Fines up to 1,000 euros for parents who “forget” to take their children before or after vacation. Checks even at the airport, in Germany

More and more parents in Hamburg choose to start the holidays a few days earlier or to extend them, taking advantage of lower prices for air tickets, notes Der Spiegel. The authorities observed the phenomenon and reacted with stinging fines for violating the tuition obligation.

In Hamburg, the school year ended on July 24, 2025 and the summer vacation ends on September 4, 2025, when students are expected again in banks.

Only in 2024, so far, 118 contraventional fines have already been given, although the summer vacation ends only in early September.

In the whole year, 2023, the authorities in Hamburg have sanctioned over 300 parents, increasing compared to the previous years, when there were about 230 deviations.

According to an official response given by the Hamburg Senate to a parliamentary interpellation, 236 fines were issued last year for unjustified absences of students. The average amount was 270 euros per family. In the first months of 2025, 71 families were already sanctioned.

Cheaper holidays but at risk

The German law allows a student to be exempted from hours to six weeks, but only with well -founded reasons and official approvals.

For the days before or after the holiday, the authorities carefully check the parents' requests and strictly monitor the absences of the little ones.

The teachers are trained to pay special attention to the absences that appear near the holidays. If the student is missing without exemption, the school must immediately notify the legal department, which can open the procedure by which parents are sanctioned.

National phenomenon

But the German Hamburg is not an isolated case. In the North Westfalia, for example, the five school directions last year opened over 1,000 investigations for absences of extended students.

German authorities say that such violations are treated with severity, and fines can reach up to 1000 euros.

In Bavaria, the police specially monitors the Memmingen Airport, where many parents choose to leave before the vacation begins. In February 2024, just before the winter vacation, several children who should have been at school were found at the airport, although they had a medical exemption. The police announced the competent authorities on the parents, who were investigated.

Although at Hamburg airport there are no special controls to respect the obligation to attend school courses, he believes that the verification of absences in the class is much more efficient.

In Germany, all children between the ages of 6 and 15 have to go to school. In some lands, compulsory professional schooling applies until the age of 21 if the attendance of a general school is not continued.

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