)
General Fee Benchmarks
- Note
- Most schools also charge a one-off capital levy/building fund on top of these figures, and lunches, transport and activities are typically extra.
- Description
- Cross-school guide ranges compiled from Munich international-school advisory sources, useful when a specific school's fees are not public.
Primary
- Amount USD Low
- 12960
- Currency Local
- EUR
- Amount USD High
- 23760
- Amount Local Low
- 12000
- Amount Local High
- 22000
Secondary
- Amount USD Low
- 17280
- Currency Local
- EUR
- Amount USD High
- 28080
- Amount Local Low
- 16000
- Amount Local High
- 26000
Sixth Form IB Diploma
- Amount USD Low
- 19440
- Currency Local
- EUR
- Amount USD High
- 30240
- Amount Local Low
- 18000
- Amount Local High
- 28000
Early Years Kindergarten
- Amount USD Low
- 8640
- Currency Local
- EUR
- Amount USD High
- 17280
- Amount Local Low
- 8000
- Amount Local High
- 16000
Registration Enrolment Fee
- Amount USD Low
- 1620
- Currency Local
- EUR
- Amount USD High
- 3240
- Amount Local Low
- 1500
- Amount Local High
- 3000
Typical Fees
Application Fee
- Range Low
- €200
- Range High
- €500
- Note
- per application, non-refundable, charged by most schools
Annual Capital Or Building Levy
- Range Low
- €600
- Range High
- €1,500
- Note
- recurring annual fee on top of tuition, common at fully private international schools
One Off Enrollment Registration Fee
- Range Low
- €1,500
- Range High
- €3,500
- Mis Specific Registration Fee
- €2,021
- Note
- one-time fee due on signing the school contract; Munich International School's published first-year registration fee is a specific 2,021 EUR figure
Homeschooling
- Legal Basis
- Compulsory school attendance (Schulpflicht) has been in place in Germany since 1919 and has been upheld against parental challenges by the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany. There is no general exemption for religious or pedagogical reasons; exemptions are narrow and generally limited to severe illness, children of diplomats, and rare cases such as working child actors.
- Legal Status
- illegal
- Enforcement Reality
- Parents who homeschool without an exemption have faced fines, and in some documented cases loss of custody or prosecution; an estimated 600 to 1,000 children are homeschooled nationally despite the ban, mostly for religious reasons. This is a national law, not Bavaria-specific, and applies equally in Munich.
- Bavaria Specific Note
- Bavaria has been the site of some of the more publicized German homeschooling enforcement cases, including a raid on a religious community reported in the press, but this reflects national Schulpflicht enforcement rather than a distinct Bavarian rule.
Local Homeschool Community
- Detail
- No documented, openly operating homeschool co-op or support community specific to Munich was found. Given homeschooling's illegal status under German federal law, any informal networks that exist would not be publicly organized or advertised, and we could not verify a genuine local group for this city.
- Exists
- No
Munich has a compact but well-established international/bilingual school market, concentrated mainly in Schwabing, Neuhausen, and the northern suburbs (Haimhausen, Feldmoching), with two flagship IB campuses located further out (Haimhausen and near Starnberg). Demand outstrips supply, especially for IB seats, and families are generally advised to apply 9-12 months ahead of the September intake.
Waitlist Reality
- How It Works
- Schools admit students until a grade level is full, then waitlist subsequent applicants; priority is generally given to siblings, corporate-sponsored families, and internationally mobile families, in that order rather than strict order of application. At Munich International School, an offer letter and signed contract are required to secure a place, and receipt of an application alone does not hold a spot.
- Communication
- Some schools, including MIS, will not disclose a family's position on the waitlist or estimate when a place might open, and note that a waitlisted student's position can shift if later applicants carry higher priority (e.g. siblings).
- Practical Advice
- Admissions guidance consistently recommends applying to two or three schools in parallel rather than relying on a single top choice, keeping the application file complete so an offer can be accepted within about 48 hours, and proactively updating admissions teams on any change (confirmed arrival date, new sibling, employer sponsorship) since schools tend to prioritize families who can demonstrate they will actually arrive.
Required Documents
Required Documents
- Two to three years of prior school reports (translated into English or German where necessary)
- Confidential teacher reference/recommendation, usually requested directly by the school
- Child's passport copy, plus parents' passport copies
- Proof of Munich address or a signed rental contract
- Proof of vaccinations
- A parental statement
- Any educational psychology, learning support, or language assessment reports, if applicable
- For older applicants: a written English/Maths assessment and an interview (on-campus or virtual)
Application Timeline
- Typical Cycle
- Most Munich international schools open registration in September or October of the prior year for a September intake, run assessment days November through February, and issue offers January through April. Applications are accepted year-round on a rolling basis, and mid-year openings occur occasionally but the autumn intake is the main one.
- Recommended Lead Time
- 10 to 12 months before the intended start date, especially for Grade 1, Kindergarten, Grade 6/Year 7 and pre-IB entry points which fill earliest.
- Notes
- Some schools such as Bavarian International School (BIS) and Munich International School (MIS) are described by admissions advisors as having the tightest demand, with waiting lists that can stretch 12 to 18 months for popular grade levels. Advice from admissions sources is to contact schools the moment a relocation becomes likely rather than waiting for a confirmed date, since a place in hand is treated as stronger than a late-submitted perfect application.
AI-generated estimateData refreshed July 2026
This section has no cited sources.
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Data last updated July 2026 · Verify anything important.