In Spain, education from age 6 to 16 is compulsory and free in state schools — regardless of the parents' immigration status: the Immigration Act gives that right to every child under 16, and to those under 18 the right to post-compulsory education too. If you've just arrived, you can enrol your child even in the middle of the school year. This guide covers the school types, the documents you need and how enrolment works.
Every child has the right to education
You can enrol your child in a state school even if the parents don't yet have a NIE or residence — you only need to show where the child lives. Schools do not check immigration status: the law bans discrimination in admissions on grounds of origin or any other personal circumstance.
School types
- Pública (state) — free, state-funded. The main option for most families.
- Concertada (state-subsidised private) — a private school with public funding; teaching itself is free by law, and the school may not demand contributions to foundations or impose paid services, though voluntary contributions and paid extras are common.
- Privada (private) — fully fee-paying.
Stages: Educación Infantil — ages 0–6 (second cycle 3–6 is free, not compulsory), Primaria — 6–12, ESO — 12–16 (compulsory), Bachillerato — 16–18, 2 years (not compulsory).
What you pay even in a pública: the canteen (comedor) — in the Comunitat Valenciana for 2026/27 there are ayudas de comedor of up to €4.35 a day, applied for through the school; learning materials, trips and clubs (voluntary by law). Textbooks in the Comunitat Valenciana come through the Banco de Libros: hand in the set at the end of the year and receive the next one free; you join by filing an application at the school (Primaria, ESO, Bachillerato, FP básica).
Language support for Ukrainian children
The Education Act (art. 79 LOE) obliges regions to run programmes for pupils with serious language gaps — alongside their place in an ordinary class. The name and format depend on the region and school: aulas de acogida, aulas de enlace, and in the Comunitat Valenciana support through school programmes (PASE / Contrato-Programa). Not every school has a separate class — ask when you enrol what support is provided.
What you'll need
- Proof of address — empadronamiento (certificado de empadronamiento) or, in the Comunitat Valenciana, a parent's ID + a recent water/electricity/phone bill or a rental contract with the deposit lodged (the key document for proximity points)
- Child's ID — passport, birth certificate or libro de familia (at matrícula the school checks the child's age)
- Parent's ID — passport/TIE/NIE; you don't need to be a resident, a passport is enough
- Previous school records — report card/transcript, if available (can be added later); Ukrainian schooling up to and including 4º ESO needs no recognition
- Libro de vacunas — schools usually ask for the vaccination record for the health file, but cannot refuse enrolment without it: vaccination is voluntary in Spain
- 2 passport photos of the child — some schools ask for them
Empadronamiento comes first
Don't wait for your immigration paperwork to finish. Register (empadronamiento) right away — it's often the very first step, even before the NIE, and the simplest proof of address. Under the Comunitat Valenciana rules you can also prove your address with a utility bill or a rental contract, and the school asks for the town-hall certificate only if they disagree — but without a proven address you get no points for proximity to the school.
Step-by-step process
- Register (empadronamiento) at your local town hall (ayuntamiento).
- Choose schools. You apply to several schools at once in order of preference. Proximity to home earns points when places are short, but does not limit your choice: you can apply to a school in your own area of influence (área de influencia) or a neighbouring one — 10 and 5 points respectively (art. 6, 25 Decreto 48/2024). In smaller municipalities the area of influence usually covers the whole town (distrito único); larger cities may be split into several areas — the current map is published by the Conselleria on the Adminova portal before applications open.
- Submit the application:
- Ordinary period (fase ordinaria) — once a year, in spring, for the next school year. In the Comunitat Valenciana for 2026/27: Infantil and Primaria — applications 7 to 18 May 2026, matrícula 18 to 29 June; ESO and Bachillerato — applications 21 May to 1 June, matrícula 2–7 July (ESO) and 9–14 July (Bachillerato). A second round (fase extraordinaria) runs in July. Other regions set their own dates.
- Mid-year or if you missed the ordinary period — through the comisión de escolarización, which places the child at a school with available spaces. For new arrivals this route works year-round — no need to wait for spring.
- Hand in the documents at your chosen school or via your autonomous community's education portal (in the Comunitat Valenciana, Adminova; if the parent only has a passport, the application is done in person at the first-choice school).
- Wait for the placement and confirm the place (matrícula).
Deadlines depend on the region
Exact dates and enrolment portals differ by autonomous community (Comunidad Valenciana, Cataluña, Madrid, etc.). Check your region's education website and the town hall.
The 2026/27 school year has started — mid-year enrolment
If your child arrives after the school year has started, don't wait for next spring. Apply for a place through the comisión de escolarización, which assigns a school with vacancies. In the Comunitat Valenciana this is your municipality's Comisión Municipal de Escolarización ("fase continua"); it exists wherever there is more than one school, and urgent cases go to the Inspección Educativa and the Dirección Territorial. The procedure varies by autonomous community: check with your region's education office.
Children under temporary protection
Since 2022 the Ministry of Education and the regions have enrolled children from Ukraine immediately, under each region's own rules: there is no separate "Ukrainian" procedure, the same route via the escolarización commission applies. Up to and including 4º ESO, Ukrainian schooling needs no recognition (homologación) — the child is placed by age and knowledge, and schools may exceed class size by up to 10 % to fit late arrivals. For language support the regions hired Spanish conversation assistants and teachers from Ukraine. The official page is Ucrania Urgente.
Common mistakes
- Delaying the empadronamiento. Without it, enrolment stalls — do it first.
- Waiting for the "ordinary period" when you arrive mid-year. New arrivals have a separate route via the escolarización commission — no need to wait for spring.
- Not asking about language support. A separate aula de acogida is not in every school — ask what exactly is provided.
- No vaccination record. Prepare the libro de vacunas in advance — the school will ask for it for the health file, though it cannot refuse you without it; if doses are missing, a paediatrician can help complete it.
- Banking on a single school. Applications usually list several choices in order of preference — places at popular schools are limited.
Useful contacts
- Ayuntamiento (town hall): empadronamiento and information on local schools
- Your community's education department (Consejería/Conselleria de Educación): enrolment portals, dates, comisión de escolarización
- The school directly: confirm places, language support and the document list
- Comunitat Valenciana admission portal: adminova.gva.es
- Ucrania Urgente (Ministry of Inclusion): official information for Ukrainians — ucraniaurgente.inclusion.gob.es
Related guides
To enrol your child you first need to be registered (empadronamiento). See all our guides.
Check that it's current
Enrolment dates, portals and the exact document list depend on the autonomous community and change each year. Before applying, cross-check your region's education website and the town hall. The facts in this guide were checked against the BOE, the DOGV and Ucrania Urgente on 28 September 2026.