Get Your Early Childhood Degree Recognized in Spain
Early Childhood Education Teacher is a regulated profession in Spain: to work in the 0-6 cycle of the education system you need homologación (official recognition) of your degree by the Ministry. We prepare and file your complete case for €176, with the €166.50 official fee.
What legally applies to your degree
Spanish early childhood education (especially the second cycle, ages 3-6) requires the Early Childhood Education Teacher degree, a regulated profession under the Annex of Royal Decree 889/2022. Your foreign degree in early, preschool or kindergarten education is recognized against that qualification, and the Ministry checks that your training covers the pedagogical content and the practicums of the Spanish curriculum.
With recognition settled you can work in public schools (via competitive exams), publicly funded and private schools as a qualified early childhood teacher. Without it, the realistic ceiling is support roles and the first cycle in private nurseries, with requirements varying by region. If the Ministry finds training gaps — common in the practicums — it can make recognition conditional on completing them; our prior file analysis anticipates that scenario.
- Official 790-107 fee
- €166.50
- Legal deadline for a decision
- 6 months
- Fully online procedure
- 100%
Which documents your file requires
The Document Agent checks every piece against the requirements of the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities before filing — a file that goes in right the first time is the best defense against extra months of corrections.
- Proof of identity and nationality (passport or Spanish NIE)
- Official degree certificate, legalized with the Apostille of The Hague (waived for EU/EEA/Switzerland)
- Academic transcript showing programme length, courses taken and workload or credits, stamped and signed by your university
- Sworn translation (traducción jurada) into Spanish of the degree and the transcript
- Proof of payment of the 790-107 fee
Official fee: €166.50 (form 790-107)
The procedure fee is €166.50, code 107, paid with form 790-107. It is the same for both homologación (official recognition) and the declaration of equivalency. Beware: the 790-079 fee quoted on many websites applies to NON-university studies — paying it by mistake freezes your case.
If you pay from outside Spain, the transfer goes to the Ministry's account (IBAN ES16 9000 0001 2002 5310 8022, BIC ESPBESMMXXX) and bank charges are on you: if less than €166.50 arrives, the case stalls. We verify the exact amount before filing.
The fee is non-refundable if the application is rejected, lapses or is denied — one more reason to file the case right the first time.
And the visa? We've got you covered too
Recognizing your degree is half the journey. When it's time for the visa — work, study or residence — the Visa Agent guides you and we manage it with trusted partners specialized in each destination, with your academic file already resolved. Immigration requirements depend on the receiving country.
Official sources
Everything on this page is based on current official regulations. Check the primary sources yourself:
You provide the documents. We do the rest.
We assemble your file
We gather your degree certificate, the academic transcript with courses and credits, and your ID document. Our Document Agent checks that every piece meets the format required by the Ministry's online portal.
Apostille and sworn translation
We coordinate the Apostille of The Hague in your home country and the sworn translation (traducción jurada) into Spanish of your degree and transcript. EU/EEA/Swiss citizens are exempt from the apostille.
Online filing
We file your application through the Ministry's electronic portal, pay the 790-107 fee (€166.50) and register the case. The entire procedure is handled online — no in-person appointments.
Follow-up until resolution
Our Regulator Agent monitors the status of your case and we respond to any request for corrections. The legal deadline for a decision is 6 months.
Start your recognition
- Upfront feasibility analysis of your file
- Apostille / legalization and sworn translation coordination
- Complete preparation and filing of your application
- File tracking until resolution
- Response to requirements and corrections
- Visa guidance with trusted partners
Official government fees (in Spain, €166.50 under form 790-107) are paid separately to the competent authority. Timelines depend on the receiving country.
Secure payment with Stripe. Right after paying you complete your profile and get straight into your Booka dashboard — the same account works in the mobile app.
Working as an early years teacher in Spain: stages, centres and salaries
Spanish early years education is split into two stages with different employment rules, and understanding that boundary is half the answer to where you will work. The second stage (ages 3-6) is part of the education system and its classrooms require a qualified teacher: state schools by examination and substitute lists, subsidized and private schools by direct hiring. The first stage (0-3) has expanded considerably with the growth of public and municipal places, and there qualified teachers work alongside higher-level early years technicians, under requirements set by each region.
That 0-3 expansion and the structural shortage of qualified teachers in several regions keep employment pools open with frequent call-ups. Profiles with a foreign language for bilingual classrooms, or with training in early intervention and special educational needs, are the most sought after.
In state education, the primary teaching corps falls in subgroup A2 and its basic pay is set each year in the State Budget Act, with regional supplements creating appreciable differences depending on where you work. Private nurseries apply sector agreements with lower bands, and the legal floor for any contract is the 2026 minimum wage: €1,221 a month over fourteen payments. Indicative figures from public sources.
Market figures on this page are indicative and come from public sources cited in the text. They are not an offer, a guarantee or an earnings forecast. Booka manages credential recognition and professional registration — we are not a recruitment agency.
Which Spanish qualification does your early years degree correspond to?
The reference is the Bachelor's in Early Childhood Education Teaching, a regulated profession listed in the Annex to Royal Decree 889/2022, in the Social and Legal Sciences field. It is the qualification that authorizes teaching in second-stage classrooms and the one yours is compared against.
It should not be confused with the Higher Technician in Early Childhood Education, a vocational rather than university qualification, which authorizes different functions and mainly the first stage. Many three-year foreign early years degrees end up mentally compared with that technician qualification, and that is not the right fit: if your degree is a university one, your case goes against the teaching bachelor's.
Preescolar, parvularia, educación inicial: what it is called at home
Colombia typically issues Licenciatura en Educación Preescolar or Pedagogía Infantil. Mexico issues Licenciatura en Educación Preescolar, often from teacher-training colleges and with a cédula profesional. Peru has Educación Inicial. Venezuela issues Licenciado en Educación Preescolar or Educación Inicial. Argentina has Profesorado de Educación Inicial, with the certificado analítico. And in Chile the classic name is Educación Parvularia.
All point to the same educational stage and all are recognized against the same Spanish early years teaching qualification: what changes is workload and the weight of the practicum, which is exactly where the case is decided.
Where the gaps usually appear in early childhood education
As a regulated profession, the Ministry compares your training with the Spanish degree and can make recognition conditional on additional requirements. In early years, the most frequent gap is the practicum: the Spanish degree includes a high volume of supervised school placements, and many curricula of origin fall short. Then come language and mathematics didactics for the 0-6 range, attention to diversity and early detection, and Spanish school organization.
When a conditional decision arrives, it is closed with an aptitude test or coursework at a Spanish university with a faculty of education. It is not uncommon and it does not reopen your case: once the requirement is met, the credential is issued.
There is also a regional factor worth bearing in mind: staffing requirements for the first stage (0-3) are set by each region, so two people with the same degree may face different access conditions in Madrid and in Andalusia. That is not decided by the Ministry, which is why we review it with you according to where you will live.
After recognition: substitute lists and the primary teaching corps exam
With the credential, the first move is registering on the early years substitute-teacher lists in your region. Qualification, additional training, co-official language where applicable and teaching experience are scored, and this is how most teachers arriving from abroad get in.
The second is the competitive exam for the teaching corps, early years specialism, subgroup A2, with pay published annually in the State Budget Act and calls depending on each region's public employment offer. In between sits the private and subsidized circuit, which hires year-round and where recognition is likewise the entry requirement for second-stage classrooms.
Manage your process from the app — with 10% off
Download the Booka app to track your file, upload documents and chat with your advisor from your phone. Use code BLOG10 for 10% off your process.
Frequently asked questions
My degree says Preschool / Kindergarten Education — is it recognized the same way?
Yes — the name varies by country (preescolar in Colombia and Mexico, parvularia in Chile, educación inicial in Argentina and Peru), but the case is the same: recognition against the Spanish Early Childhood Education Teacher degree, comparing curriculum, course load and practicums.
Can I work in nurseries while the recognition is pending?
In the first cycle (0-3) of private centres, some regions accept profiles with qualifications in process or other credentials — it depends on regional rules. For the second cycle (3-6) and for any publicly funded centre, recognition is essential before practicing as a teacher.
How much does an early years teacher earn in Spain?
In state education the teaching corps belongs to subgroup A2 and its basic pay is published each year in the State Budget Act, with regional supplements creating real differences between regions. Private nurseries apply sector agreements below those figures, with the 2026 minimum wage (€1,221 a month over fourteen payments) as the legal floor.
Can I work at a nursery without recognition?
In the first stage (0-3) of private centres, some regions admit other professional profiles, so there is room there. For second-stage (3-6) classrooms and for any publicly funded centre, recognition as a qualified teacher is essential. The 0-3 rules are regional, so it is worth checking them for your specific region.
How long until I can join a substitute-teacher list?
The legal deadline for a decision is 6 months from the moment the file is complete, and if it comes with additional requirements you must add the time for the test or coursework. Substitute lists are updated periodically in each region, so the variable you control is when you start.
How long does the procedure take in Spain?
The legal deadline for a decision is 6 months from the moment the file is complete (Royal Decree 889/2022). Applicants' experience suggests longer real timelines depending on caseload; the Ministry publishes no official averages. A well-prepared file with no requests for corrections is the best way to avoid extra months.
Do I need the Apostille of The Hague and a sworn translation?
Yes, with limited exceptions. Your degree must be legalized with the Apostille of The Hague from your home country (EU, EEA and Swiss citizens are exempt), and both the degree and the academic transcript require a sworn translation (traducción jurada) into Spanish. We coordinate both as part of the service.
Can I start the process from my home country, without being in Spain?
Yes. The procedure runs entirely online through the Ministry's electronic portal, and the fee can be paid by international transfer. You never need to be in Spain or attend any in-person appointment.
What exactly does Booka do, and what do I do?
You hand us your documents; we do the rest: we verify the file at source with our Verifier Agent, coordinate the apostille and sworn translation, file the online application, pay the fee and track the case through to resolution, answering any request from the Ministry.
Other degrees we recognize in Spain
Your degree, recognized in Spain
Early Childhood Education Teacher · full management for €176. You hand us the documents; we handle the file, the fees and the tracking until resolution.
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