When a family moves to Spain, getting the children into school is one of the things that needs the most planning. School enrolment in Spain is the responsibility of the Autonomous Communities, so the calendar, the application method and the rules for choosing a school vary from region to region. The basic principles are the same across the country, however, and the steps for a child arriving from Türkiye depend largely on the child's age.
The education system and compulsory schooling
Basic education in Spain is compulsory, free in public schools, and covers ages 6 to 16:
- Educación Infantil: ages 0–6, not compulsory; free in public schools from 3 to 6
- Educación Primaria: ages 6–12, six years
- Educación Secundaria Obligatoria (ESO): ages 12–16, four years
- Bachillerato: ages 16–18, two years, not compulsory, and prepares students for university
- Vocational training (Formación Profesional): at basic, intermediate and higher levels
Pupils are generally placed by calendar year: children born in the same year are in the same class. Where there is a significant gap in previous schooling, pupils who join the system late can be placed one year below their age group.
Foreign children's right to education does not depend on their family's residence status. Immigration Law 4/2000 recognises the right of foreign nationals under 18 to education, including compulsory education, on the same terms as Spanish children.
How to enrol
Each year, usually in spring, the Autonomous Communities open an application period for the next school year. Families rank the schools they prefer, and places are allocated using a points system, which usually takes into account factors such as proximity to home or work and having siblings at the school.
Families arriving during the school year do not have to wait for this period. Applications outside the normal period (escolarización fuera de plazo) are made through the regional education office, the school admission committees or the local council's education department, and the child is offered a place at a school with vacancies.
Documents usually requested:
- The passport, NIE or TIE of the child and the parents
- The municipal registration certificate (certificado de empadronamiento)
- A civil registry extract or birth certificate; some regions may ask for an apostille and translation
- The vaccination card and any medical reports
- A certificate of studies and transcript from the school in Türkiye
Primary and lower secondary: no recognition needed
Under the rules of the Spanish Ministry of Education, pupils coming from a foreign education system who want to join any year of Primaria or ESO do not need to go through a recognition (convalidación) procedure. The school places the child according to their age and previous schooling. It is still useful to bring report cards and certificates from Türkiye, as the school uses them for placement and to identify any support needs.
In regions with a second official language, such as Catalonia, the Basque Country, Galicia, the Valencian Community and the Balearic Islands, a large part of the teaching is also in that language. Many regions run language support programmes for newly arrived pupils; their content and length vary by region.
Upper secondary and beyond: recognition of studies
To start Bachillerato or intermediate vocational training, a Graduado en ESO certificate is required. At this stage, a pupil who studied in Türkiye needs to have their foreign studies recognised. There are two separate procedures:
- Homologación: recognition that a qualification obtained in Türkiye is equivalent to a Spanish qualification (Graduado en ESO or Bachiller)
- Convalidación: recognition of completed school years as equivalent to Spanish years, so that the pupil can continue into the next year
The basic rules are set out in Royal Decree 104/1988; in September 2026 the Ministry of Education opened a draft decree that would reorganise this area for public consultation. Under the current rules:
- The years to be recognised, and all previous years, must have been fully passed; individual subjects are not recognised
- Documents must be official; those issued in Türkiye need an apostille and an official translation into Spanish
- No fee is charged for recognition as Graduado en ESO; other recognitions are subject to a fee
- The decision period is three months from the date the file is complete; if no decision is issued in that time, the application is deemed refused
- The conditional enrolment form (volante de inscripción condicional) obtained with the application allows the pupil to enrol conditionally while the file is pending
Applications can be submitted to the Education Inspectorate offices (Alta Inspección de Educación) in the Autonomous Communities, to the education offices of Spanish embassies abroad, or to the Ministry. Catalonia, Galicia and the Basque Country handle this themselves. University admission is a separate process, and universities have their own admission rules for students from foreign systems.
Practical steps
- Before leaving Türkiye, obtain certificates of studies, report cards and transcripts; for upper secondary pupils, start the apostille and translation process early
- In Spain, register with the local council first; this certificate is requested in almost every school application
- Find out your region's rules for enrolment outside the normal period
- For pupils of upper secondary age, plan the school enrolment and the recognition application together, and give the conditional enrolment form to the school
- If you may return to Türkiye, keep the school documents from Spain; a recognition procedure is also needed in Türkiye on return
When to get advice
If the child is of upper secondary age, if their schooling in Türkiye was interrupted mid-year, or if one of the previous years was not completed, the recognition outcome directly determines which year the child can continue in. Where only one parent has custody, or the other parent does not consent to the move, school enrolment and residence procedures may require a legal assessment. In such cases, preparing the necessary documents before the move speeds up the process.
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This article is for general information and is not legal advice. Legislation and case law may have changed since it was written.