A family arriving with school-age children faces a fork most relocation checklists skip. One road leads to a private, English-medium school at €7,900 to €24,349 a year. The other leads to a municipal school, costs nothing, and — in a small number of named schools — also teaches in English, up to the International Baccalaureate Diploma. Most newcomers never learn the second road exists, because it is signposted only in Lithuanian.
The choice turns on how long you intend to stay and how old your child is: a seven-year-old placed in a municipal school will be operating in Lithuanian within two years, a fifteen-year-old placed two years before final exams will not.
Table of Contents
The Two Roads, and Who Each Suits
Lithuanian education splits into three tiers for a foreign family, and they are not equally visible from outside the country.
The private international school: four matter in practice, three in Vilnius and one in both Vilnius and Kaunas. English-medium, a recognised international curriculum, admission on assessment and space rather than address.
The municipal school running an international programme: ordinary council schools, free to attend, accredited to teach the International Baccalaureate in English. A handful of them, all competitive — the largest saving available to a relocating family, and the least advertised.
The ordinary municipal school, teaching in Lithuanian and taking children by residential catchment, where the overwhelming majority of children here are educated, foreign children included. A newcomer without Lithuanian is not turned away; they are placed with language support, and the quality of that support is the variable nobody quotes in advance.
The decision usually follows from duration. A two- or three-year posting points at the private route, whose qualifications travel without argument; an indefinite stay points at a municipal school, a hard first eighteen months, a bilingual child and no tuition bill.
Then work from the child's age in September. Under ten and staying: municipal school, declare the address first. Over fourteen and staying under three years: private, starting the assessment in November. Over fourteen and staying: sit the municipal IB examinations in February, and hold a private place as the fallback.
The English-Language Schools
The schools teaching a full curriculum in English, with fees from their own published schedules.
Vilnius International School
IB primary, Cambridge sixth form
Key highlights
Key features
- IB Primary and Middle Years from three
- Assessment opens in November
Account details
- Ages
- 3–19
- Language
- English
- Tuition
- €9,630–€11,880 / year
Summary
- IB Primary and Middle Years from three
- Assessment opens in November
- Sixth form is Cambridge, not IB
- Cambridge exam entries billed separately
The American International School of Vilnius
American curriculum, IB Diploma and AP
Key highlights
Key features
- Accredited by IB, College Board, CIS, NEASC
- Pre-K is the cheap entry point
Account details
- Ages
- 2–18
- Language
- English
- Tuition
- €9,292–€24,349 / year
Summary
- Accredited by IB, College Board, CIS, NEASC
- Pre-K is the cheap entry point
- Capital fee charged every year, not once
- Application and admission fees non-refundable
Erudito licėjus
Parallel Lithuanian and English streams
Key highlights
Key features
- Sibling discount from the second child
- Move between streams inside one school
Account details
- Ages
- Grades 0–12
- Cities
- Vilnius and Kaunas
- Tuition
- €7,900–€9,700 / year
Summary
- Sibling discount from the second child
- Move between streams inside one school
- Kaunas is dearer than Vilnius, not cheaper
- Admission, tools and materials fees on top
- Catering charged per day
The British School of Vilnius
The English National Curriculum, in Vilnius
Key highlights
Key features
- No year-group translation problem
- Yearly or three termly instalments
Account details
- Curriculum
- English National Curriculum
- Language
- English
- Payment
- Yearly or three termly instalments
Summary
- No year-group translation problem
- Yearly or three termly instalments
- Fee schedule issued on request, not published
- Meals and transport add up
What the cards leave out
Vilnius International School teaches the IB Primary and Middle Years from age three, then switches to Cambridge AS and A Levels in Grades 11 and 12 — a break for a child mid-way through an IB pathway. Grades 1–10 cost €10,755, with Cambridge exam entries billed separately at €127 a component; assessment runs from November, so applying in August is late, and tuition falls in three instalments.
AISV runs PreK2 through Grade 12 on one campus, with extended-day supervision to 18:00 for the youngest years at €1,071 for PreK to Grade 3. Kindergarten to Grade 5 is €20,164, Grades 6–8 €21,908, Grades 9–10 €23,584 and Grades 11–12 €24,349; Pre-K at €9,292 is a fifth of the Grade 5 rate. Tuition may be paid per trimester, half-yearly or in full.
Erudito licėjus runs its Vilnius international stream from €7,900 in the primary years to €9,500 for the IB Diploma, and its Kaunas stream from €8,100 to €9,700; the Lithuanian-taught national stream is cheaper again at €7,200. Fees are paid once, twice or in ten monthly instalments, with 20% off from the second child. Admission is €450–€500, plus a €500 educational tools fee, €700 a year of IB Diploma materials and catering at €10.50 a day.
The British School of Vilnius teaches the English National Curriculum, with no year-group translation problem. Stationery and materials sit inside the fee; excursions, uniform, the bus and meals sit outside it. The schedule is issued on request rather than published, and reviewed annually, so last year's quote is not this year's.
Klaipėdos licėjus, outside the capital, runs all three IB programmes in English — Primary Years in Grades 1 to 4, Middle Years in 5 to 10, the Diploma in 11 and 12 — the only accredited English-language IB continuum on the coast. Its fees are not published: ask for the schedule in writing.
What Tuition Costs, and What It Actually Covers
The published figure is rarely what leaves your account: three categories of charge sit outside tuition at most of these schools.
The one-off cost of getting in. Every school here charges to consider an application and again to accept a child, and none of it is refundable. Vilnius International School: €100 to be assessed, €500 on acceptance. AISV: €428 to apply, €2,707 on admission — a family with two children is €6,270 down before a lesson is taught. Erudito: €450 in the primary years and €500 higher up, plus an entrance test.
The annual cost that is not tuition. AISV's capital fee of €2,498 recurs every year — €32,474 across the thirteen years from Kindergarten to Grade 12, and the most-missed number in Lithuanian international schooling. Food is the other one: lunch is inside VIS's tuition, Erudito charges €10.50 a day, and the British School states that meals fall outside the fee.
Compare like with like, or not at all. A tuition figure is comparable only once entry costs, annual non-tuition charges, meals and exam entries are added: AISV's Grade 6 year costs €24,406 rather than the €21,908 on the tuition line, and Erudito's Vilnius IB Diploma €10,200 rather than €9,500, before food.
The Free IB Route Almost Nobody Tells You About
Lithuania has built International Baccalaureate provision inside its municipal school system, in English, at no cost. It is small and competitive, but for a family that would otherwise pay €24,349 a year it is worth a serious attempt.
Vilnius. Vilniaus licėjus runs the IB Diploma in English for the final two years. Entry is from Grade 10 and examined: applications open 1 February and close 8 March, the English and mathematics papers are sat on 28 March — one hour and 40 points each — results on 17 April. An IB Middle Years Certificate admits a candidate without them. Vilniaus Vytauto Didžiojo gimnazija has offered the Diploma in English in Grades 11 and 12 since September 2023: three higher-level subjects at six lessons a week and three standard-level at four, plus Theory of Knowledge and the extended essay.
Kaunas. Kauno Jono Jablonskio gimnazija, the country's first international state school, has been funded by Kaunas City Municipality since 2019. It runs the IB Middle Years Programme in the first two gymnasium years and the Diploma after that, free, open to the city's students Lithuanian and foreign, with strong English as the entry requirement. Kauno Jurgio Dobkevičiaus progimnazija covers the younger end: the Primary and Middle Years Programmes, English-medium from Grade 1 and bilingual from Grade 6.
The timing trap. The municipal IB schools recruit on a fixed February-to-April cycle for a September start, and a mid-year arrival waits for the next one. A family landing in July has missed that year's round whatever their child's record: if an IB place matters, the application is made from abroad, months before the move.
Municipal Schools and Foreign Children
An ordinary municipal school will take a foreign child; the constraints are address and language, not nationality. Places are allocated by residential catchment. Each school has an assigned territory (priskirta teritorija), and a child whose declared residence sits inside it has priority over one whose does not — which makes the address you register at a schooling decision as much as a housing one. Declare the residence, then apply.
In Vilnius the application is electronic only, through the municipal education system, from 1 March; the general window runs to the end of May, and schools with competitive or motivational entry close on 31 March. A child arriving mid-year is not excluded: the municipality places them against remaining capacity, and the family deals with the education department directly.
The previous school's reports matter more than families expect: there is no automatic mapping between year groups across borders, and the receiving school decides the grade partly on the transcript in front of it. Get them translated before you arrive, and agree the language support plan with the school before September rather than in the first week of term.
Lithuanian, and the Support a Newcomer Gets
A municipal school teaches in Lithuanian, and no goodwill from a headteacher changes that. What exists instead is a transitional structure worth knowing by name.
A school may place a newly arrived child in an išlyginamoji klasė — a levelling class — or an išlyginamoji mobilioji grupė, a levelling group pulled out of mainstream lessons for concentrated Lithuanian. The arrangement is set by ministerial order, and a levelling class may not run with fewer than 5 pupils; that minimum is why a smaller municipality puts a newcomer straight into a mainstream class on an individual plan instead.
Vilniaus lietuvių namai is the state gymnasium built for this problem: a one-year levelling class for pupils arriving without Lithuanian, ages 7 to 17, with a boarding house that is charged for. Its intake covers children of Lithuanians returning from abroad, foreign nationals of Lithuanian descent and, where places allow, others on academic merit.
The National Education Agency publishes free teaching material for arrivals — the Labas and Mano ir tavo šalis LIETUVA coursebooks written for levelling classes, and a Moodle course from Vilniaus lietuvių namai covering ages 2 to 7 at A1 and A2. Starting before the move shortens the first term.
Where the language question actually bites
Age decides it. A child entering at 6 or 7 acquires Lithuanian as a matter of course; one entering at 14 or 15 has to reach academic Lithuanian in time for basic-education examinations, and a levelling class buys a year rather than a solution. That is the case in which the private English route stops looking expensive.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can my child attend a Lithuanian state school if we are not citizens?
Yes. Municipal schools admit children living in Lithuania regardless of nationality; admission runs on the declared residence rather than a passport. The school's assigned territory decides priority, and nationality is not an admission criterion at any stage.
Which schools in Lithuania teach entirely in English?
In Vilnius: Vilnius International School, the American International School of Vilnius, the British School of Vilnius and Erudito licėjus' international stream. In Kaunas: Erudito again. On the coast: Klaipėdos licėjus, which runs all three IB programmes in English. Several municipal schools teach the IB Diploma in English free of charge.
How much does an international school in Lithuania cost per year?
From about €7,900 for the primary years in Erudito's Vilnius international stream to €24,349 for the final two years at AISV, with Vilnius International School between them at €9,630 to €11,880. That is tuition alone: entry fees, AISV's annual capital fee, meals and examination entries are charged separately.
Is the International Baccalaureate available free of charge in Lithuania?
Yes, in a small number of municipal schools. Vilniaus licėjus and Vilniaus Vytauto Didžiojo gimnazija run the IB Diploma in English in Vilnius at no cost. In Kaunas, Kauno Jono Jablonskio gimnazija runs the Middle Years Programme and the Diploma, and Kauno Jurgio Dobkevičiaus progimnazija the Primary and Middle Years. Entry is by examination, February to April.
Does my child have to learn Lithuanian?
In a municipal school, yes: that is the language of instruction. Newly arrived children can be placed in a levelling class or levelling mobile group for concentrated Lithuanian, and a levelling class may not run with fewer than 5 pupils. In a private English-medium school Lithuanian is a subject, not the medium.
When does the school year start and end in Lithuania?
The school year begins on 1 September everywhere. For 2026 to 2027 the autumn break runs 2 to 8 November 2026, Christmas 23 December 2026 to 3 January 2027, winter 15 to 21 February 2027, and spring 22 to 28 March 2027 for Grades 1 to 10 and 29 March to 4 April 2027 for Grades 11 and 12.
When should I apply for a municipal school place?
The electronic application in Vilnius opens on 1 March for the following September and runs to the end of May, though schools with competitive or motivational entry close on 31 March. Declare your residence first: the assigned territory attached to that address decides priority.
We are arriving in the middle of the school year. What happens?
Mid-year arrivals are placed against remaining capacity rather than through the annual round, handled directly by the municipal education department. Bring the previous school's reports translated: they decide which year group the child enters, and there is no automatic mapping between systems.
What does an international school fee actually include?
It varies enough that comparing headline figures is meaningless. Vilnius International School includes lunch. The British School includes stationery and materials but excludes excursions, uniform, the bus and meals. Erudito charges €10.50 a day for catering and €700 a year of IB Diploma materials. AISV adds €2,498 of capital fee every year.
Is there an English-medium school outside Vilnius?
Yes. Erudito licėjus runs its international stream in Kaunas as well as Vilnius — €8,100 in the primary years, €9,700 for the IB Diploma — and Klaipėdos licėjus runs the full IB continuum in English on the coast. Kaunas also has the free municipal route.
Do private schools in Lithuania charge a fee just to apply?
All of them, and none of it is refundable. Vilnius International School: €100 for the assessment, €500 on acceptance. AISV: €428 to apply, €2,707 on admission. Erudito: €450 in the primary years, €500 higher up, plus €50–€70 for the entrance tests.
Which route suits a family staying two or three years?
The private English-medium route, in almost every case: the qualifications travel without argument and the child is not spending the whole posting climbing a language curve. The municipal route pays off over a longer horizon, where the child ends up bilingual and the family pays nothing.