Moving to Luxembourg

The employer files a vacancy declaration with ADEM; if no suitable candidate registered with ADEM is found within three weeks, the employer applies to ADEM's Director for a certificate authorising recruitment of a third-country national, and the worker attaches the original to the application. The first permit lasts at most one year and is restricted to ONE profession and ONE sector, identified by the three-digit ISCO code printed on the permit; from the first renewal it lasts up to three years and is valid for any sector or profession, but only one year if the holder cannot prove they actually worked or is receiving unemployment benefit. The official page sets no salary floor for this permit. Fee EUR 80. The ministry normally answers within four months, and no answer by then means the application should be treated as refused.

A gross annual salary at least equal to the average gross annual salary, currently EUR 65,652, the amount set by Grand-Ducal regulation; an employment contract of at least six months for highly qualified work; and a document proving the high professional qualifications the activity or sector in the contract requires, or that the applicant meets the requirements of the profession named in it. There is no labour-market test, although the employer must still declare the vacancy to ADEM. The temporary authorisation to stay is applied for from abroad; the ministry normally answers within three months, and no answer by then counts as a refusal. First permit valid four years, or the contract length plus three months if shorter, and renewed on the same terms. The minister may object within 30 days to a notified change of employer, and a change of sector or profession needs the minister's authorisation. Fee EUR 80, initial and renewal. After five years' residence in the EU as a Blue Card holder, the last two in Luxembourg, long-term resident status can be applied for. A spouse or partner and minor children join through family reunification, and their application can be filed together with the Blue Card holder's own.

Requires proof of the qualifications for the planned activity (and registration with the professional body where that applies), a business plan and a financing plan, proof of the economic resources to carry out the project and, where the activity needs a business permit, the Ministry of the Economy's agreement in principle. The activity must also serve Luxembourg's economic, social or cultural interest (an economic need, viability, job creation or investment, for instance) and require the applicant's presence to manage the business day to day. The official page gives no minimum capital or resource figure, so no euro threshold is asserted here. Permit valid for a maximum of three years, renewable for three years. Fee EUR 80. The ministry normally answers within three months, and no answer by then counts as a refusal.

Four alternative options: (1) at least EUR 500,000 in an existing company with its registered office in Luxembourg, with a five-year commitment to maintain both the investment and employment at the level existing at the time of investment; (2) at least EUR 500,000 in a new business still to be created, which must establish at least five jobs within three years of incorporation, in collaboration with ADEM; (3) at least EUR 3 million in an existing or new management and investment structure with its registered office in Luxembourg, where it must have and keep the necessary substance; (4) at least EUR 20 million deposited with a financial institution established in Luxembourg and kept there for at least five years. Before applying, the investment needs the approval of the Minister of the Economy (options 1 and 2) or the Minister of Finance (options 3 and 4); buying or renting real estate does not count, and the approving minister re-checks the project within 12 months of the authorisation to stay. Permit valid a maximum of three years, renewable while the conditions persist. Fee EUR 80. The ministry normally answers within three months, and no answer by then counts as a refusal. Long-term resident status after five years of continuous lawful residence. Whether accompanying family are covered on the same application is not addressed on the official page.

Resources are assessed against the monthly social minimum wage for an unskilled worker: EUR 2,771.33/month, about EUR 33,256/year, at the rate in force from 1 June 2026. IMPORTANT LIMITATION: the resources must derive from professional activity in an EU or Schengen state, OR from an old-age, invalidity or survivor's pension. Generic investment or rental income is not named as qualifying, so this is narrower than a typical passive-income route. Comprehensive health insurance and proof of suitable housing are required. A separate sub-route for personal or family ties, where there is no family-reunification entitlement, uses the much lower REVIS threshold of EUR 972.20/month. Permit valid a maximum of three years, renewable. Fee EUR 80. Work rights, if any, are recorded in the 'observations' field of the permit.

STUDENT: enrolment in a full-time complete cycle, resources of at least 80% of REVIS (EUR 777.76/month), health insurance; permit at least one year or the cycle length; work limited to an average of 15 hours per week; fee EUR 80; response normally within 60 days. POST-STUDY: a 12-month permit to seek employment or create a business, available ONLY to a student who completed a master's degree in Luxembourg or defended a doctoral thesis for research in Luxembourg - bachelor's graduates are not eligible - and the job or business must relate to the degree. Resources of at least 80% of REVIS. Apply at least 30 days before the student permit expires. Fee EUR 80. Decision within 90 days of a complete file. Before the twelve months end the holder must apply for a salaried-worker or self-employed permit.

The sponsor must show resources at least equal to the average monthly social minimum wage for an unskilled worker over twelve months - EUR 2,771.33/month, about EUR 33,256/year. The sponsor must show the intention to apply for a long-term residence permit, and a minimum-stay condition applies to them. That condition does not apply to a sponsor with sole custody of the minor children they bring, nor, on the conditions the official page sets, to holders of an EU Blue Card, transferred-worker or researcher permit, or long-term residents of another EU state. Housing must be suitable: at least 12 square metres for the first occupant plus 9 square metres per additional occupant, with natural light. First permit one year, or five years for family of EU long-term residents. Fee EUR 80. The ministry normally answers within nine months, extendable in exceptional cases, and no answer by then counts as a refusal. Since 1 September 2023 family-member permit holders have free labour-market access with no waiting period and no separate work permit. NATURALISATION: five years' legal residence with the final year uninterrupted, the Sproochentest in Luxembourgish at A2 speaking and B1 listening (fee EUR 75, paid to the language institute), and a 24-hour 'Vivre ensemble au Grand-Duche' course which can be passed as a test without attending. The naturalisation procedure itself is free, decided within eight months.