How European School admissions work in Brussels and Luxembourg

The European Schools in Brussels and Luxembourg do not admit pupils the way a private international school does. You do not choose a campus and then apply to it. Your admission category — mostly decided by who employs a parent — determines whether you can apply at all. Your child’s language section then largely determines which school they attend.

Our advice: settle the category and the language section before you look at buildings, journeys or school atmosphere. A family that falls into Category III should treat a European School place as possible but unlikely, and keep a fee-paying or public alternative open until a place is confirmed in writing.

This page covers the shared rules. The individual profiles cover what differs by school: European School Brussels III in Ixelles, European School Brussels IV in Laeken, European School Luxembourg I on Kirchberg and European School Luxembourg II in Bertrange/Mamer. If you are still deciding whether a European School is the right kind of school at all, start with European Schools and other international schools.

The three admission categories

Both cities use the same three categories, although the detailed rules and limits differ.

Category	Who it covers	What it means for admission and fees
I	Children of staff employed by the European institutions and other listed bodies	Priority admission; exempt from tuition, but not from every other school cost
II	Children admitted under a financing agreement between the employer and the European Schools	Admission under that agreement; the employer pays a contribution per pupil
III	All other families	Admitted only in narrow circumstances and where places remain; tuition is charged

Ask your employer for the attestation the school system requires, and have the category confirmed before you rely on it. Access to an application form does not by itself settle the fee category.

Brussels: one central authority for every school

Who decides

In Brussels, applications go to the Central Enrolment Authority, not to EEB3, EEB4 or any other school. It allocates places across all the Brussels European Schools and sites according to the annual Policy on Enrolment in the Brussels European Schools.

Two separate limits apply. First, even an eligible family is not guaranteed its preferred school. Second, the 2026–27 policy states that, because of capacity pressure, the authority cannot guarantee a place to every Category I applicant, even though it does everything possible to do so.

Who may apply for 2026–27

The central enrolment FAQ gives a link to the application form to:

• Category I applicants;
• Category II applicants covered by a financing agreement;
• children of NATO international civilian staff; and
• children of United Nations international civil servants.

Under Article 7.3 and Annex I of the policy, eligible NATO and UN applications are considered after Categories I and II but before other Category III applications. A place must be available, and admission must not require a class to be split.

Other Category III applicants must meet all of the Article 7.4 conditions:

• a sibling attended a Brussels European School throughout 2025–26 and continues there in 2026–27;
• the application is for that same school or site, and a place exists in the required language section and year;
• the class does not already have 24 pupils; and
• the application is handled in the second or third enrolment phase.

A sibling connection is therefore a precondition, not a guarantee. A Category III family with no sibling already enrolled should, in our view, not plan around a Brussels European School.

The 2026–27 enrolment phases

These dates come from the 2026–27 policy and the central portal. All but the fourth phase have passed as of 7 October 2026; do not reuse them for 2027–28.

Phase	Eligibility requests	Enrolment or transfer applications
First (Category I families were normally expected to apply here)	7–29 January 2026	7–30 January 2026
Second	From 18 May 2026	18 May–10 June 2026
Third	Until 20 August 2026	17–21 August 2026
Fourth (restricted)	10 September 2026–18 March 2027	10 September 2026–18 March 2027

The fourth phase is not a general late-application window. It covers only the groups and circumstances set out in Article 12 of the policy, and the authority will not accept requests after 18 March 2027 at 16:00 (Brussels time). If you arrive during the school year, ask the Central Enrolment Authority to check your eligibility before you assume a place is possible.

Pupils already enrolled are normally re-enrolled automatically for the following year. If you plan to leave, follow your school’s withdrawal procedure.

Language sections, L1 and SWALS

Each Brussels school is organised into language sections. The abbreviations used in the policy — EN, FR, CS and so on — name teaching sections, not nationalities. A child is normally placed in the section of their dominant language, called Language 1 (L1). The school director determines that dominant language under the European Schools rules; parents do not simply choose it.

There is one specific exception. Article 47(e) of the General Rules allows the normal section rule to be waived for a pupil who has already completed at least two years of primary or secondary education in another language. The director decides.

The policy fixes which sections each school hosts, so the section often decides the school. Some languages are only offered at one Brussels school, which is why, for example, Czech-section applicants are referred to EEB3. The school profiles list each school’s sections.

Pupils whose language has no section are called SWALS (Students Without a Language Section). They join a German, English or French section and receive mother-tongue teaching in their own language.

All pupils start a first foreign language, Language 2 (L2), in Primary 1. EEB3 describes the choice as English, French or German. From Secondary 3, L2 is also the teaching language for humanities and for religion or ethics. A third language becomes compulsory from Secondary 1, subject to a group being formed.

The policy also schedules a new school, EEB5, to open in 2030–31, with planned transfers of some existing classes. Check the profile of the relevant school if your child’s section could be affected.

Brussels fees for 2026–27

According to the European Schools’ school fees page, which describes all amounts as guidance:

• Category I: no school fees. Meals, transport, trips and other costs are not automatically included.
• Category II: €13,856.46 per pupil for a new Brussels agreement; the amount for existing agreements is still marked “tba” (to be announced).
• Category III, pupils enrolled from 2013–14 onwards:

Cycle	2026–27 fee
Nursery	€4,457.80
Primary	€6,129.55
Secondary	€8,358.46

Category III pupils enrolled before 2013–14 pay lower protected rates (€3,637.56 nursery, €5,001.71 primary, €6,820.51 secondary). NATO and UN arrangements carry their own fee obligations; confirm the charge rather than assume a Category I exemption. Add canteen, transport, activities and any support charges to the budget.

Luxembourg: two schools, one set of rules

Who decides

European School Luxembourg I (Kirchberg) and European School Luxembourg II (Bertrange, listed by the European Schools as Mamer) apply joint Rules on admission and operation for 2026–27. There is no central authority as in Brussels: you apply to a school, but the two directorates apply the shared allocation rules and decide placement together for the German, English and French sections.

Categories in Luxembourg

• Category I: a parent works directly and continuously for a European institution or related organisation for at least one year. These pupils are exempt from tuition.
• Category II: admission under a signed financing agreement. The Board’s 2026–27 Luxembourg rate for a new contract is €16,306.32; the amount for existing contracts is still “tba”.
• Category III: other families, only if places remain after Category I and II applications are assessed. Each school gives priority to undersubscribed language sections, meaning those with the fewest pupils. No Category III pupil may enter a class that already has 27 or more pupils, and decisions are taken case by case.

The reviewed sources do not describe a Category III waiting list. For a Category III family, the available place matters more than any impression of the school, so ask early which classes in your child’s section and year have room.

Which school teaches your child’s language

The joint rules assign the following sections and/or mother-tongue provision. A listed language does not necessarily have a full section at every stage.

Location	Languages assigned there
Luxembourg I only	Bulgarian, Spanish, Estonian, Finnish, Lithuanian, Latvian, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese, Swedish
Luxembourg II only	Czech, Danish, Greek, Croatian, Hungarian, Italian, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian
Both schools	German, English, French

For the three shared sections, three rules apply in order:

1. Language first. SWALS pupils attend the school where their mother tongue is taught, and single-school languages go to that school.
2. New residents in the German, English or French sections are in principle enrolled at Luxembourg II. A new resident is a pupil whose legal representatives do not have their principal residence in Luxembourg or its immediate vicinity when the application is submitted.
3. Existing residents are split by the north–south line on the map attached to the rules: the south-west zone is assigned to Luxembourg II and the north-east zone to Luxembourg I. Check your actual address with admissions before choosing housing.

For Category III SWALS pupils, the shared application form limits mother-tongue L1 teaching to a course already established for Category I or II pupils.

Other National Language (ONL) teaching is offered at both schools, subject to teacher availability. The rules link Swedish/Finnish to pupils of Finnish origin, Irish to Irish origin, Maltese to Maltese origin and Catalan to Spanish origin, whatever section is requested. Only Categories I and II are entitled to it; Category III pupils may join an existing course, but none will be created for them alone.

The 2026–27 application timetable

The joint rules set the standard application period for new pupils from 2 to 27 March 2026. Processing began on 13 April 2026, with replies due by 12 June 2026; families were asked not to call the secretariats before then.

Only complete files are processed. A file that was incomplete at the end of the application period missed the standard timetable. From 1 May 2026, complete files take six to eight working weeks to process, and no replies were sent before 12 June. Pupils already enrolled do not need to re-enrol.

All these dates have passed, and the reviewed material does not yet publish a window for 2027–28. Contact the school’s admissions office for a late application or the next cycle.

Luxembourg fees and payments

Category I pupils pay no tuition, but additional school costs still apply. For Category III, the Board’s 2026–27 fee table and the schools’ 2026–27 enrolment form showed different amounts when checked on 5 September 2026:

Cycle	Board: Category III enrolled from 2013–14	School form: other Category III parents
Nursery	€4,457.80	€4,300.47
Primary	€6,129.55	€5,913.21
Secondary	€8,358.46	€8,063.46

The form’s line for civilian staff of NATO/NSPA (the NATO Support and Procurement Agency) shows twice the form’s amounts. Ask the school which tariff and category will appear on your invoice; choosing the lower figure does not resolve the discrepancy.

The form gives a 20% tuition reduction for the second child and 40% for the third and later children; other school costs are excluded from these reductions.

Category III parents undertake to pay a non-refundable 25% deposit before 26 June 2026, with the balance due within the period the school sets. The deposit is part of tuition, not an extra 25% on top.

Luxembourg’s public international schools are a different route

Luxembourg also runs public écoles internationales that follow the European Schools curriculum as Accredited European Schools. They are part of the national public system, not the Type I European Schools above, so the Category I–III rules do not apply. Luxembourg’s education ministry describes these schools as open to all pupils and free of tuition fees, but each still needs an application for a specific year and language section.

They include EIDE in Differdange and Esch-sur-Alzette, École Internationale Mondorf-les-Bains, EIMAB in Mersch, LLIS in Junglinster, École Internationale Edward Steichen in Clervaux and EIGT in Luxembourg City. Accreditation does not always cover every year and section yet, so check the profile and the school’s accreditation record for your child’s stage.

Which route fits your family

• Choose a European School in either city if you are Category I or II. Then the real questions are which language section your child belongs in and which school that section points to.
• In Brussels, apply as Category III only if a sibling is already enrolled at the school you want. Otherwise the policy leaves no general route in.
• In Luxembourg, consider Category III if your child’s section is undersubscribed and you can wait for a decision. Keep an alternative open until a place is confirmed.
• Choose a Luxembourg public école internationale if you want European schooling without employer eligibility or tuition, and one of them offers your child’s section and year within a reasonable journey.
• Compare private international schools if none of the above applies. Their admissions, curricula and fees work differently.

For the wider city picture, see choosing a school in Brussels and choosing a school in Luxembourg.

Friendly orientation, not formal admissions advice. Always confirm dates with the school.