Childcare in Sweden: a guide for expat families

You've moved to Sweden. The personnummer is sorted, the apartment lease signed, and now comes one of the first practical questions: who looks after the children while you work? The Swedish childcare system is well-funded and widely trusted, but navigating it from the outside takes some orientation. This guide covers how it all fits together, including where a private nanny can fill the gaps.

Förskola: Sweden's universal preschool

Förskola is the foundation of Swedish childcare. It's available for all children aged one to five, and nearly 85% of Swedish families use it. The system is heavily subsidised through the maxtaxa (fee cap). For the first child, the maximum cost is roughly 1,500 SEK per month. Second and third children pay less.

Most förskolor are run by the municipality, though private options exist in larger cities. Both follow the national curriculum, which emphasises outdoor play, group learning, and child-led exploration. Structured academics come later. At this age, the focus is social development and language.

For expat families, the language question comes up immediately. Förskolor operate in Swedish. Children who arrive without the language typically pick it up within months through daily immersion — younger children especially. Staff in expat-dense areas of Stockholm and Gothenburg are experienced with multilingual households. Don't expect English-language instruction, but do expect patience and skill with children who are still finding their words.

The queue is where things get less straightforward. Municipalities must offer a place within four months of your application, but popular förskolor in central neighbourhoods fill quickly. Families arriving mid-year often face the longest wait. If you know your move date, apply as early as possible through your kommun's website.

Fritids: after-school care

Once your child starts school at age six, förskola ends and fritids (fritidshem) begins. This is before-and-after-school care, typically run within the school itself. It covers mornings from around 6:30 and afternoons until 18:00.

Fritids is available for children aged six to twelve. Fees follow a similar maxtaxa structure, capped at around 1,000 SEK per month for the first child. For working parents with standard office hours, it covers the gap neatly.

The limitation is flexibility. Fritids follows the school calendar and fixed hours. It won't help with a Tuesday evening meeting that runs late or a business trip that extends into the weekend. And when schools close between terms, your employer probably doesn't.

Where nannies fit in

A nanny isn't a replacement for förskola or fritids. It's the layer that covers what the public system can't. The most common scenarios for expat families tend to follow a pattern.

The queue gap. You've applied for förskola, but your place won't start for three months. A nanny bridges the gap so both parents can work from the start. This is especially common for families relocating mid-year.

Irregular hours. Consulting, healthcare, hospitality — any role with shifts, travel, or unpredictable schedules. Förskola closes at 17:30 or 18:00. A nanny covers the rest.

Infant care. Children under one aren't eligible for förskola. Swedish parental leave is generous, but not every family can use the full 480 days. A nanny provides one-to-one care during that first year.

After-school pickup and evenings. Fritids works for standard days. A nanny handles the extras: late pickups, homework help, dinner preparation on evenings when you're not home.

Settling-in support. Some families want a consistent, English-speaking adult in the home during the first months. Not just childcare, but someone who understands the transition the children are going through. You can see the full range of services we offer.

Not a list of strangers. A selected person, matched to your family's specific situation.

What it costs

The Swedish system keeps förskola remarkably affordable. At roughly 1,500 SEK per month for the first child and less for siblings, it's one of the cheapest childcare options in Europe.

Private nannies are a different cost category. Through Nanny.nu, rates start from 199 SEK per hour after the RUT tax deduction. RUT is a 50% household services deduction that applies to childcare in your home. It's available to anyone who pays Swedish tax, including expats with a personnummer. Most families are surprised by how much it reduces the real cost.

A family using a nanny for 15 hours per week would pay roughly 3,000 SEK per week after RUT. That's comparable to after-school programmes in London or Amsterdam. For a detailed breakdown, see our guide to nanny costs.

The honest tradeoff: a nanny is more expensive than förskola. It's not a budget alternative to the public system. It's a complement for situations the public system wasn't designed to cover.

A common setup for expat families

Most families we work with don't choose between förskola and a nanny. They use both. The typical arrangement looks something like this.

Children attend förskola during the day, Monday to Friday. A nanny handles pickup two or three afternoons per week, stays through dinner, and covers bedtime when needed. During school holidays or the summer weeks when förskola is closed, the nanny increases hours.

Some families add weekend mornings so both parents can exercise, run errands, or simply have a quiet coffee together. Others use a nanny primarily during the settling-in period, then scale back once förskola starts and daily routines stabilise. A few keep consistent hours year-round because their work demands it.

The shape depends on your work, your children's ages, and what your week actually looks like. We start every match by understanding that picture. You can read more about how the process works.

One thing worth knowing: the nanny vs daycare decision isn't really an either/or. In Sweden, the public and private systems complement each other better than in most countries. The public side is strong. The private side fills specific gaps. Together, they give working families actual coverage rather than coverage on paper.

Arriving in a new country with children is a lot at once. The school system, the healthcare system, the social codes, the weather. Childcare doesn't need to be another source of stress. Sweden's system is good. Where it falls short, we're here to help — at your own pace, with someone you've met and chosen yourself.