Living in Europe | Day care, schooling & family related issues | Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands are considered to be a family-friendly society with a safe and peaceful environment and generous child and parental benefits and child care provision.
Spouses
The accompanying spouse or cohabiting partner of a foreign researcher with a work permit in the Faroe Islands is free to take on any job position.
Job vacancies can be found in the local newspapers or in the Employment Registry . Everyone with a Faroese ID-number is also free to post his or her CV in this registry. In some cases the research institutes may assist with finding a job position for the accompanying spouse.
Another option for the accompanying spouse will be to study.
Parental leave
Female employees have the right to paid leave 4 weeks before childbirth and 14 weeks after childbirth.
After childbirth the parents have the right to paid leave for a total of 52 weeks. The mother has the right to 14 weeks right after the childbirth, the father has the right to 4 weeks, and the remaining 34 weeks can be divided between the parents at their choice.
Academic employees will receive normal salary from their employer 4 weeks before and 24 weeks of childbirth. After this they will receive benefit from the Parental Leave Fund for the remaining period.
The grant from the Parental Leave Fund is based on the average salary received during the last 12 months prior to giving birth. The grant cannot exceed DKK 25,000 per month.
For Nordic citizens income earned in another Nordic country counts as basis for grant from the Parental Leave Fund.
Children’s nurses examine the children in their home regularly up to the age of 18 months. If the child or the family has special needs, the nurse´s home visits can continue up to school age.
Foreigners moving to the Faroe Islands with small children must contact the children´s nurse in order to receive home visits.
School nurses provide regular medical checks and personal interviews as well as parental guidance and information.
Day care
The municipalities provide day care for children.
Children can be registered on a waiting list for child care one week after birth. Children who are born outside the Faroe Islands and do not have a Faroese Civil Registration Number, can book a place at day care or after-school care if at least one of the parents has a Faroese Registration Number.
Day care for children up to school age is provided in nurseries for children up to 3 years and in kindergarten from children from 3 to 6 years. Some children attend day care in private homes.
Children with special needs can receive specialized pedagogical assistance in the day care centres.
Parents have to pay a fee for day care for their children. In some mucipalities the fee will be reduced if the family has several children in day care.
The education system in the Faroe Islands is made up of three main levels: elementary school, secondary school, and higher education.
Education is compulsory for at least 9 years, normally beginning at the age of 7.
Faroese is the language of education in all Faroese schools. Children who do not have Faroese as their first language may be entitled to additional lessons in Faroese.
All education in the Faroe Islands is free of charge.
Higher education is offered at the University of the Faroe Islands. The university has five faculties and offers a number of degree programmes.
Bachelor degrees are awarded after three years of study. Master degrees build on bachelor level qualifications and are awarded after two years of study. Ph.D. is a three-year research degree awarded after the defence of a doctoral thesis after three years of study.
Vocational academic education is offered at the Business College.
