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Pathway

Luxembourg Citizenship by Birth or School

Luxembourg Citizenship
Pathway overview

At a glance

Luxembourg's option procedure can help some people whose life has already been closely connected to Luxembourg through birth, schooling, childhood residence, or long residence.

Type
Citizenship by option
Local tie
Birth, schooling, childhood settlement, or long residence
Core records
Official records proving the Luxembourg connection
What to know
This is about past or current Luxembourg ties, not only future plans
What it gives
The option declaration gives Luxembourgish nationality for the future if the Minister raises no objection within four months after the Ministry receives it.
Main limit
Birth in Luxembourg alone does not always make a person Luxembourgish.

Summary

Luxembourg has several nationality-by-option cases for people whose birth, schooling, childhood or long residence is closely connected to Luxembourg. Each case has its own threshold; these are alternatives, not requirements that must all be met.

Pathway fit check

Eligibility

Born in Luxembourg: case 4

A person born in Luxembourg may opt from age 12 after five consecutive years of legal residence immediately before the declaration. For someone born after 1 July 2013, a non-Luxembourgish biological or adoptive parent must also have lived legally in Luxembourg for the 12 consecutive months immediately before the birth. That parental condition does not apply to people born before 1 July 2013.

Seven years of Luxembourg schooling: case 5

An adult may opt after completing at least seven years in Luxembourg public education or private education following the Luxembourg public curriculum, provided they have lived legally in Luxembourg for the 12 consecutive months immediately before declaring.

An adult may opt after at least 20 years of legal residence, with the final 12 months uninterrupted. Instead of the ordinary language examination, this case requires attendance at a 24-hour introductory Luxembourgish-language course.

Settled before age 18: case 8

An adult who settled in Luxembourg before age 18 may opt after at least five years of legal residence, with the final year uninterrupted. This case also requires the Luxembourgish language examination and the “Vivre ensemble” course or test.

All cases are subject to the good-repute rule. The correct school, commune, immigration and civil-status records must prove the selected case.

What This Route Allows

The option declaration gives Luxembourgish nationality for the future if the Minister raises no objection within four months after the Ministry receives it. The procedure itself is free, although records and translations may carry charges.

What This Route Is Not

Birth in Luxembourg alone does not always make a person Luxembourgish. School attendance outside the qualifying Luxembourg system does not count toward case 5, and ordinary physical presence is not necessarily legal residence.

These option cases should also be distinguished from automatic citizenship at age 18 for some people born and resident in Luxembourg; that rule may remove the need to opt.

Next Steps

  1. Select the exact option case before collecting evidence.
  2. Obtain official residence and, where relevant, school-enrollment histories.
  3. Check whether language or civic evidence is required for that case.
  4. File with the civil registrar and keep proof of the date received by the Ministry. For a case-4 applicant under 18, the child and the legal representatives must appear in person and sign jointly.
Compare your options

Other routes in Luxembourg.

Sources