What Costs Should International Teaching Families Budget For?

One of the most common questions we hear from families considering the international teaching circuit is about costs and budgeting: How much do we actually need in the bank before we go?

It’s a harder question to answer than it should be, because most relocation guides are written with single teachers in mind. The honest answer for families is this: even with a strong school package behind you, the upfront costs can be significant, especially with bigger families.

We’ve made this move multiple times now, with a growing family, and there are definitely a few things we wish someone had told us before we signed our first contract.

The Numbers You’ll Actually Need

Industry data from relocation specialists puts the total cost of an international family move at anywhere from $5,000 to $15,000 or more once you factor in flights, shipping, visas, and temporary housing. For families with kids (and especially if you’re travelling with pets) the upper figure can be easier to reach than you’d expect.

And while your school’s package will offset a significant portion of this (depending on what’s included in your teaching benefits), a lot of things will need to be reimbursed. Which means you’ll need cash upfront to pay first, and claim later. Depending on your school, the gap can stretch weeks or sometimes even months. So having liquid savings to cover it is essential.

Document Preparation Costs

A big cost that you may not be prepared for is in the documentation required for your visas. For families, this hits harder because most documentation is required per person – not per household.

Apostilles — the official authentication stamps required for documents used in foreign countries — are a good example. State government fees for apostilles in the US range from $20 to $50 per document, with international shipping adding another $40 to $90 per packet.

Costs can be vary hugely depending on where your documents were issued. For example, recent apostilles for our family of five set us back over $750.

Along with apostilles, you may need to get certified translations of documents, which can cost anywhere from $50–$150 per document depending on where you’re moving to, notarisation, courier fees between countries, and the occasional document that needs to be reissued entirely. It’s not uncommon for families to spend $500–$1,500 on paperwork alone – and not all schools will reimburse all these additional costs associated with visa applications.

Top Tip: Make sure you have all your documentation prepared early. While you can hold off on apostilles until you secure a job offer, if you need certified copies (e.g. university degrees) or new documents issued, arrange this when you first start applying to help speed up the process.

Flights: What the Package May Not Cover

Many international schools include flight benefits at the beginning and end of a contract (and some will include annual flights). But not all schools will cover flights for dependents, and some may have offer stipends instead of full flight coverage depending on your school.

From our own experience, this can have a big impact on costs. Our first international contract covered all dependants at beginning and end of contract only. Our second school offered annual flights but only up to two dependants. Our third covered the whole family, but only every two years. Always read the small print in your teaching contract to know what to expect.

What packages don’t always cover — and where families can overspend — includes:

• Excess baggage fees, which increase significantly when you’re travelling with kids and their belongings
• Accommodation during transit if your journey involves a long layover or stopover (often worth it with young kids, but it adds up)
• Travel insurance before your school’s coverage kicks in
• Airport transfers (although most quality international schools will have someone meet you on arrival and arrange a transfer)

If you’re travelling from a country like Australia or the UK to Southeast Asia or the Middle East, flight costs for a family of four can exceed $3,000–$5,000, even on economy fares. If your school provides a lump-sum flight allowance rather than booking directly, make sure it will actually cover your whole family – especially with the current rising flight costs we’re seeing worldwide.

Shipping: More Complex for Families

Shipping and how best to ship your stuff (and what to take) is a major consideration – and a major stress for most families.

The average cost of an international move, including international shipping and moving services, ranges from approximately $3,000 to $18,000 or more according to Allied Moving Companies.

Sea freight is typically five to six times cheaper than air freight, but it’s still expensive, again especially during the current fuel crisis we’re seeing worldwide, which is driving prices up.

Many schools provide a shipping allowance, but it’s frequently capped by weight or volume – and doesn’t always cover dependents. Watch out for strict weight limits, and keep all receipts for reimbursement. In Latin America in particular, many schools recommend bringing everything as additional baggage rather than shipping, due to high import duties and customs challenges. Be sure to check the customs for your destination and if you need to budget more for ‘destination costs’ which can add thousands to your initial shipping quote.

Our honest recommendation: unless you’re moving furniture you genuinely can’t replace, ship less than you think you need. Look at bringing more with you (which can be viable if you’re travelling on an air route that allows two bags per passenger), or look at options like Send My Bag. The financial and logistical savings are huge and most furnished school accommodation covers the basics.

Top tip: Get multiple shipping quotes for your shipping and try lots of alternatives – get quotes for sending bags, sea freight and air freight – consider the best options for what you actually need to send. The less you send the less you spend – and if you can easily get things on arrival in your new country it can be cheaper to purchase in country than sending things.

Setting Up Home: “Furnished” Is Not a Guarantee

Some international school housing packages include accommodation, which can be a huge benefit for many families. But there are important caveats.

Even in school-provided housing, you may need to pay extra for additional furniture or appliances. Depending on your school’s housing policy some can be bare-bones, while others will give you a starter package with new pots, pans, kettles, toasters etc. It all comes down to the individual school.

If you’re provided with a housing allowance (or if there isn’t a housing allowance at all), you’ll be responsible for covering costs for deposits/bonds, agent fees, furnishing (if not furnished), and utilities yourself.

For families arriving in a new country, the first few weeks will usually involve higher-than-usual spending: groceries for an empty kitchen, household basics, SIM cards, transport cards, school supplies for kids, and the small but constant costs of establishing a new routine in an unfamiliar city.

Budget a minimum of $1,000–$2,000 for family setup costs, even when accommodation is provided.

Visas and Paperwork for the Whole Family

Many schools cover visa application fees and renewals for the teacher, but coverage for dependants is far less consistent. Make sure you know what you’re paying for before you sign your contract – think of it as a contract red flag if you can’t get a straight answer from HR.

Visa costs vary enormously by country and family size. Common expenses that families are asked to cover themselves include:

• Medical tests per person (required in many Middle Eastern and Asian countries)
• Passport renewals for kids, which need more frequent renewal than adult passports
• Additional document authentication for child-specific paperwork such as birth certificates and custody documentation
• Translation of children’s school records

In some regions, visa processing requires multiple in-person appointments — which is straightforward for one person and significantly more logistically complex for a family.

Children’s Schooling: The Costs Before the Discount Kicks In

Many international schools will offer some form of discount tuition for staff kids (though not all!).  This is one of the most valuable parts of any family package, sometimes worth tens of thousands of dollars each year.

But even if full costs are covered there are other expenses you’ll need to budget for:

• School uniforms, which at international schools can cost $200–$500 per child for the full kit (many schools offer second-hand uniform sales or swaps between staff kids so ask before arriving, especially if your kids are young)
• Extracurricular activities, which are often charged separately even when school fees are waived
• School supplies and technology requirements that vary significantly from your home country (some schools require specific computers, e.g. MacBooks which can eat into your budget)

If you’re moving with a partner who won’t be working immediately — due to visa restrictions or the practical challenges of establishing themselves in a new country — factor their day-to-day costs into your buffer too.

Pets: A Budget Category of Their Own

International pet transportation costs can be insanely expensive – and won’t be covered by your school in most cases. They can typically range from $2,000 to $5,000 per pet, depending on the destination, services, airline route, and required paperwork. And that’s before you account for destination-specific requirements.

According to Paws Abroad, high-biosecurity destinations like Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and Hawaii often require months of preparation and can cost $1,500–$3,000 or more, including quarantine.  Countries with simpler entry rules are cheaper, but the veterinary certificate, USDA endorsement, airline cargo fees, and IATA-approved crate costs still add up to hundreds of dollars.

If you plan on bringing your pet with you, make sure you do your research. Check your destination country’s import requirements early — some countries require six months or more of preparation.

Healthcare Gaps

Health insurance is usually a benefit offered in most international school contracts, but the amount and range of cover varies. Some schools provide worldwide cover for you and your family, while others cover just you as the teacher, and others only offer coverage within your host country. Leaving you with gaps when you travel. You also need to check for dental coverage, maternity waiting periods, and pre-existing condition clauses.

Coverage also doesn’t always start when you first arrive. The gap between arriving in a country and activating your school’s insurance policy can range from a few days to several weeks. For families with kids you may need to take out short-term travel insurance to bridge this period. This can cost $100–$300 per person, depending on destination and coverage level.

Some countries also ask for your kids vaccination records or specific immunisations for visa processing — if there are costs associated, these will be your responsibility.

Reimbursement of Costs

Many international schools reimburse your relocation expenses, but it can take weeks or sometimes months, depending on the school, to get your money back. You’ll likely need to submit receipts and complete a claims process when you arrive in country.

Having at least two months’ worth of expenses in accessible savings — separate from any reimbursable costs — is a good idea for a family. It can help ensure you get off to the right start, and aren’t stressed about money at an already stressful period of moving internationally with kids!

What to Ask Before You Sign

Many of these costs can be negotiated or clarified early by asking the right questions upfront:

• Are relocation costs reimbursed, or does the school pay providers directly?
• When are reimbursements paid, and what documentation is required?
• Are flights, visas, and relocation allowances extended to all dependants?
• Is temporary housing provided on arrival, and for how long?
• Is the shipping allowance based on weight or value, and what does it cover?
• What does “furnished accommodation” actually include?
• Are dependants covered under the school’s health insurance from day one?

Some schools will reimburse excess baggage or give a one-time relocation allowance, while others leave you to figure it out yourself — so always ask.

A Realistic Budget Summary

Every family’s situation is different, but here is a guide (in USD) for out-of-pocket costs before reimbursement — that is, money you need to have available:

Category	Conservative	Higher-End
Document preparation	$500	$1,500+
Flights (above package)	$500	$2,000+
Shipping (above allowance)	$500	$3,000+
Home setup	$1,000	$3,000+
Visa/medical costs for family	$500	$2,000+
School uniforms and supplies	$400	$1,000+
Pet relocation	$0	$5,000+
Healthcare gap	$200	$600+
Emergency buffer	$1,000	$2,000+
Total	~$5,000	$20,000+

The wide range reflects how much destination, family size, and the generosity of your school’s package matter. Families moving to the Middle East with a top-tier package will sit toward the lower end; families moving to Europe with a leaner offer may sit toward the higher end.

Costs For Your Move – Wrap Up

International teaching packages are genuinely competitive — the combination of salary, accommodation, flights, and tuition waivers represents exceptional value for families committed to this lifestyle. But the upfront costs are real, especially for families, and they arrive before your first paycheck.

Knowing what to expect — and having the savings to cover it — means you can start your new role focused on settling in, not scrambling to cover expenses you didn’t see coming!

Note: All cost figures cited in this article are sourced from publicly available relocation industry data and government sources current as of 2024–2025. Individual costs will vary by country of origin, destination, family size, and school package. Always verify specific figures with your school’s HR team and relevant government authorities before budgeting.