Summer activities

There are basically two requirements for you to be able to get the subsidy:

1. Income requirement: you must not exceed the net annual incomes established per citizen and cohabitation unit.
2. City resident requirement: both the subsidy applicant and the child benefiting from it must be registered as Barcelona residents.

There are two exceptions to meeting the city resident requirement:

1. Children with special educational needs (SEN) who are registered as living outside Barcelona but who attend school in Barcelona can also opt for a subsidy. They must specify this in the application comments’ section.
2. Children who are not on the Barcelona residents’ register but whose parents are divorced or legally separated and the parent applying for the subsidy, but not the other, is a registered city resident may make a subsidy application, provided they submit the divorce ruling or any official document that provides proof of the visiting arrangements or joint custody of the child. Thus, the application must be made by the parent who is a registered Barcelona resident.
3. People not registered as Barcelona city residents but who are in the process of obtaining city residency without having a fixed address in the city may request the subsidy as long as they submit the Acknowledgement of Residence in the Municipality Report issued by one of the municipal social services that issue this document (IMSS, SAIER, SIS, SDI, SASSEP, SISFam, SARA and CSS) in the three months prior to the deadline to request the subsidy, or a receipt of having submitted the request for this report in the six months prior to the deadline to request the subsidy. This exception extends to the other members of the cohabitation unit in this situation.
4. The members of the cohabitation unit who are not registered as residents of Barcelona but who can prove residence in the city with a report issued by one of the municipal social services that issue this document (CSS, SAIER, SIS, SDI, SASSEP, etc.), or by a legal ruling or any other means of proof established by the laws in force, as well as documents that accredit residence in the city due to a situation of gender violence.

Remember that registered foreign nationals who are not from a European Union or European Economic Space country, nor Switzerland, and who do not have permanent resident status, have to renew their municipal residency registration every two years. Non-renewal will result in cancellation of the registration due to expiry.

The economic scale for annual net income per citizen and cohabitation unit is as follows:

As you can see, the subsidy bands (of 90%, 60% or 30%) depend on the personal disposable income per member of the cohabitation unit. The personal disposable income per member of the cohabitation unit will be calculated by adding the annual net income declared for the tax year 2023 – general net taxable income (box 0500) of the personal income tax (IRPF) return, if filed – of each of its members and dividing the resulting figure by the total number of members that form part of this cohabitation unit, taking into account that:

• Every member of a cohabitation unit with a disability officially recognised by the Catalan Government of at least 33% will count as two members.
• In the case of single-parent families with a valid official card issued by the Catalan Government that accredits their situation, the adult concerned will also count as two members.

If no tax return is filed, it must be calculated according to the annual net income for the tax year 2023 declared in the subsidy application.

In the provisional decision, applicants will be notified if they have been awarded or refused a subsidy. If the subsidy has been awarded, they will also be told which percentage band it is in (up to 30%, up to 60% or up to 90%).

The specific percentage of the subsidy they will get is calculated according to the number of applications received in each of the bands (up to 30%, up to 60% and up to 90%), so that, in the event that the amount allocated to a band is not sufficient to cover all the subsidies awarded with the maximum percentage for that band, the subsidy percentage will be reduced as much as necessary to cover all the subsidies awarded. All the subsides awarded in the same band will be reduced to the same percentage, regardless of the price of the activity.

Therefore, the specific percentage of the subsidy and the corresponding amount will not be published until all the claims have been resolved, in other words, until the final decision is reached.

The members of the cohabitation unit that are taken into account for access to the subsidy are the parent/s, guardians, common-law spouse (or person with a similar relationship) and children under the age of 25 living at the same address. It must be borne in mind that a member of the cohabitation unit with a disability (justified/explained in the application) counts as if they were two people as far as calculating personal disposable income is concerned. The same holds true for single-parent families (with a valid document): the reference adult also counts as two. Barcelona City Council can verify both circumstances ex officio.

The income taken into account for the calculation is that of 2023. If a tax return has been filed, this figure corresponds to box 500 – general net taxable income. 

This procedure must be carried out through the Virtual Procedures Office with idCAT Mòbil or another type of digital certificate. If the applicant does not have a digital certificate, another person that does have one can carry out the procedure in their name.

Alternatively, you can go to the Sants, Monumental or Nou Barris Citizen Help and Information Offices (OAC) with an appointment by calling 010 (toll-free).

You will need to have the following at hand so you can make the application:

• The child’s student identifier (IDALU) number. Should the child that you are requesting the subsidy for not go to school or go to a school not included in the Catalan students’ register (RALC), and they do not have an IDALU number, tell the activity organiser.
• The code of the activity that you are requesting the subsidy for. The activity organiser will provide that when you formally register for it.
• The net annual income in 2023 of the applicant and, where applicable, of the spouse/common-law partner (or a person with a similar relationship) and any children over the age of 18 and younger than 25..

In addition, in order to carry out the procedure online, you will need an idCAT Mòbil or higher type of digital certificate.

The IDALU is a unique, numerical student identifier code assigned to each student when they first enrol at public and private schools. This must be entered in the form for the subsidy application. If you want to know a student’s IDALU, you can check it by using the following procedure  http://ensenyament.gencat.cat/ca/tramits/tramits-temes/identificador-alumne (you need to have a digital certificate) or you can find it in the qualifications or the enrolment sheet. If it does not appear or you do not have those documents, ask at the school the child attends.

Should the child not go to school or go to a school not included in the RALC, and they do not have an IDALU number, tell the activity organiser.

The idCAT Mòbil is a system that allows you to identify yourself digitally and sign a form, such as a subsidy application form.

You can easily get the idCAT Mòbil by internet, if you have:

• National ID (DNI) or a residency permit (TIE)
• Individual health card (TSI) or MUFACE
• Mobile phone number

If you do not have any of these three items, there are alternative ways of getting it (by internet, in person, by video identification, etc.). To check out all the information, go to: https://www.idcatmobil.cat

Should you not have either idCAT Mòbil or any other digital certificate, you can book an appointment at one of the Citizen Help and Information Offices by calling 010 (toll-free).

Alternatively, you can authorise another person who does have a digital certificate to apply in your name via one-off representation.

For a cohabitation unit with a spouse/common-law partner (or a person with a similar relationship) or a child over the age of 18 but younger than 25 and no subsidy has been received from the Barcelona Institute of Sport for sports practice outside school hours for the 2024-2025academic year, one of these three documents must be attached to the application:

1. Photocopy of the 2023 tax return of the spouse, common-law partner or person with whom the applicant cohabitates in a similar relationship and children older than 18 and younger than 25, or:
2. Affidavit of net income from tax year 2023 signed by the spouse, common-law partner or person with whom the applicant cohabitates in a similar relationship and any children older than 18 and younger than 25, following the form that can be downloaded from the Virtual Procedures Office.

These documents do not need to be attached if:

1. The family is a single-parent family and there is no child over the age of 18 and younger than 25; or
2. If a subsidy has been received from the Barcelona Institute of Sports for sports practice outside school time or a subsidy from the Area for Culture, Education, Sport and Lifecycles to engage in artistic, scientific or technological extracurricular activities for academic year 2024-2025.
3. The spouse, common-law partner or person with whom the applicant cohabitates with a similar relationship has filed a 2023 income tax return jointly with the applicant for the subsidy.

Furthermore, if the child for whom the subsidy is being requested or another member of the cohabitation unit is not registered as a Barcelona city resident but does fall within one of the four exceptions stipulated, the document accrediting this situation must be attached.                                                     

If you are applying on behalf of another person, you must attach authorisation from the person you are representing and a photocopy of their ID document.

No, you can only request a subsidy for one child in each application. If you want to request one for more children, you have to make as many applications as children for whom you want to apply.

Moreover, only one subsidy application will be allowed per child. If you submit more than one, the previous ones will be nullified and only the last one will be accepted.

Assistance will cover a maximum of 10 days per child for activities that take place in Barcelona, with the exception of summer nursery schools and adapted activities without overnight stays, in which case assistance will cover a maximum of 14 days per child. Activities that take place outside Barcelona (camps, routes, overnight camps, etc.) will be subsidised up to a maximum of 14 days per child.  So, for example, if a day camp activity lasts 13 days, three days are not covered by the subsidy, and if the activity is outside Barcelona or is a summer nursery and lasts 16 days, there are two days which are not covered by the subsidy.

If you are not registered as living in Barcelona ,you cannot apply for the summer holiday campaign subsidy, as being on the Barcelona city residents’ register is an essential requirement. However, there are some cases in which an exception to the requirement for city residence can be made:

1. Children and adolescents with special educational needs who are registered outside Barcelona but who are enrolled in a city school are eligible for a subsidy too.
2. Children who are not on the Barcelona residents’ register but whose parents are divorced or legally separated and the parent applying for the subsidy, but not the other, is a registered city resident may make a subsidy application, provided they submit the divorce ruling or any official document that provides proof of the visiting arrangements or joint custody of the child. Thus the application must be made by the parent who is a registered Barcelona resident.
3. People who are not registered Barcelona residents but who are in procedures to register without a fixed address must provide the Acknowledgement of Residence in the Municipality Report issued by one of the municipal social services in Barcelona (SAIER, SIS, SDI, SASSEP, SISFam, SARA and CSS) in the three months prior to the deadline to request the subsidy, or a receipt of having submitted the request for this report in the six months prior to the deadline to request the subsidy.
4. Any members of the cohabitation unit who are not registered as residents of Barcelona but who can prove residence in the city with a report issued by one of the municipal social services that issue this document (CSS, SAIER, SIS, SARA, SASSEP, etc.), or by a legal ruling or any other means of proof established by the laws in force, as well as documents that accredit a situation of gender violence.

If your child is 18 years of age or older, they cannot benefit from the subsidy, as the campaign is aimed at children and teenagers from 1 to 17 years of age. However, in the case of children or young people with a disability, the maximum age for receiving the subsidy is 19 years old in the case of an ordinary activity, or 21 years old for an adapted one.

You can always sign your children up for as many activities as you like. However, only one activity may be subsidised.

In the event of separation or divorce, the person who has custody of the child, either by mutual agreement or by court order, has priority in applying for the subsidy, as long as they live in Barcelona and are registered there. In the event of joint custody, either of the two parties can do it, provided they live in Barcelona. If both parents request the subsidy, it will be granted to the one with the lower annual income.

Payment for the activities can be split so users pay 50% of the total amount when they formally register and the rest when the activity organisers decide, but always before the activity starts.

If you are applying for a subsidy, the organisation may ask you to make an advance payment of up to 10% of the cost of the activity during the period for which you are applying for the subsidy, i.e. the remaining amount that the subsidy will not cover. If they ask you for this advance payment, you will have a period of 10 working days to pay it. If, after that period, you have not paid this 10%, the organisation may no longer keep your place.

Finally, should you not be awarded the subsidy, you may ask for the 10% advance payment to be reimbursed.

If you wish to change the activity or days for which you have requested the subsidy, you will be able to make a new application for the activity and days you want while the subsidy application period remains open. Once the application period is over and the provisional decision has been published, you can only change the activity due to justified reasons of force majeure, and you have to do it within the 10-day claims period. Once the final decision has been published, you may only change the activity if:

1. The change will not increase the amount of the subsidy
2. The organisation cancels the activity
3. Duly justified causes of force majeure

The provisional lists of subsidy beneficiaries will be published during the week of 12–16 May, and applicants will be informed whether they have been awarded or denied the subsidy.

The provisional result of the subsidy application will be published during the week of 12–16 May in the Official Gazette of the Province of Barcelona and families will also be notified by SMS and email to the number and address listed on the application. You can also contact the activity organiser.

The subsidy will not be paid directly to the family but to the activity organiser, and it is that entity which gives the family a discount on the activity price equal to the amount of the subsidy. Therefore, to benefit from the subsidy, you will have to contact the organisation where you have registered your child, as it is they who have to tell you the final price you will have to pay after registering, taking into account that the amount of the subsidy has to be discounted from the final price of the activity.

Once you have been awarded the subsidy, you must pay the activity organisers the difference between the price of the activity and the subsidy you have been awarded, if applicable.

This year, registration starts on Tuesday 1  April. However, the organisations may decide to open registration after 1  April. You will find the date when registration starts on each activity’s web page.

You can find all the information about the campaign and all the available activities on this website. You can also get in touch with the organisation you are interested in to find out more about the activities they organise.

The claims/complaints period lasts 10 working days, not counting weekends and holidays. The 10 days start the day after the provisional decision is published. Claims/complaints may be filed via the Virtual Procedures Office by attaching the corresponding document, or by going to a Citizen Help and Information Office. For more information on claims, please check this section.

If the two siblings have a different amount of subsidy, first of all, check that you have not registered them for different activities. The activities might have different prices, so the amount of the subsidy (but not the percentage) may vary. If the siblings are registered for the same activity/day(s) and have received a different subsidy, or they have been awarded different percentages of subsidy, contact us by phone or email during the claims period.

The City Council sets a maximum price for activities that take place in the city. However, there are some exceptional and justified cases where activities are allowed above this maximum price. Nevertheless, when calculating the amount of the subsidies, the maximum price recommended by the City Council is taken as a reference, and therefore the amount of the subsidy does not cover this difference.

There is no maximum price for activities that take place outside Barcelona, merely a recommended maximum. However, in order to calculate the amount of the subsidies, if the price of the activity exceeds the recommended price, the maximum price set by the City Council is taken as a reference and, therefore, in these cases the amount of the subsidy does not cover this difference either.

If you do not use the subsidy in the end, you must notify both the activity organiser and City Council. You can send this notification via the Virtual Procedures Office, accessing the procedure that you will find in your Personal Space and choosing the Waive option. You can also send an email to testiumolt@bcn.cat.

The refund policy for registration fees depends on each organisation. When you register, the organisation must inform you of the refund policy, whether it cancels the activity or the child is unable to attend. What the summer holiday campaign regulations do establish is that if the participant cancels the registration, provided they notify the cancellation at least 15 days before the activity starts, the activity organiser must return at least 50% of the amount already paid for the activity (in instalments or not).

You can check the city of Barcelona’s current phase and the restrictions in force at this link. This site also provides information on the filling of swimming pools for summer activities. 

For more information, you can also check the Government of Catalonia’s drought website.