Childcare Service Vouchers Children who are well cared for from an early age are stronger
If you work and have one or more dependent children, childcare is a challenge. Luxembourg understands the expenses facing parents who wish to combine the pursuit of a professional career with the education of their children, especially when the children are still young. Luxembourg has also understood that offering all children equal opportunities from an early age means providing them with access to the same chances for success, whatever their social background.
That's why the Luxembourg government provides all residents and all non-resident employees with an allowance so that their children can be looked after in childcare facilities. This takes the form of childcare service vouchers, known as chèques- service accueil (CSA), available for all children between the ages of 0 and 12. These vouchers can be used as payment in kind for childcare services, as well as for a number of extra-curricular activities.
Quality and affordable childcare for all
The childcare service voucher (CSA) system is aimed at all children of parents living in Luxembourg and also at the children of cross-border workers, as long as they are from an EU Member State and at least one parent works in Luxembourg. The idea is to make it easier for parents to achieve a better work-life balance, and to ensure high-quality care for all children in approved facilities that are subject to quality controls.
Through the CSA system, the government pays part of the cost of childcare in nurseries, childcare centres (maisons relais), day-care centres or with parental assistants, provided the facility is approved as a service provider by the Ministry of Education, Children and Youth. With the multilingual education programme, children aged 1 to 4 who are not yet in school and attend an education and childcare facility or a mini-crèche are entitled to 20 hours of free childcare for 46 weeks a year. The programme is a way for children to be given an introduction to the Luxembourgish and French languages.
During term time, children between the ages of 4 and 12, who are required to attend school, are entitled to free childcare from Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and five main meals. For those who require childcare and main meals outside these hours, unless the education and childcare facility charges for the additional hours, the parental participation scale used for the childcare service voucher (CSA) scheme is applied to calculate parents' contribution.
A fair scale for payment
To calculate the contribution made by parents to costs, the Luxembourg government has introduced a scale based on criteria including income and the number of hours of education and childcare required by parents. This means that parents on a low income are entitled to more hours of childcare at a cheaper rate than parents with higher salaries.
How do I register?
Do you meet the conditions? To benefit from the CSA scheme, you simply need to ask to register at your local municipality if you live in Luxembourg or contact the Children's Future Fund (Caisse pour l'avenir des enfants - CAE) if you work in Luxembourg but live in another country.
After registering for the CSA scheme, you can access your secure personal space via the eduguichet.lu website using a LuxTrust product.
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