Children with foreign nationality living in Korea may be eligible for support with daycare (어린이집, childcare center) fees or kindergarten tuition, depending on their circumstances. However, because childcare centers and kindergartens are overseen by different government ministries, the availability and scope of support vary by region. The details are explained step by step below.

Process Overview

  1. 1. Check eligibility

    Contact your local district office (구청), community service center (주민센터), or call 1345 (Immigration Contact Center, which provides multilingual support) to find out whether support is available in your area and how much you may receive.

  2. 2. Prepare your Alien Registration Card

    An Alien Registration Card (외국인등록증) is required to apply for fee support and to receive a National Happy Card.

  3. 3. Obtain a National Happy Card

    Apply for a National Happy Card (국민행복카드) at a community service center or bank branch. This is a government-issued voucher card used to pay for childcare, medical, and pregnancy-related benefits.

  4. 4. Enroll your child and apply for support

    Once your child is enrolled in a childcare center or kindergarten, apply for the childcare or tuition fee subsidy.

  5. 5. Pay with the National Happy Card

    When you pay the full childcare fee using the National Happy Card, the subsidy amount is automatically deducted, so you only pay the remaining balance.

Kindergartens: Nuri Curriculum Tuition Support

The Nuri Curriculum (누리과정) is Korea’s national common curriculum for children aged 3 to 5. Under this program, the government subsidizes part of the educational costs for kindergartens and childcare centers.

From March 2022, several regional Offices of Education — including those in Seoul, Incheon, Gwangju, Gyeonggi, Jeonbuk, Gyeongbuk, and Sejong — began extending Nuri Curriculum tuition support to children with foreign nationality, and additional offices, including Daegu, joined later. As of now, many provincial and metropolitan Offices of Education provide this support on their own, and it varies by region.

  • Eligible children: foreign-national children aged 3 to 5 enrolled in a kindergarten within the relevant Office of Education’s jurisdiction
  • Level of support: equivalent to the support provided for Korean-national children

Eligibility and the amount of support may differ by Office of Education, so please contact your local Office of Education or the kindergarten directly before applying. The program can change from year to year, so check the latest information with 1345 or your local Korea Immigration Service (출입국·외국인청) branch before applying.

Childcare Centers: Subsidies Vary by Local Government

In principle, childcare fee support is only available for children aged 0 to 5 who hold Korean nationality (or a valid Korean resident registration number). Children with foreign nationality have no statutory entitlement to this support, meaning they can only receive it in areas where the local government has voluntarily allocated a separate budget.

The Case of Seoul

Seoul began providing partial childcare fee support to foreign-national children in 2022 and has steadily expanded both the eligible ages and the subsidy rate since then. The program previously covered only ages 3 to 5, but from 2026 it newly includes ages 0 to 2, so it now covers all children aged 0 to 5. As of 2026, Seoul’s support is as follows:

  • Ages 0 to 2: 50% of childcare fees covered (newly added from January 2026)
  • Ages 3 to 5: 70% of childcare fees covered (from March 2026)
  • How to apply: Obtain a National Happy Card using your Alien Registration Card. When you pay childcare fees with this card, the subsidy is automatically deducted.

Other regions outside Seoul — such as Incheon, Gyeonggi, and Gwangju — may also offer childcare fee support depending on the local government’s budget. According to the most recent available count, as of June 2023, 62 out of 229 basic local governments nationwide (including all basic local governments under the metropolitan governments of Incheon, Gwangju, Gyeonggi, and South Gyeongsang Province) were providing childcare fee support to children with a migrant background, and the number of participating areas has continued to grow since then. Whether this count has been updated since is not confirmed. Contact your local district office or community service center to find out whether support is currently available in your area.

In addition, support for undocumented children began in 2026. Gyeonggi Province became the first metropolitan-level government to launch a “childcare fee subsidy for undocumented children with a migrant background,” providing 100,000 won per month to undocumented foreign-national children attending a childcare center (a 2026 pilot in Hwaseong, Anseong, and Icheon). Because this varies by area of residence, please inquire with your local community service center or city, county, or district office.

It is also worth checking whether your child is eligible for the Infant and Child Health Checkup Program.

Subsidy amounts and application procedures are subject to change. Always verify the latest information with 1345 (Immigration Contact Center) or your local Korea Immigration Service branch or community service center before applying.

Refugee and Special-Status Children: Exceptions

Certain foreign-national children qualify for childcare fee support and child-rearing allowance regardless of whether their local government has made separate provisions.

Exception 1: Recognized refugees and children of asylum seekers Children of individuals recognized as refugees under the Refugee Act are entitled to the same childcare fee support and child-rearing allowance as Korean nationals. You can look up the Infant and Child Daycare Fee Support Service and apply online through Bokjiro (www.bokjiro.go.kr), Korea’s official welfare portal.

Exception 2: Foreign nationals issued a resident registration number or registered as overseas Koreans

  • Foreign nationals issued a resident registration number under Article 6, Paragraph 1, Item 3 of the Resident Registration Act
  • Individuals registered and managed as overseas Koreans under Article 19, Paragraph 4 of the Resident Registration Act (excluding those who have departed Korea)

These individuals are also eligible for childcare fee support and the child-rearing allowance.

If your child is undocumented or has an unclear immigration status, please also refer to the articles on education visa applications for long-term resident children and residency guidance for parents and children and the residency status program for undocumented long-term resident children in Korea (D-4 and G-1 visas).

Things to Check Before Applying