German Kindergartens in Munich - how to apply

Dear all,

my son will turn three next year in September. I am wondering, how to apply for a local German Kindergarten.

Do you just walk in and ask or do I need to get an application form somewhere? I have read a lot of discussions regarding this but most of them are related to bilingual Kindergartens.

I hope I can apply for a kindergarten downstairs, it seems to be a nice place. And I want my kid at least to adopt as much German as possible, since my wife and I don't speak much German.

Thanks a lot in advance.
Ronny

Make an appointment (call or have someone call for you) and take your kid with you for the appointment. They want to meet him too. There are some forms to fill out and you will be given an idea of how likely there will be a place free for your son. I would go to maybe two of three kindergartens in the area and apply to all of them.

Most of the Kindergartens will have an open door day as well for people with children that might be starting the following Autumn. Make sure to go go along to these and see the teachers, kids and the place.
They will probably ask you for your prefrences of the local Kindergartens and which others you have applied to. Some of them have big waiting lists.

thanks guys for the reply. I know that places are very limited in Munich, I hope they won't tell me its too earlier to apply! What I am afraid of is that we don't speak much German, they might turn us away because of this.

I don't think that will be a problem. There are kids in my son's kindergarten that don't have German yet because the parents don't speak it.

Hi,

I've got a 1 1/2 year-old daughter and am moving to Munich in October. Could anyone tell me briefly how the childcare system works there?

Do children have to be three before they can start kindergarten - or do they just have to turn three during that year (my daughter's birthday is in February)?

And do you just apply to a kindergarten individually, or do you have to contact some kind of central body? In Berlin, where we live now, you have to apply to the youth office and prove you actually need childcare, e.g. that both parents work or you're a single parent.

What are the chances of getting a place? Are the state-run ones usually ok? Are there many parent-run initiatives?

I'd be grateful for any advice or useful addresses. Thanks!

Topics merged by admin

Hi SEH,

in the past you definitely had to be three when you started kindergarten, but I think some places are now taking the younger kids too. Generally those places are probably private Kigas, though. If your child is 1 1/2 - 2 1/2 you will probably need to find a Kita (Kindertagesstätte), also called a Krippe. You have basically NO CHANCE of getting a spot in one of the public Krippen -- my daughter is 16 months old, has been on 5 or 6 waiting lists since before birth, and still didn't get a spot this September at a public place.

Most public Krippen in Munich have waiting lists of 300-600 children. You have to sign up for the waiting list in person at each individual location, on Monday afternoons between 2:00 - 4:00. That's the only time. You do also have to be working to have any hope of ever getting a spot, although they never asked me for proof.

Once your child is already three, you have a legal right to a Kindergarten spot the following September (not necessarily at the Kiga near your home though!), but you do not have a legal right to a Krippen spot before that time. I am not sure what the sign-up rules are for the public Kigas because my daughter isn't old enough yet.

Hope this helps.

There is no legal right to a kindergarden spot in Bavaria. Seriously.

However, odds are pretty good of getting a spot in either a church run, city run or private one. The situation has relaxed a bit in the past few years.

@Ronny,

All state kindergartens start working next week, so what you should do is to go to those around you and apply for the place. Fill in the paper, say that you and your wife are working and you want to expose your child to German as much as possible. The time to do that in all kindergartens is EVERY TUESDAY from 4 to 6 p.m. You'll need your Anmeldung papers. Good luck.

@SEH

We moved from Berlin to Munich a year ago when our younger one was two. In short I'm afraid I have to say that situation with Kinderkrippes in Munich as compared to Berlin... well, sucks.

@Natalie, many thanks for the answer, my son has already a place in the Kindergarten downstairs (2 mins walk). It was easier then we thought, we went around the kindergarten in our area, and then we just fill in a form, and we got a reply early on this year.

@SEH, you should go maybe around when your kid turns 2 if you want to apply for the kindergarten. You will have to search through the kindergarten around your area, and then just go in and ask.

Anyway, thanks for the reply everybody

Just a reminder that if your child is starting kindergarten or a hort in September, now is the time to apply. I think they stop taking applications early March and distribute the places end of March. Many state kitas have registration from 4-6pm Tuesdays.

Definitly go to the Official site for Kindergarten Search!
Other useful links from Muenchen.de

Good information here, but what I haven't yet found is how to determine which kindergartens are in my "district"? I saw the city website with the list of kindergartens and addresses, but is there any way I can search on my home address and receive a list of kindergartens in my district? Or, can I register my child for any public kindergarten? (Obviously, I assume the private kindergartens have little/no restriction on regional address.)
Many thanks.

Try this link : http://www.musin.de/kita/einrichtungen/kiga/index.html

Hi,

WHEN do you normally have to apply for a Kindergarten-Platz? Is it now (I am pregnant, baby in February) too early? Or even too late?
Thx,
D.
xxx

Kindergarten (age 3 and above) or Kinderkrippe (under age 3?). If Kinderkrippe, there aren't enough spaces to go around, so it is NEVER to early to register.