With Dubai private schools preparing to welcome back students for the 2026–2027 academic year, the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) has re-issued clear guidelines outlining regulations on application fees, registration deposits, and refund structures to ensure transparency between parents and educational institutions.
Under the framework, private schools are permitted to charge a non-deductible application fee capped at AED 500 for new admissions. The regulator emphasized that this application fee must be fully refunded if the school fails to offer the student a place following assessment, or if the institution collected the charge without disclosing prior to payment that no seats were available or that the applicant would be placed on a waiting list.
For families offered formal admission, schools can collect a registration deposit of up to 10 percent of annual tuition fees for new students, while existing students seeking re-registration can be charged up to 5 percent of annual tuition (or AED 500, whichever is lower). The KHDA clarified that deposits are not additional surcharges and must be fully credited against the student’s First Term tuition fees.
A critical point for parents navigating potential school moves or international relocations is the regulatory 60-day notice rule. Registration and re-registration deposits remain 100 percent refundable provided parents submit a formal written notice of withdrawal at least 60 calendar days prior to the official start of the academic year. Furthermore, if a KHDA-approved fee increase is announced after initial payments are made, parents are granted a 10-calendar-day grace period to withdraw and receive a complete refund.
The regulator also outlined standardized term-by-term withdrawal calculations based strictly on the official written withdrawal request date rather than physical attendance. If a student formally withdraws within the first two weeks of term, the school may retain one month of tuition; withdrawals between two weeks and one month incur a two-month fee deduction; while departures occurring after one month of term require full term fee settlement
