Criteria for Acceptance of Foreign Students into Barbadian Schools 

No foreign student can be accepted into a school in Barbados without a valid student visa.  The Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development will, upon request, indicate to the Immigration Department that a place may be available for offer to such a student, until a visa has been issued by the Immigration Department.

Applications for student visas are made directly to the Immigration Department.

Travel Userfiles/File of the parent/guardian and information relative to the reason for being in Barbados is required.  A fee of Barbados two hundred dollars (Bds$200.00) per application is also required.

Once the application has been accepted by Immigration for processing, the applicant is referred to the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development .

The student's school record, including information on the following, must be presented to the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development :

      academic achievement
      reading age
      social and emotional development
      enrichment activities
      special programmes/needs
      any other relevant information

The above will assist in determining an appropriate placement for the student.

Once a visa has been issued and a place has been determined, the parent must present a valid birth certificate and the student's immunization record to the school.  Students are not allowed in school unless they have had the relevant immunizations.  These include:

      DPT and Polio  - (4 doses by 18 months, and the final dose at 4½ years)

      MMR               -   (2 doses by age 5, 1st dose at 1 year)   

School records should be forwarded/presented to any one of the following officers at the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development :

Ms. Joy Gittens
Deputy Chief Education Officer (Schools)
Telephone Number:  (246) 430-2740

Mrs. Jessica Browne
Senior Education Officer (Secondary)
Telephone Number:   (246) 430-2759

Mrs. Gertrude Welch
Senior Education Officer (Nursery and Primary)
Telephone Number:  (246) 430-2753

All officers may be reached by fax at (246) 436-2411.

There is no fee for foreign students attending public primary schools in Barbados.  However, at the secondary level fees of between Barbados three hundred and fifty dollars (Bds.$350.00) and Barbados five hundred dollars (Bds.$500.00) per term are charged.

A school year is made up of three (3) terms.

At the primary level (4+ to 11 years old) parents are responsible for the purchase of books.  At the secondary level however, (11+ to 16+) there is an annual Textbook rental fee of one hundred and fifty dollars ($150.00) for foreign students.  There is also a petty fee of forty-five dollars ($45.00) per year.

Further enquiries may be directed to any of the officers named at
E-mail.: jgittens@mes.gov.bb