International School Admissions in Mumbai | International Schools Guide

The brief

Junior KG at age 4 is the only real entry point at the top of the Mumbai market. DAIS, Cathedral, Oberoi and BIS all fill at JKG and barely move after that.
DAIS runs a registration window then a lottery for non-sibling JKG applicants. Around 100 to 120 places, several thousand registrations, single-digit percent odds in the open pool.
Cathedral and John Connon is just as oversubscribed at JKG. Sibling and alumni preference is structural, not theoretical. Outside families compete for a small open pool.
The academic year starts in June. JKG registration windows open the previous October to December and close before Christmas.
The 25% RTE quota applies to most CBSE and ICSE schools in Maharashtra, allotted by lottery from registered economically weaker section applicants.
Capitation fees are illegal under the Maharashtra Educational Institutions Act, and they are widely paid anyway, usually framed as building funds, corpus donations, or trust contributions.

Mumbai is the hardest Indian city to get a child into a top international school. The premium tier admits at age 4, lotteries the families that meet criteria, and does not open up again until international moves at Grade 9 or 11. The calendar and the year-group matter more than the candidate.

The June calendar

The Maharashtra year runs June to April, with a long summer break in May. JKG starts on the first working day of June. The registration window for the next June cohort typically opens in October, closes by late November or early December, and is followed by lottery draws and observations between January and March. Offers go out in March or early April.

A family relocating in July has already missed that year's entry cycle. Corporate moves that work cleanly target a July arrival the calendar year before the child needs to start JKG.

Grade 1 is limited to seats left by JKG attrition. Grade 5 and 6 open at some schools because of the move to MYP or IGCSE prep, and both DAIS and ASB publish small Grade 5 intakes. Grade 9 is the next real window because of IGCSE start; Grade 11 for the IB Diploma switch. Intermediate years are closed unless a family leaves.

What "lottery" actually means at DAIS

Dhirubhai Ambani International School runs roughly 100 to 120 JKG seats per year, against several thousand registrations. Sibling and staff-child applicants are processed in a separate pool and almost all are admitted, taking a chunk of seats before the open lottery runs.

The open pool is drawn by computerised random lottery among applicants meeting residency and documentation criteria. Shortlisted families are then called for a child observation and a parent meeting. The observation is not a test. It is a screen for school readiness, language exposure, and obvious red flags. The interview is a screen for fit. After both, places are confirmed.

Visible odds in the open lottery sit in single digits, before any qualitative filtering. A family with two children already at DAIS effectively has a place for the third. A family with no prior link is competing on the open draw, then on the interview round.

Cathedral, Oberoi and the rest of the top tier

Cathedral and John Connon is the older Mumbai parallel. Founded 1860, ICSE/ISC with an IB Diploma stream from Class 11, around 1,200 students across Infant and Senior campuses in Fort. Sibling and alumni preference is structural. The alumni network is dense enough that "Cathedral family" is a recognised category in South Mumbai. Outside families compete for a small open pool.

Oberoi International School admits to both its Goregaon East (Garden City) and JVLR campuses, around 2,900 students across the full IB continuum. JKG is the main intake at both. Oberoi publishes a clearer process than Cathedral, runs an observation-and-interview round, and applies sibling priority. The JVLR campus is easier than OGC because it is newer and less embedded.

American School of Bombay works differently. ASB is the default diplomatic and senior-corporate option, around 1,300 students across the BKC Secondary campus and Kohinoor City Elementary in Kurla. The school admits at any grade with room, screens on prior schooling and English exposure rather than running a lottery, and reserves capacity for in-cycle corporate moves. ASB tuition runs INR 17.7 to 31 lakh at the top, which pre-filters the pool. Places open mid-year more often than at any other Mumbai school.

Ecole Mondiale, BD Somani, Bombay International, Ascend and JBCN Parel admit at JKG with similar mechanics. Further down the list, more seats are available outside JKG, and the prior-schooling screen is stricter.

The CBSE and ICSE international-stream route

A material share of Mumbai's "international" admissions runs through schools whose primary board is CBSE or ICSE, with an IGCSE or IB stream layered on. Aditya Birla World Academy, Jamnabai Narsee International, Hill Spring and the JBCN campuses sit here.

The mechanic is sibling and alumni preference, then lottery within categories. Categories typically include children of staff, board or trust members, current-student siblings, alumni children, and the open pool. Seats left for the open pool after priority categories close are often 30 to 50 percent of the total, sometimes less. Junior KG remains the binding entry point. The lottery is conducted in front of parent representatives or notarised, and the result is final.

Assessment in practice

Most premium schools describe their JKG entry as an observation, not a test. In practice it evaluates: holding a pencil, basic English instruction comprehension, separation from the parent for thirty to forty minutes, gross and fine motor, social interaction. It is not a tested-curriculum entry exam, and preschool drilling for it is misplaced.

For Grade 5 and 6 entries the bar shifts: English reading and writing, basic mathematics, sometimes a Hindi or Marathi screen depending on board. Grade 9 entries for IGCSE are tested against the school's existing Grade 8 cohort and require evidence of prior English-medium schooling. Grade 11 entries for IB Diploma are predicated on IGCSE or Grade 10 board results.

The parent interview is consistent: philosophy fit, parental engagement, language at home, prior schooling, reasons for the move. It is a screen, not a sales conversation.

How families maximise their chances

Register at JKG. The single biggest determinant of access to DAIS, Cathedral, Oberoi or BIS is being in the JKG applicant pool. Applying at Grade 1 reduces the open pool to a handful of seats.

Apply to three to five schools in parallel. Application fees are modest, lottery draws are independent, and a second-choice place is the fallback while a waitlist resolves. Most families with a top-three offer applied to at least four.

Stay registered if waitlisted. Mumbai waitlists shift through the cycle as families release multiple offers, particularly after the March round. Wait positions are not published numerically, but movement is real.

The Grade 5 and Grade 9 windows are the secondary route for families arriving with older children. Earlier grades require attrition, and attrition is low.

Documentation matters. Transfer certificates, reports, language profile, and board-equivalence paperwork carry weight beyond what schools publish. A clean documentary trail from a credible prior school is a real filter in the qualitative round.

The Maharashtra RTE quota

Under the Right to Education Act, private unaided schools in Maharashtra reserve 25% of entry-level seats for children from economically weaker sections and disadvantaged groups, free to age 14. The intake is allotted by lottery from a centralised state portal that opens in the spring preceding the June year. The state reimburses schools at a per-child notification that lags actual fees charged.

Whether a Mumbai international school sits in the RTE pool depends on board affiliation. Schools running purely IB or Cambridge with no Indian board may sit outside the RTE structure entirely. Schools running ICSE, CBSE, or a state-board primary alongside the international stream typically fall within it. The participating-schools list is published on the Maharashtra state portal each cycle.

Capitation fees, in practice

Capitation, payments demanded in addition to published fees, is prohibited under Section 4 of the Maharashtra Educational Institutions (Prohibition of Capitation Fee) Act, with penalties up to ten times the fee charged. The practical position is different. Mumbai families report being asked for, and paying, additional sums at admission, framed as building funds, corpus donations, or trust fees. Amounts vary and are typically not on the official fee notification. Most often reported at mid- and lower-tier schools, less often at the regulated top tier where transparent fee disclosure carries reputational weight, almost never at foreign-system schools (ASB, Ecole Mondiale) where the parent base is non-resident.

A school that names all its mandatory fees in a single published schedule, and charges nothing outside it, is making a commitment an opaque school is not.

FAQs

When does the Mumbai school year start?

June. JKG registration windows open the previous October to December, lotteries and observations run January to March, and offers go out in March or early April.

What is Junior KG and why does it matter?

Junior KG (JKG) is the formal entry year at age 4, equivalent to Reception or Pre-K. It is the year DAIS, Cathedral, Oberoi, BIS and Ecole Mondiale fill their cohorts. Applying at Grade 1 instead means competing for fewer than ten places at most premium schools.

How does the DAIS lottery work?

Sibling, staff and trust-affiliated applicants are processed in a priority pool. Remaining JKG seats are drawn by computerised random lottery from open-pool applicants. Shortlisted families are called for a child observation and a parent interview. Both stages can eliminate a candidate the lottery shortlists.

Can siblings expect a place at Cathedral or DAIS?

Sibling preference is structural at both, and in practice nearly all sibling applicants meeting basic criteria are admitted. Not a guaranteed offer, but a current student materially changes the odds at JKG.

What if we arrive outside the registration window?

The remaining options are schools that admit on a rolling basis, primarily ASB and a few boutique IB schools where seats open through corporate rotation. For most premium schools the wait is until the next cycle.

Does the RTE quota apply to international schools?

The 25% RTE quota applies to private unaided schools recognised under Maharashtra board registration, which includes most CBSE and ICSE schools and some hybrid international-stream campuses. Purely IB or Cambridge schools with no Indian board affiliation may sit outside it.

Sources. ISG Mumbai schools database. School admissions pages and registration calendars for the 2026-27 cycle. Maharashtra Educational Institutions (Prohibition of Capitation Fee) Act 1987. Right to Education Act 2009 and Maharashtra RTE portal. Parent forum signal across Mumbai parenting communities.