Question
Can foreign kids attend public preschool in Spain if visiting on a tourist visa (90 days)?
Answers
These are the answers of some Facebook group members:
”Family needs a padron to enroll kids in school. And tourists are not supposed to be on the padron since it’s for habitual Spanish residents only”
”You can enroll them in private preschool with no issues. Private preschools are not even half the price of the cheapest daycare in the US”
”As you said you are on a tourist visa. Why would they allow kids in preschool when they have to leave within 90 days anyways being a tourist? Not being rude. Just don’t understand why”
”No, private only. But there are a ton of great options.”
”School is for residents. If you visit during the summer there is a huge amount of summer camps for all ages and they are very cheap.”
”Private is pretty inexpensive. Public: that’s a no. As mentioned, you can also check on summer camps.”
”As a general rule, public services funded by taxes are not available to people on tourist visas who are 1) not paying into the tax base funding those services and 2) in Spain for 90 days or less.”
”Maybe finding a babysitter is one option.”
”Regardless of the availability I wouldn’t recommend doing this because that’s a huge transition for children that young and then for it to only last 3 months is really probably not in the best interest of the child. And that’s just on the assumption there is no language barrier.”
In conclusion, according to Spainguru Facebook group members, foreign kids visiting Spain on a tourist visa (90 days) cannot attend public preschool. Private preschools are an option, and there are affordable summer camps available. Public services funded by taxes are not accessible to tourists. Also, attending preschool for only three months may not be advisable for the child’s best interest, considering the potential language barrier and the short duration of the visit.
