Moving abroad with children, especially very young ones, can be very challenging. It can be tricky to find a school to enroll them in, but it can be even trickier to find childcare for kids who are not old yet to go to primary school. One parent in the expat couple could choose to become a stay-at-home parent, or the couple may secure subsidized public daycare or have to pay for costlier private daycare. Childcare is cheap or free in some countries like Italy and Chile, while it is less accessible or costlier in other countries like the US and Japan.
Private daycare, public daycare, or stay-at-home parenting?
There are mainly three childcare options for expats: one adult in the couple becomes a stay-at-home parent, they secure a spot in a public daycare/preschool subsidized by the state, or they pay for sometimes significantly more expensive private childcare. Back in their home country, expats could have had the option of leaving their children in the care of grandparents, aunts/uncles or other relatives. But they are unlikely to have the same family support network in a foreign country. Some grandparents do travel on Parent and Grandparent Visas to take care of their grandkids abroad for a few months a year, but that is rarely a consistent and long-term solution for most people.
If only one partner in the expat couple has a work permit, the other automatically becomes a “trailing spouse.” The trailing spouse has limited work possibilities – they can usually only work part-time, as a freelancer, or as an unpaid volunteer. This spouse might opt to become a full-time stay-at-home parent, eliminating the need to find childcare for young children. It remains a difficult adjustment if this “trailing spouse” was previously used to having a career and active social life outside of the home.
In many countries, the state provides public childcare that is at least partly subsidized. In Italy, Malta and Chile, public nurseries and preschools are 100% state-subsidized for everyone. However, spots in public daycare centers may be limited, and priority might be given to locals – not to expats. The Federal Institute for Population in Germany found that children with foreign-born parents, especially those who do not master German, are less likely to secure a place in a state-run childcare facility.
If none of the above options work for you, you will have to pay for private childcare. The type and cost of private childcare vary between countries. Depending on the country and city, any one of these might be the most common form of private childcare: preschools, daycare centers, babysitters, or nannies who can come to your home. You can find babysitters and nannies through reputable agencies. It's best to hire those with experience working with expat families, for they might have intercultural and bilingual skills that others don't.
It's important to check that any of these private childcare providers are under government supervision and are regulated. For example, a private preschool should have a license to operate, and its teachers must be qualified to the country's standards. You should check the references that previous employees have given to a nanny/babysitter and ensure that they don't have a criminal record.
How can you afford paying for private childcare?
If you absolutely must go for private childcare, how can you pay for it? Before relocating, negotiate with your company to include a childcare allowance in your expat package if you already know that would put a dent in your budget. If it will be a big dent, communicate with your employer that this is a non-negotiable for you to accept this move. Instead of an allowance, they might also agree to reimburse you for the cost of childcare after you've already paid for it on your own.
In some situations, you may also be eligible for child tax benefits from your home country, even when living abroad. The money you save may help you pay for childcare. US citizens who need to file their taxes with the IRS no matter where in the world they are can get up to $1,400 in tax refunds per child.
You may also be eligible for child benefits from abroad – this is conditional. For example, Dutch expats can receive child benefits only if they are expats in another EU country with a social security agreement with the Netherlands. Even then, not all Dutch expats in the EU can get it – only those who have a Dutch certificate of coverage, work remotely for a Netherlands-based employer, or are employees of a Dutch government organization abroad can get it.
In case you can't receive child benefits from your home country, you can still receive them from your expat country if you pay taxes there. For instance, in Germany, expat children can get the “kindergeld” child benefit of €250/month as long as their parents have a valid residency permit. This money can also go towards paying for private childcare if need be.
Countries with the more accessible and affordable childcare
The quality, accessibility and affordability of childcare can vary wildly between countries. In 2021, Unicef published a study called “Where Do Rich Countries Stand on Childcare?”. Luxembourg, Iceland and Sweden ranked the highest. When it comes to strict affordability, however, Italy and Malta had the most affordable childcare.
In Malta, the state will pay for public and private crèches for children aged 0-3 years. There is one condition: both of the child's parents must work; that is, the child must truly not have any parent at home during the day. Kindergarten is not compulsory, but it remains free for kids aged 3-5. Attending these institutions isn't compulsory in Italy either, but all children are guaranteed a free spot at a state-run kindergarten. Private nurseries and kindergartens, however, do charge a fee.
Far from Europe, Chile in South America also has free childcare and early childhood education. In 2013, in an effort to increase women's participation in the workforce, Chile made preschool free for all children aged between 0-6 years. Expats with a valid residence and work permit are, of course, also eligible for the free education detailed above. Public childcare is also free in the capitals of Germany and Austria – even if not in the whole countries. In Berlin, parents only pay for the child's food (about €23/month) and activities like music or sports lessons (generally a maximum of €90/month).
While childcare is not entirely free in Iceland and Sweden, it is quite cheap – only about 5% of a parent or couple's monthly income, according to Unicef's data. In Sweden, the wealthiest parents pay a maximum of €145 (1,572 kronor) on childcare per child every month, while middle-class and working-class parents pay even less. In Iceland, daycare services for children younger than 2 years old cost about $500/month (70,000 ISK), while kindergarten is cheaper at $180-250/month (25,000-35,000 ISK).
Meanwhile, in Luxembourg, childcare costs slightly over 10% of the parent/parents' income. The bank ING says it can cost up to €1300 per month, but salaries in the country also run high. These three countries described also rank high for the quality of the childcare provided (staff qualifications, children-to-staff ratio, etc.) and the availability of spots.
The low cost of living and less powerful currency in some developing countries also makes childcare affordable, especially for expats from wealthier countries. For instance, it's not unusual for middle-class couples in India to be able to afford a full-time housekeeper who also acts as a nanny for their children.
Countries with the most expensive or inaccessible childcare
In the 2021 Unicef study “Where Do Rich Countries Stand on Childcare?”, the US, the UK, Japan, Ireland, Switzerland and New Zealand have poor scores either for accessibility or affordability.
The main issue in the UK, Switzerland, Ireland and New Zealand is cost. The BBC reports that it costs an average of £14,000 (nearly $18,000) to keep a child under two in a nursery for a whole year. In the other three countries, a couple needs to spend a third to a half of an average wage to afford full-time childcare, says Unicef, even if there are some state subsidies for it. Besides, these subsidies might also not be available to all expats. In New Zealand, only expats who are permanent residents can get childcare subsidies for 9-50 hours a week. Other expats have to pay childcare rates that can be as high as NZD 60 (USD 37) per hour.
As for Switzerland, parents need to set aside a whole quarter of their combined income to pay for full-time childcare. It's hence not surprising why it's one of the highly-developed countries with the lowest percentage of women in full-time employment – many women have no choice but to focus on raising their children.
SwissInfo reports that childcare has been seen as a private matter by the Swiss state for a long time, with only 0.1% of the GDP dedicated to public childcare. It's only in March 2023 that the government voted to increase state subsidies for childcare until the end of primary school. It has yet to be seen how successful this will be in alleviating the financial burden of parents.
In Ireland, childcare costs €810 per month, reports RTE. Dublin is the most expensive city – expats spend over €1,000 per month for childcare there. As for Japan and the US, their situation is a bit more complex. The main problem in Japan is accessibility rather than cost. Japan has a severe shortage of preschool staff, which, in turn, creates a lack of enough seats in the country's state-subsidized nurseries and preschools.
It's hard even for the local Japanese to secure a seat for their child in a public “hoikuen” (daycare), so it's even harder for expats who do not have Japanese citizenship, might not speak Japanese and don't necessarily know how to navigate the system. You can still choose to apply for a seat if you are prepared to face confusing bureaucracy or a long waitlist. Your chances of securing a seat are higher if you are (or your partner is) on maternity leave or if you have long working hours.
If you can't get a seat, you'll have to pay ¥10,000-70,000 ($75-525) per month for private childcare in Japan. The amount varies depending on where you live. You have to be careful to check if a private daycare facility meets all of the required standards. There have been numerous complaints, accidents, and even deaths of babies in subpar and unofficial private daycares. So it might not be safe to choose the more affordable private daycare options.
What about the US? It has one of the poorest family policies among highly-developed countries. Unicef ranked it 40 out of 41 among developed countries for its poor parental leave and childcare policies. Childcare in these countries costs $10,000-15,000 per child annually, varying only slightly by region. This isn't much less than in the UK. A few American states or cities offer free childcare and early childhood education. Florida, Oklahoma, Vermont and Washington D.C. have free public preschools. The city of Chicago provides free preschool education to income-eligible families. But the case remains that most expats in the US would still need to pay. American expats themselves often feel relieved at their lower childcare expenses when they move somewhere else in the world.
