Suzhou Singapore International School

1. Create an OpenApply account. Parents must register at SSIS's OpenApply portal before they can submit an application or sign up for open days; this account is the school's primary channel for application notifications and next-step instructions, so use a reliable email address you check regularly. (Make the account at https://ssis-sh.openapply.cn and keep the login details safe.)

2. Complete and submit application documents via OpenApply. All required documents must be uploaded to OpenApply and any non-English/Chinese documents must be translated by an authorised translation company; bring original documents to the Admissions Office for verification on the day of the Admissions Assessment. Required paperwork varies by nationality—examples include the SSIS Registration Kit, signed Code of Conduct and Confidential School Recommendation (for Grade 1+), the child's birth certificate and vaccination record, the family's passport pages, and Shanghai residence/permit or property/tenancy proof—so check the list that applies to your family and prepare certified copies before applying.

3. Pay the application fee (and follow payment timing). After you submit documents, SSIS issues a proforma invoice; the non-refundable application fee (RMB 2,500 for AY2025/2026) must be paid at least five working days before the Admissions Assessment date using bank transfer or on-site card/cash as instructed by SSIS Finance. Keep proof of payment and email any bank-transfer receipts to the school when requested—missing payment deadlines can delay or invalidate your booking for an assessment.

4. Attend the Admissions Assessment. All applicants are required to complete an Admissions Assessment; SSIS Admissions will contact you with the assessment schedule and details once they have a complete application. After the assessment SSIS will notify you of the outcome.

5. Complete the application by paying the matriculation fee and confirming enrolment. If your child is offered a place you are asked to pay the non-refundable matriculation fee (RMB 20,000 for AY2025/2026) within five working days to secure the place; tuition choices (annual or termly) and optional services (school bus, ELA programme at RMB 25,000/yr for Grades 1–6, paid ASPs) are detailed in the Registration Pack and on the Tuition & Fees page. Read the Registration Pack's payment schedule, discount rules (10% sibling or corporate discount conditions), and refund and late-payment policies carefully—late-payment penalties and enrolment consequences are explicitly stated.

SSIS's published enrolment materials reference a waitlist: the Registration Pack and fee policy state that if a student is suspended or leaves for non-payment the school may “offer the student's seat to new applicants on the waitlist.” That language indicates SSIS maintains a pool of applicants it can draw on when places become available, but the website and Registration Pack do not publish a detailed public waitlist protocol (for example: ranking criteria, how long applicants remain on the list, or automatic expiry of a position). Therefore, if you want to know how the waitlist would apply to your child (how places are prioritised, expected waiting times, or whether acceptance requires immediate matriculation-fee payment), contact the Admissions Office directly (admission@ssis.asia / +86 21 6221 9288) for current practice and your applicant's position. Note: the statement about offering seats to waitlisted applicants appears in the school's refund/late-payment section and is the basis for the above summary; the rest is an informed inference because the school does not publish a full waitlist procedure.