Global
Almost every English-language homeschooling site assumes you live in the United States. Most home-educating families do not. Here is the legal picture in 43 countries — who can simply begin, who needs permission, and where the answer is genuinely no.
7
Light regulation
22
Legal, regulated
8
Heavily restricted
6
Not permitted
Verified 24 August 2026
Legal across all four nations. In England and Wales you deregister in writing if the child is enrolled; nothing is required if they never attended. Scotland requires council consent to withdraw from a state school. Northern Ireland requires notification to the EA.
A constitutional right, but families must register with Tusla and undergo an initial assessment that the education is "certain minimum standard".
Since 2021 home education requires prior authorisation on one of four narrow grounds — health, intensive sport or art, itinerancy, or a situation specific to the child. Annual inspection follows.
Compulsory school attendance is enforced. Exemptions are extremely rare; families have faced fines and custody proceedings. Many German home educators relocate.
Permitted only through an exemption from compulsory attendance, most commonly on the grounds of objection to the philosophy of every school within reach. Exemptions are granted before the child is enrolled and have been tightened.
The 2011 Education Act allows home education only in "exceptional circumstances", which municipalities interpret very narrowly. In practice it is not available.
Legal and reasonably straightforward. The municipality supervises and may assess the child’s progress.
Explicitly legal — Denmark has compulsory education, not compulsory schooling. The municipality supervises and can require a test.
Legal. The child is registered with the municipality and progress is monitored, typically once or twice a year.
Not explicitly legal. The Constitutional Court has upheld compulsory schooling, and enforcement varies sharply by autonomous community. Some families operate through foreign distance schools.
Legal and formally recognised. Families register with a host school and the child sits annual evaluations.
Legal. Parents declare each year that they are capable of providing the education, and the child sits an annual exam.
Home education is permitted only on documented health grounds; there is no general parental option.
Legal. Families register with a school, which administers annual classification exams. Rules were loosened again after a 2021 tightening.
Legal through primary and, since 2017, lower-secondary. Requires school approval and twice-yearly reviews.
Decided canton by canton. Some cantons are permissive with notification; others require a teaching qualification or refuse outright.
Legal with annual notification and a compulsory externist examination at the end of each year.
Legal with declaration; the French and Flemish communities each run their own inspection and exam regimes.
Legal ("family education"). Families notify the local authority and the child sits state attestations at a partner school.
Legal, and widely used since 2022. Children remain attached to a school for periodic assessment.
Legal in all 50 states and DC, but the requirements are set state by state and range from nothing at all to quarterly reporting.
Legal in every province and territory, regulated provincially. Alberta and BC offer funded programmes; Ontario needs only a letter of intent; Quebec requires a learning project and progress reports.
Tolerated and increasingly common. Families typically validate learning through SEP/INEA exams or an accredited distance school to obtain recognised certificates.
The Supreme Court ruled in 2018 that home education cannot be practised without enabling federal legislation. Bills have advanced but no national framework is in force, so families risk enforcement.
No explicit legal framework. Practised in a grey zone, usually alongside enrolment in a distance or foreign programme.
Permitted; students validate each year through free state examinations ("exámenes libres").
Permitted, with validation exams through an accredited institution to gain official certification.
Legal in every state and territory, each with its own registration process. NSW and Queensland require a detailed plan and periodic review; Victoria is comparatively light.
Legal by exemption from the Ministry of Education, granted on an application showing the child will be taught "as regularly and as well as in a registered school". A supervision allowance is paid.
Compulsory attendance applies, but the large futōkō (school non-attendance) population means home learning is widely tolerated in practice and increasingly supported by free schools.
Not formally recognised; families use the qualification examination system (검정고시) to certify each stage of schooling.
Compulsory education law requires school enrolment; home education has been explicitly discouraged by the Ministry of Education.
No law compels school attendance for home-educated children. Students sit NIOS open-schooling exams to obtain recognised certificates.
Legal through DepEd-accredited homeschool providers, which handle records and issue recognised credentials.
Requires MOE approval for compulsory-education-age children, and most approved students must sit the PSLE and meet a benchmark.
Formally recognised since 2014. Families register with the local education office and can certify through the Paket A/B/C equivalency exams.
Legal since 1999. Families register a learning plan with the local education area office and report annually.
Legal and constitutionally protected; registration with the provincial department is required, though many families historically have not registered.
No explicit framework. A small, growing community typically works through international distance providers.
No prohibition; a growing community uses British or American distance curricula and external exams.
Permitted, with registration through KHDA or ADEK depending on the emirate; students usually certify via an accredited online school.
Legal by permit from the Ministry of Education, granted after an interview and a review of the family’s educational plan.
Compulsory schooling through age 18 with no general home education exemption; open-schooling routes exist for older students.
We don’t cover that country yet — ask in the forum and we’ll research it and add it.
This is an orientation summary, not legal advice, and several of these countries devolve the decision to a region, canton, province or municipality. Confirm with the education ministry where you are resident before you withdraw a child from school.
If you are moving
Is home education legal for residents, or only for foreigners?
Several countries that prohibit it for citizens tolerate it for diplomatic, military or temporary-resident families. Your visa category can change the answer entirely.
Who has authority — the country, or the region?
In Switzerland, Canada, Australia and Spain the meaningful rule is set below national level. Research the specific canton, province, state or community, not the country.
What credential will your child leave with?
Decide this first. If the destination has no home-education exam route, enrol in an accredited distance school before you move so the transcript is continuous.
Does school enrolment affect your visa or residency?
In some jurisdictions a school enrolment letter is part of the residence application for dependents. Find out before you arrive, not after.
Who is already there?
Every one of these countries has a national home-education association or an active parent group. One conversation with a resident family is worth ten hours of reading — including ours.
If you home educate in one of these countries and something here is out of date — or your country is missing — tell us in the forum. Every correction is credited, and the regional spaces are moderated by parents who live there.
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