Childcare allowance in Slovakia 2026: what you can claim for a private kindergarten

The Slovak state may pay you a childcare allowance if your child is under three, you work or study full-time, and your child attends a kindergarten or another childcare provider. In Slovak it is called príspevok na starostlivosť o dieťa. For a private provider it is, according to the Ministry of Labour, up to €280 a month, but never more than the fee agreed in your contract. You apply at the Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family (ÚPSVaR) for the area of your permanent residence. In this article we explain who is entitled to the allowance, which amounts apply, how to apply and why you cannot get it in the same month as parental allowance.

ÚPSVaR, usually just called the Labour Office (úrad práce), is the state office in Slovakia that deals with family benefits as well as employment. If you are new to the country, one thing matters most: entitlement depends on your residence in Slovakia and on your insurance here, which in practice usually means working in Slovakia and paying into the Slovak social insurance system. If one of you works or is insured in another country, or your residence permit is new, check with the Labour Office before you plan your budget around the allowance.

Going back to work after parental leave brings a lot of questions at once. Who will look after your child, how much it will cost and whether the state will help. A private kindergarten charges a higher monthly fee than a municipal one, so it is worth knowing what you are entitled to. We give the amounts and conditions as published by the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family of the Slovak Republic. The government can change them each year from 1 January, so check the current situation with the Labour Office before you apply.

Who can get the childcare allowance

The allowance is paid to a parent or to a person a court has entrusted with the child’s care. The Ministry lists these main conditions:

• Your child’s age. Your child is under three. If they have a long-term adverse health condition, the allowance can be paid up to the age of six.
• Work or study. You work and are compulsorily pension-insured from that work as an employee or self-employed person, or you study full-time at a secondary school or university.
• Care in Slovakia. The provider, for example the kindergarten, provides care in Slovakia.
• Residence. Both you and your child have permanent or temporary residence in Slovakia.

If a court places the child in shared or alternating care of both parents, their written agreement decides who receives the allowance. You are not entitled to the allowance for a month in which you receive parental allowance. Nor will you get it if maternity benefit or a similar benefit from abroad is being paid for the care of the same child.

How much is the childcare allowance

The amount depends on who looks after your child. The Ministry gives four amounts per calendar month:

So the allowance is never higher than what you actually pay. If your agreed monthly fee is €250 and the provider falls into the first group, the allowance can be €250. If you pay more than €280, the allowance will be €280 and you pay the rest.

The Labour Office will confirm which amount applies to your kindergarten. It depends on who runs the kindergarten and on what basis.

Example: how much you would pay yourself

Let us use the monthly fee at Sovička. If your child is under three and attends full days in Kramáre, the monthly fee is €399. If the Labour Office granted you the full allowance of €280, you would pay €119 a month yourself.

You can work it out the same way for our other kindergartens. Full days in Ružinov cost €549 and in Vrakuňa €449 a month. With the full allowance of €280, you would pay €269 in Ružinov and €169 in Vrakuňa each month. Once your child turns three, you pay the full monthly fee.

On top of that comes the meal fee, which is €5.50 a day and depends on how many days your child is at kindergarten. The full price list for all three kindergartens is on our Prices page. We explain how the price of a private kindergarten is made up and what you pay for in How much does a private kindergarten cost in Bratislava?

How to apply for the allowance

The allowance is decided and paid by the Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family for the area of your permanent residence. If you only have temporary residence, ask the Labour Office which branch handles your claim. The process is simple:

1. Sign a written contract with the kindergarten. The Ministry states that the amount of the childcare fee must be proven by a written agreement with the provider. Without it, the office does not know what amount to grant you.
2. Fill in the application. You will find the application form on the Labour Office website. You can submit it in writing at the office, or electronically if you sign it with a qualified electronic signature.
3. Attach the documents. Have your contract with the kindergarten ready, along with proof that you work or study. The office may also ask you for further details about your work.
4. Report changes. If you stop working, change kindergarten or your monthly fee changes, let the office know. The allowance is calculated from the actual fee and from conditions that must be met the whole time.

If you are not sure whether you meet the conditions, call the Labour Office before your child starts kindergarten. You will save time and avoid unpleasant surprises, and they will help you fill in the application.

Childcare allowance or parental allowance

You cannot receive parental allowance (rodičovský príspevok) and childcare allowance for the same month. The Ministry is clear about this: the childcare allowance is not paid for a month in which parental allowance was paid. When you go back to work, you have to decide which one to keep.

According to the Ministry’s website, parental allowance is €364.80 a month. If you received maternity benefit before it, it is €500.10 a month. When comparing, work out what will be left in your family budget:

• With parental allowance you receive a fixed amount, but you pay the whole monthly fee yourself.
• The childcare allowance covers part of the monthly fee, but you will not receive parental allowance for that month.

Which option is better for you depends on the monthly fee, on whether you received maternity benefit and on your income. If you are not sure, ask the Labour Office to work it out for you. The conditions for parental allowance are on the Ministry of Labour’s website.

When your child did not get a place at a state kindergarten

If your child is over three and did not get a place at your local state kindergarten, you may, under certain conditions, receive parental allowance for longer. The Ministry states that it is paid at most until the start of the school year in which your child begins compulsory pre-primary education. The refusal is proven by the kindergarten’s decision.

Watch out for one thing. If your child is accepted by a kindergarten after turning three, the entitlement to this extended parental allowance ends. So if you are considering a private kindergarten, ask the Labour Office in advance how it will work in your case. We describe the whole process step by step in No place at a state kindergarten?

When your child is over three

The childcare allowance ends when your child turns three, unless they have a long-term adverse health condition. From that month you pay the private kindergarten’s monthly fee without this allowance. It is worth planning for this when you choose a kindergarten and plan your family budget.

In the year before starting primary school, every child has compulsory pre-primary education. What this means for you, where your child can complete it and how payment works is explained in Compulsory pre-primary education in Slovakia.

Other money for families with a young child

Alongside the childcare allowance, you can also receive child benefit (prídavok na dieťa). According to the Ministry’s website it is €60 a month. It is a separate benefit, and you can find out its conditions from the Labour Office or on the Ministry’s website. If you are expecting a sibling, you can receive a birth allowance (príspevok pri narodení dieťaťa) when the baby is born. For the first to fourth birth it is €829.86, according to the Ministry.

Other options, such as tax relief, depend on your particular situation. For those, get advice from an accountant or the tax office.

What to arrange when, as you go back to work

You will save yourself the most stress by spreading the paperwork over several weeks. This simple plan helps:

1. Two to three months before you go back to work, choose a kindergarten and book a visit. Find out whether there is a free place and from when your child can start.
2. A month before you go back, submit the application and sign the contract with the kindergarten. Plan the settling-in period too, so that you do not have to be at work in the first days.
3. Once you are working and your child attends kindergarten, apply for the allowance at the Labour Office. Decide whether you will keep parental allowance or the childcare allowance.
4. Before your child’s third birthday, prepare your budget for a higher payment, because the allowance ends.

We explain how to plan the first days at kindergarten so that you can manage them alongside work in How long does settling in at kindergarten take?

What to think about when choosing a kindergarten if you are counting on the allowance

When comparing kindergartens, do not look only at the monthly fee. What counts is how much you will really pay once the allowance is deducted, and what is included in the price. A cheaper kindergarten can turn out more expensive if you pay separately for activities, English or bed linen.

When you apply, check that you will sign a written contract with the kindergarten stating the exact fee. The Labour Office will need it. If you have questions about the price, ask them on your first call or on a visit. We describe how to compare kindergartens in Private or state kindergarten in Slovakia?

The most common mistakes when applying

• No written contract with the kindergarten. The office needs proof of the fee. A verbal agreement is not enough.
• Overlap with parental allowance. If you receive parental allowance for the same month, you are not entitled to the childcare allowance. Decide in advance and tell the office.
• An unreported change. A change in the fee, the kindergarten or your work can change your entitlement. If you report it to the office in time, you avoid having to pay money back.
• Forgetting the third birthday. The allowance ends when your child turns three. Plan for it in your budget so the higher payment does not catch you out.

How we do it at Sovička

Your child can start at Sovička from the age of two, so the childcare allowance may apply to you for the whole first year. You sign the contract with the kindergarten directly in the Kinderio parent app, where you will also see the monthly fee. The kindergarten does not issue a separate confirmation for the Labour Office, and you do not need one. You prove the amount of the fee with this contract, which you attach to your application.

Your monthly fee covers more than care. Included in the price, your child has an English-speaking teacher all day, the speech-therapy club Jazýček šikovníček, financial literacy, the EQ programme, trips, learning materials, towels and bed linen. If a sibling attends too, you get a 10% discount on the second child’s monthly fee.

The monthly fee is not reduced over the summer or during illness. Your child’s place, the teachers and the rooms are ready every working day, whether your child comes or not. You can cancel the meal fee, which is €5.50 a day, in the app when your child is ill, even on the same day until 7:30.

If you would like to know how much Sovička would cost you each month, have a look at our price list. Feel free to ask us on a visit too, which you can arrange for a time when the kindergarten is not busy. Current free places are on our Vacancies page.