Moving to Spain outside the spring enrolment window

Key rules

• No deadline, no fee: There is no national deadline for a late place, so apply as soon as you arrive and have an address; applying for and enrolling in a public school is free.
• Your school: You may be given a different school than your first choice, usually nearby.
• Matrícula: Confirm the place within the days stated on your assignment notice, normally 5 to 10 working days.

Ask for a vacancy-based place

If you arrive after the application period, or part-way through the school year, you ask the regional education delegation or commission for a place. They give you a place wherever a school still has a vacancy, and your child can still start school during the year. Your child's right to a school place does not depend on nationality or residence status. Grade placement and language help for pupils who arrive mid-year are in Joining a Spanish school in the middle of the school year.

Who to ask

Education is run by each region, so the office has a different name depending on where you live.

• a local or provincial admissions commission (comisión de escolarización);
• the provincial education delegation;
• the education inspectorate (Inspección educativa).

Some examples: Madrid uses the Servicio de Apoyo a la Escolarización (SAE). Catalonia uses the Oficina Municipal de Escolarización, or the Consorci d'Educació in Barcelona. Andalucía uses the provincial delegation and school admission commissions.

The quickest way to find the right office is to ask the secretaría of the nearest school, or to check your region's education department website.

How it works

You submit the late application (solicitud de escolarización fuera de plazo) with the identity papers of the parent and the child and your proof of address (the full list). The vaccination record and previous school records can follow within 10 working days of the school's request. The commission checks which schools have vacancies and assigns one. You then get a notice and must complete the matrícula (enrolment) at that school within the days stated on it. If you are late, you may lose the assigned place and have to ask the commission again. Forms, portals and document lists differ by region. Missing foreign school records do not stop the enrolment.

Applying before you arrive

Usually this is difficult, because applications normally need a home address in the area. Some regions accept a rental or ownership contract or proof of employment before you arrive, and some allow applications from abroad if you give an address in Spain. Otherwise, apply once you arrive and register. Some schools also offer informal pre-registration.

How long it takes

Expect one to three weeks for the commission to assign a place, then 5 to 10 working days to confirm the matrícula and a few days to start: one to six weeks from your request to your child's first day. Busy cities and areas with few vacancies take longer.

If your preferred school is full

You can list preferred schools, but no school is guaranteed. You are usually assigned another public or publicly funded school nearby with vacancies. You can ask to join a waiting list for your preferred school where your region keeps one. If you disagree with the assignment, you can ask for a review. In some cases the authorities also offer school transport.

If no place is offered

If the commission offers no place or does not answer, ask the regional education delegation or the education inspectorate in writing for a place. If that fails, or if you disagree with an assignment, lodge the administrative appeal (recurso de alzada) within 1 month of the decision; the escalation steps are in what to do if a school refuses or delays.