Schooling and childcare in Budapest

Kindergarten is compulsory

Óvoda is an obligation, not a childcare option. From the start of the education year in the year the child turns three by 31 August, the child must attend for at least four hours a day. A request to be exempted has to be submitted by 15 April of the year in question.

Starting school

Compulsory schooling begins in the calendar year in which the child turns six by 31 August. A request to defer the start by one more kindergarten year must reach the authorising body by 18 January of the year school would otherwise begin, and the procedure takes fifty days. Enrolment for children starting the first year in September 2027 falls on 22 and 23 April 2027, two fixed days set nationally by decree rather than a rolling window. The law provides for a designated school obliged to admit the child (kötelező felvételt biztosító intézmény), which cannot refuse a pupil of compulsory school age and must be assigned so that attending it is not a disproportionate burden, so the address you register has a direct effect on where your child ends up.

The secondary timetable, in order

Selective secondary entry for September 2027 runs on a national calendar that opens more than ten months ahead. Schools publish their admissions prospectus by 20 October 2026, registration for the central written exam closes on 1 December 2026, and the exam is sat on 23 January 2027 at 10:00. The general admission procedure opens the same day.

• 22 February 2027: primary schools forward the application forms.
• 1 to 19 March 2027: oral exams and assessments.
• 22 March 2027: schools publish their ranked lists.
• 6 to 8 April 2027: pupils may amend their preference list.
• 7 May 2027: decisions are sent out. 24 and 25 June 2027: enrolment at the secondary school.

Who is entitled

A non-Hungarian child is entitled to kindergarten, and becomes subject to compulsory schooling in Hungary, if they exercise EEA free-movement rights or hold a Hungarian residence permit or long-term residence status. They may then use kindergarten, schooling and education-support services on the same terms as Hungarian citizens. That right applies only where both the parent and the child hold a permit for a stay exceeding three months, and the conditions must be evidenced at enrolment. The school year itself runs from 1 September 2026 to 18 June 2027, 180 teaching days, with the first semester ending on 22 January 2027 and reports issued by 29 January 2027.

International schools

Admission here is rolling rather than tied to one date, which is the opposite of the state system. The American International School of Budapest accepts students throughout the year, with the latest start date in the first week of May, and charges an application fee to enter the waiting pool when a grade is full. Its 2026/27 tuition runs from USD 15,500 for Early Childhood at ages three and four to USD 29,750 for Grades 11 and 12, with a USD 3,500 building fee on top for every student. The other established English-medium schools are The British International School Budapest, Britannica International School and the International Christian School of Budapest, with the Lycée Français Gustave Eiffel covering the French curriculum; their fees are not published here, so ask each for its current schedule.

• AISB 2026/27 in between: USD 25,900 Kindergarten to Grade 5, USD 27,650 Grades 6 to 8, USD 28,900 Grades 9 and 10.
• New students also pay a USD 650 application fee, a USD 1,500 registration fee and a USD 3,000 enrolment deposit, credited against the first tuition invoice and not refunded if the child does not enrol.
• An English Language Assessment is compulsory from Grade 6 up, and admission needs a medical examination and history form completed by a physician in English plus immunisation records meeting Hungarian schedules.
• BISB is part of Nord Anglia and runs the English National Curriculum through IGCSE to the IB Diploma, ages three to eighteen.