Application Process

For entry into the academic year 2024-2025, students must be born between 31 August 2007 and 31 August 2021.

Please know that our school is unable to consider students who will turn 20 years of age during their year of graduation.

• Most of our grade levels are full for the current academic year, 2024-2025. 
• We currently still have places available for admission in Grade Primary (5-year-old children by 31 August 2024) and Grade 1 (6-year-old children by 31 August 2024).
• Please note that our school has an ongoing admissions process in place, and we accept waitlisted students not only at the beginning of a new academic year but also during the academic year, vacancies permitting.
• Hence, we encourage you to check with us regarding possible openings during the year.

For entry into the academic year 2025-2026, students must be born between 31 August 2008 and 31 August 2022.

Please know that our school is unable to consider students who will turn 20 years of age during their year of graduation.

For your information and guidance, the admissions process for admitting new students for the academic year 2025-2026 is as follows:

• The option for applying for places for the academic year 2025-2026 is available for selection on our online application tool, called Open Apply.
• Once applications are considered COMPLETE parents will be notified.
• The Admissions Coordinator will then begin the internal application REVIEW process with the Primary and/or Secondary School’s Admissions Teams.
• When applications are approved by the respective school’s Admissions Team, names of candidates will be WAITLISTED.
• The admissions process for 2025-2026 is connected to our current students’ annual Re-enrolment process, which will be initiated in February 2025.
• In grades where we know that we will have a greater number of places available – i.e. in our Early Learning Centre (ELC 3 and 4), Grade Primary, Grades 1, 5 and 9 - we will start with first place
  offers earlier, once the Tuition Fees for the academic year 2025-2026 have been approved and are available on our website.
• We will start with first offers to waitlisted and approved candidates across all grade levels in March 2025.
• Our school will continue to offer places all spring and summer long, including July and August 2025, until all vacancies are filled and with the new academic year, 2025-2026, commencing in
  the fourth week of August 2025.

Please know that our school is unable to consider students who will turn 20 years of age during their year of graduation.

For your information and guidance, the admissions process for admitting new students for future academic years is as follows:

• The option to apply for places for the future academic year 2026-2027 (2027-2028 etc.) will only be available on Open Apply approximately 1.5 years in advance of the start of the applicable academic year.
• As of January 2025, the academic year 2026-2027 should be available for selection in the drop-down menu on the 'Student Information' page.
• Please note that the reviewing process for future academic years will only start in the autumn prior to the start of the applicable academic year. 

Vienna International School (VIS) is a non-sectarian, inclusive IB World School meeting the needs of a diverse international community. VIS does not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, language, national origin, sexual orientation, religion, disability or any other characteristic protected by law. VIS strives to admit students with a broad range of academic needs, but enrols only students whose education can successfully be supported by the School.

Priority Group Admissions

Before starting the application process at VIS please be aware that candidates who apply for places at VIS are placed in different priority groups, based on the Vienna International School Association (VISA) statutes:

• Category 1: Children of officials of the International Organizations who are based in Austria and as specified by the Austrian Foreign Ministry.
• Category 2: Children of members of a diplomatic or consular service based in Vienna, irrespective of their nationality.
• Category 3: Children without Austrian citizenship whose parents are employed within the international business sector. 
• Category 4: Other children. Within this category, places are offered admission according to the following criteria:

                       a) Children of VIS alumni.

                      b) Children whose parents have lived and worked for at least two years outside Austria recently

                         (no longer than five years ago), and where the children have attended an English language

                          school.

                      c) Children whose parents can demonstrate that they expect to relocate to a non-German

                          speaking country within the next two years.

                      d) Children whose mother-tongue is not German.

                      e) Children who were born outside Austria.

                      f) Children whose parents have different nationalities.

                      g) Children whose parents can demonstrate for any other reason that they have a specific

                          need for an international education in the English language.

                      h) All Other Admissions

The criteria for other children are not arranged in order of precedence, but help the Admissions Coordinator to build a profile of each candidate in this category in order for the Director to determine priority.

In each of the groups, a special priority is accorded to those children who are applying to re-enter the school (within 2 years) and to those children who have siblings already in the school.

Apart from these criteria, the admissions decision is determined by the date on which we receive a complete online application of a student via our application system OpenApply, including the Application Fee, copy of passport (ID), copies of the two most recent school reports and the online assessment from the child’s current school. 

Students applying for admission to VIS from another school need to provide a complete record of their prior education, including academic transcripts, standardized test results, educational support plans and other relevant documents. Students applying for admission to the VIS secondary section may be asked to complete a standardized test to assess English language and numeracy proficiency for placement purposes. Students applying for admission to high school grades 9-11 will need to provide evidence of academic English proficiency, including a standardized English reading assessment. A minimum level of academic English language proficiency is a requisite for admission.

For more information on our tutions and fees, please click here.

According to our school’s Admissions Policy we place new students by age, please click here to read specific details regarding the placement policy.

Candidates for admission to our ELC have to be three years old by 31 August in order to be admitted for the start of an academic year. However, children who turn 3 years of age by the 31 January of an academic year will also be allowed to apply for a place with the anticipated start date being the 1st of the month, following the month of when the child turns 3. Children who turn 3 years after 31 January will automatically be considered for admission in August of the following academic year. Children who start in our ELC must be toilet trained.

The Admissions Team would be happy to show you around our well-appointed and attractive campus and answer any questions in person or by email. In case you cannot make it for a tour at our school, please take a stroll on our available virtual tour.

To receive more information on the online application process and/or schedule a tour or virtual meet with our Admissions Coordinator, please contact our Admissions Team at admissions(at)vis.ac.at.

As vacancies are available, VIS accepts new students at the beginning of a new academic year as well as during an academic year. Students who are registered on our waiting lists, who meet the admissions criteria and requirements and who have been approved by the respective school’s Admission Team, will be offered places.

Our school usually maintains waiting lists for all grades. We recommend you apply for places as early as possible.

We have 2 parallel classes in our ELC (16-18 per class), and 3 parallel classes in Grade Primary (20 per class). In Grades 1 to 4 we enroll a maximum of 92 students in 4 parallel classes. In Grade 5 we run 5 parallel classes with a maximum of 110 students. G6 to G8 have 5 parallel classes with 114 students, Grades 9 and 10 has a maximum of 132 students in 6 parallel classes. In G11 and G12 we can have up to 140 students per grade level.

The Vienna International School is an authorised International Baccalaureate school, a programme of international education designed to help students ages 3 to 18 to develop the knowledge, understanding, attitudes and skills necessary to participate actively and responsibly in a changing world.
 

If you are further interested, please click here to find out more about curriculum.

Once we have received your child’s complete online application and your child’s status has been confirmed as waitlisted, we will start the reviewing process and possible language options (ELA support, French/Spanish options), learning support and medical needs and placement issues will be addressed. When a place is available, an offer of a place will be extended by email via the online application tool, OPEN APPLY.  

If the parent/s want to accept the place, the admission fee for the respective year will have to be paid within the given deadline and proof of payment uploaded on your child’s OPEN APPLY profile. The actual first day of attendance will be mutually agreed to between parents and the Admissions Coordinator.

When filing an application for admission at VIS through our online OPEN APPLY system a copy of the following will need to be uploaded to the online application form:

• Student identification (passport) and student passport photo of high quality, ratio 3:4
• Parent/guardian identification (passport) and passport photo high quality, ratio 3:4
• 2 most recent School reports (originals and if reports are not in English, an English translation is compulsory)
• Credit Card to make the online application fee payment.

If applicable, you must also upload copies of the following documents to the application form so our school can review all available documents accordingly and inform you whether an academic programme can be offered. If the original report is not in English an official translation must be uploaded as well:

• Psycho-educational reports (no older than 3 years)
• Speech-language or occupational therapy reports 
• Individual Learning Plan (ILP) or Individual Education Plan (IEP)
• Additional Educational Support assessments
• Medical reports

More valuable information about the school can be found under FAQ section, please click here.