Receiving childcare service vouchers
Last update
With the childcare service voucher (chèque-service acceuil - CSA), parents can benefit from reduced rates for education and care services (services d'éducation et d'accueil - SEA) (crèches, drop-in centres (maison relais), mini-crèches, childcare centres) and also if employing a childminder (also called parental assistant), provided however that the structure in question is recognised as a chèque-service accueil (CSA) service provider by the Ministry of Education, Children and Youth.
In particular, these structures must meet certain quality standards and fulfil the public service mission of guaranteeing equal opportunities for all children with the ultimate aim of social cohesion. By these means, the State supports the integration of children into Luxembourg society on the local community level and fosters their schooling in Luxembourg's basic education system.
The amount of the state's participation (amount of the CSA) and the parent's financial participation are calculated on a per case basis by taking into account:
- the income of the household the child lives in (married couples, couples joined under a civil partnership or cohabiting couples are deemed equal);
- the number of children eligible for family allowances in the household and the child's position in the sibling order;
- the type of childcare structure (in a collective childcare facility or with a childminder);
- the number of hours the child spends in the childcare structure;
- the specific advantages according to the child's age:
- 20 hours of free childcare for children from 1 to 4 years of age accommodated in a collective childcare facility;
- free main meals and care during the school holidays for children subject compulsory schooling.
- 20 hours of free childcare for children from 1 to 4 years of age accommodated in a collective childcare facility;
The CSA is paid directly to the childcare providers registered with the service voucher programme.
Who is concerned
The CSA is available for all children:
- who reside in Luxembourg; or
- whose parent or legal guardian (at least one) is a national of a Member State of the European Union and working in Luxembourg.
Prerequisites
To be eligible for the CSA, the child must:
- be under 13 years of age; and/or
- still be in the basic education system.
For non-resident workers, further conditions must be satisfied:
- the parent or legal guardian must be affiliated with the Joint Social Security Centre or work at a European institution;
- they must be receiving the Luxembourg family allowance (either from the Caisse pour l'avenir des enfants - CAE or the European institution) for the child for whom they are applying for the CSA.
How to proceed
Signing up for the CSA scheme
To benefit from the CSA, parents residing in Luxembourg must go in person to the communal administration of their place of residence (rather than that of the town in which the childcare structure is located).
Non-resident European nationals working in Luxembourg who wish to receive the CSA for their child must go in person to the offices of the Children's Future Fund (Caisse pour l’Avenir des Enfants - CAE) or submit the relevant form by post.
At the time of registration for membership, the parents will receive a membership contract with the CSA which states the hourly rates they will have to pay. It is only possible to conclude one membership contract per child and to indicate one billing address.
The membership contract indicates:
- the CSA rates for the child in question;
- the parents' financial contribution per main meal;
- the duration of the membership and its start and end dates.
- an annexe indicating the specific advantages according to the child's age.
The membership contract is established in either French, German, English or Portuguese, depending on the parents' wishes.
Details to be provided
In order to benefit from the CSA scheme, parents must provide the following compulsory data:
- the child's full name;
- the child's national identification number;
- the names, first names and the national identification number of the legal representative;
- the national identification number of the partner or legal representative in the case of a blended family;
- the child's address;
- the applicant's address;
- the billing address;
- the preferred language of communication (German, French, Luxembourgish, English or Portuguese);
- to benefit from the State financial aid: the financial income of the legal representative.
In order to draw up the membership contract, the applicant authorises the communal agent to consult the personal data required for processing the membership application in the National Registry of Natural Persons (RNPP) or the Communal Registry of Natural Persons (RCPP), and in the database of the Joint Social Security Centre.
Validity period
Membership is valid from the moment the contract is signed. The contract remains in force until the date stated on the contract. It must be renewed in the month following the expiry date. This date is also stated on the invoices sent to the parents.
Under exceptional circumstances, and for duly substantiated reasons, the applicant's membership in the scheme may be limited to 3 months. Parents are responsible for renewing their membership before the expiry date. Failure to renew the contract will result in the CSA being stopped. In this case the parents will be charged the full child care cost.
Amount
State financial aid
The State's financial participation is limited to 60 hours per week. The maximum amount of State aid is limited to:
- EUR 6/hour for a child cared for in an education and care service; and
- EUR 5.40/hour for a child cared for by a childminder.
Any costs exceeding these limits are entirely at the parents' expense.
The parents' financial contribution and the CSA tariffs
Parents may be entitled to a lower rate within the framework of the CSA scheme provided they communicate their household's income.
The CSA membership contract establishes the value of the CSA based on the parental participation scale (French, Pdf, 132 Kb) which allows to calculate the amount of the parent's financial contribution.
Married couples, couples joined under a civil partnership or cohabiting couples are treated in the same way when determining the household's income.
The child's legal guardian must produce recent copies of all the documents required to establish the household's current income:
- a copy of the most recent tax return or, failing this, an income certificate issued by the Luxembourg Inland Revenue (ACD;
- any documentary proof of the household's income - a recent annual salary certificate, a pension or unemployment certificate, or an income certificate issued by the CCSS - if the income of the applicant is not subject to tax on the basis of taxable income;
- for non-residents, documentary proof issued by the competent authorities for members of the household who are not liable for tax in Luxembourg; or
- failing this, any other documentary proof of current income.
If the applicant cannot, for reasons beyond their control, provide one of these documents, the household's taxable income can be certified by any other relevant document issued by the employer.
The communal agent may request further documentary proof of the household's income.
Should the parents not wish to disclose their income details, the amounts indicated in the last category of the parental contribution scale, entitled 'no income details provided', are applied.
Applicants are strongly recommended to contact their commune of residence or the CAE in advance, in order to find out exactly which supporting documents will be required for the CSA application.
The CAE may request additional documents to complete the application. These documents can be sent:
- by post; or
- via MyGuichet.lu.
Note: if the monthly taxable income is more than 4.5 times the social minimum wage or if the annual taxable income exceeds EUR 138,830, the maximum rates will apply and income details will not be required.
Choosing a service provider
Membership in the CSA scheme does not exempt parents from registering their child(ren) with the childcare establishment of their choice.
To benefit from the advantages of the CSA scheme, parents must choose a service (education and childcare service and/or a childminder (assistant parental) that satisfies the criteria for being approved as a 'CSA provider' and meets certain quality requirements. Registrations can be made directly with the service provider / PA. A reception contract is signed between the service provider and the parents for each child admitted. Children are admitted according to the number places available and in line with the service providers' priority admission criteria.
There are several types of structures that welcome children in Luxembourg, from infancy to 12 years old.
Collective education and care establishments (service d'éducation et d'accueil - SEA) can, depending on the case, have one of the following names.
- crèches;
- daycare centres;
- drop-in centres;
- mini-crèches;
- school hostels (foyer scolaire - City of Luxembourg).
There is another type of childcare services: childminders or parental assistants (assistant parental): they care for children at their home, during the day or at night. The Agence Dageselteren counsels and informs parents who are looking for a childminder.
Specific advantages
The service voucher scheme provides for additional advantages with respect to the CSA scheme and tariffs depending on the child's characteristics.
20 hours of free childcare for children aged 1 to 4, subject to certain conditions:
To support very young children in their language development and to ensure equal access to the multilingual education programme, out-of-school children aged between 1 and 4, who attend a childcare education and care service (crèche) or a mini-crèche who operate with the childcare service voucher programme, benefit from free childcare for 20 hours a week during 46 weeks a year.
Childminders (assistant parental) are excluded from this programme given that this form of childcare cannot fulfil the prerequisites for implementing multilingual education (1 person per language).
The free childcare applies regardless of the parents' income. The other advantages of the childcare-service voucher scheme apply as of the 21st hour of childcare.
A child enrolled in full-time early education does not benefit from free hours in the context of the multilingual education programme.
However, children who are not enrolled in full-time early education benefit from 10 free hours in the multilingual education programme per week, for 46 weeks a year.
This programme was introduced in October 2017 in all childcare education and care services (crèche) and mini-crèches who use the childcare-service voucher scheme and who accommodate eligible children. The multilingual education programme aims to familiarise children aged 1 to 4 with Luxembourgish and French. It is based on the observation that the earlier contact with a language is established, the easier it is to acquire.
Children subject to compulsory schooling: free main meals and care during the school holidays
Free childcare
Free childcare applies to:
- children subject to compulsory schooling (aged 4 and over before 1 September) who attend basic or equivalent education (this does not include early education);
- all types of educational and care facilities (maison relais, day centres, mini-crèches and childminders);
- school periods, Monday to Friday from 7.00 to 19.00.
For hours of childcare outside these time slots, the childcare service voucher scheme will be used to calculate the financial contribution of the parents/legal representatives.
Main meals partially free of charge
Partial free meals apply to:
- children subject to compulsory schooling (aged 4 and over before 1 September), who attend basic or equivalent education (this does not include early education);
- all types of educational and care facilities (maison relais, day centres, mini-crèches and childminders);
- school periods.
During school holidays, free meals are reserved for children from households earning less than less than 2 times the social minimum wage. The CSA scheme applies to meals for children from households with an income of more than twice the social minimum wage during the school holidays.
There is a flat-rate contribution of EUR 100 per week during the school holidays
The parental contribution fee during the school holidays is capped at EUR 100 per week, main meals not included, for children not attending school. The ceiling of EUR 100 per week for children subject to compulsory schooling is abolished.
Re-billing
In the event of an error in the amount of aid, the applicant can submit a request for rectification of the application:
- to their communal administration; or
- to the CAE.
In that case, all relevant supporting documents must be provided. The re-billing of services which have been invoiced is only possible with the approval of the communal administration and/or the provider.
In the event of an error in the invoicing of education and care hours, the applicant should request the issue of a new invoice from the provider. Re-billing is only possible with the provider's consent.
If the parents have forgotten to renew their contract within the deadline, invoices can only be back-dated 3 months.
Online services and forms
Who to contact
-
Ministry of Education, Children and Youth General Directorate for Childhood and Family Support / General Directorate for the Youth Sector
- Address:
-
33, rives de Clausen
L-2165
Luxembourg
Luxembourg
L-2926 Luxembourg
- Phone:
- (+352) 247 85100
- Email address:
- info@men.lu
Closed ⋅ Opens at 14.00
- Thursday:
- 8.30 to 11.30 , 14.00 to 17.00
- Friday:
- 8.30 to 11.30 , 14.00 to 17.00
- Saturday:
- Closed
- Sunday:
- Closed
- Monday:
- 8.30 to 11.30 , 14.00 to 17.00
- Tuesday:
- 8.30 to 11.30 , 14.00 to 17.00
- Wednesday:
- 8.30 to 11.30 , 14.00 to 17.00
Monday to Friday from 8.30 to 11.30 and from 14.00 to 17.00
-
Children's Future Fund
- Address:
- Luxembourg
-
Children's Future Fund Offices
- Address:
-
6, boulevard Royal
L-2249
Luxembourg
B.P. 394, L-2013 Luxembourg
- Phone:
- (+352) 47 71 53 1
- Website:
- https://cae.public.lu/en.html
-
Ministry of Education, Children and Youth Helpdesk chèque-service
- Address:
- Luxembourg Luxembourg
- Phone:
- (+352) 80 02 11 12
- Email address:
- helpdesk@chequeservice.lu
Related procedures and links
Procedures
Links
Further information
-
Childcare service vouchers
on the website of the Children's Future Fund (CAE)
- eduguichet.lu
-
Staark Kanner - Childhood
on the site of the Ministry of Education, Children and Youth
-
Annuaire des structures d'éducation et d'accueil
sur le Portail de l'Education nationale
Tools
Consult the current social parameters.
Legal references
-
Loi modifiée du 4 juillet 2008
sur la jeunesse
-
Règlement grand-ducal du 27 juin 2016
portant exécution des dispositions relatives au chèque-service accueil de la loi modifiée du 4 juillet 2008 sur la jeunesse
