Last update
You arrive from abroad
Depending on whether you are a cross-border worker, a national of an EU member state, or a third-country national wishing to settle and work in Luxembourg, the procedures vary.
You are a national of the European Union
As a national of an EU member state or an assimilated country (Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland), you and your family benefit from free movement, which gives you the right to work and reside in any EU country.
In most cases, your employer in Luxembourg will handle the administrative formalities (registration with social security, the tax administration, etc.).
All European employees, residing in Luxembourg or in a border area, benefit from the same social security benefits as those granted to nationals.
This includes sick leave and maternity leave, unemployment benefits and family allowances, work accidents and occupational diseases, as well as disability and old-age pensions.
Good to know
Under certain conditions, you can settle in Luxembourg to look for work and continue to receive the unemployment benefits you were entitled to in your former country of residence, for a maximum of three months. To export unemployment benefits, you must :
- before your departure: request a U2 form from the organization that pays your unemployment benefits ;
- upon your arrival: submit this form to ADEM and register as a job seeker within seven days of the issuance of the U2 form.
Be sure to inquire with the relevant organization in your country of departure, as the procedures may vary from one state to another.
Find all the information on worker mobility in the EU on the EURES portal, the European network of public employment services.
EURES advisors can guide you through your procedures and inform you about your potential rights to certain financial aids, thanks to targeted mobility programs.
Language courses, recognition of qualifications, travel and accommodation expenses can thus be funded.
You are a national of a third country (non-EU)
Third-country nationals who wish to reside and work in Luxembourg generally need a residence permit (to be obtained BEFORE arrival), followed by a residence card (to be requested AFTER arrival).
It is your responsibility to submit these applications. Depending on your situation and project, you can, however, mandate a third party, such as the employer, to carry out the necessary procedures.
Depending on your country of origin, you may also need a visa.
As a third-country national, you can register with ADEM if:
- you legally reside in Luxembourg (except for temporary stays); and
- you have free access to the Luxembourg labor market or can claim access to it, based on a work permit; this also applies to beneficiaries of international protection, beneficiaries of temporary protection, family members, and students and researchers who have successfully completed their research activities or the final year of their higher education studies and who hold a job-seeking/entrepreneurship residence permit.
Consult all the information and procedures on the Guichet.lu portal.
Good to know
Are you employed as a highly qualified worker (EU Blue Card) ?
Under certain conditions, you can benefit from a tax deduction for expenses related to your relocation to Luxembourg.
Working in Luxembourg as a Cross-Border Commuter as a Third country national
Third-country nationals who legally reside in another European Union (EU) Member State or in an equivalent country (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, or Switzerland) and wish to be employed in Luxembourg without residing there must, in principle, obtain a work permit before starting employment in Luxembourg.
Do you already live in Luxembourg ?
In some cases, you may be exempt from a work permit :
- Family members (spouse, partner, father, mother, etc.) holding a “family member” residence permit are authorized to work in Luxembourg. It is not necessary to apply for a work permit.
For more information, click here. - Beneficiaries of temporary protection (BPT) can freely access the labor market in Luxembourg without needing a specific authorization, as long as their temporary protection certificate is valid.
For more information, click here. - Beneficiaries of international protection (BPI) who have obtained refugee status can work in Luxembourg on the same basis as any other resident.
For more information, click here. - Applicants for international protection (DPI) (seeking refugee status or, failing that, the status granted by subsidiary protection) can, in certain well-defined cases, request to temporarily occupy a job.
This temporary occupation authorization (AOT) is valid for a single profession and a single specific employer.
For more information, click here.
For more information on the procedures for accessing the Luxembourg labor market as a third-country national, please visit the ‘Immigration’ page on Guichet.lu.
Recognition of your diplomas and qualifications
It is often necessary to take steps to have your studies, qualifications, and diplomas recognized in order to pursue further education or to practice certain professional activities in Luxembourg.
The contact organizations and procedures vary according to the level of education and the type of diploma.
- For primary and secondary education, you should contact the Ministry of National Education, Children and Youth.
- For higher education diplomas, you can request academic recognition, professional recognition for access to certain regulated professions (liberal professions, health and medical fields, in particular), as well as the homologation of law diplomas from the Ministry of Research and Higher Education.
Also consider the validation of acquired experience (VAE), a system that allows you to have your professional or personal experiences recognized in order to obtain a qualification. Diplomas obtained through validation have the same value as those obtained through initial training.
- VAE in secondary education: procedure to be carried out with the Ministry of National Education, Children and Youth.
- VAE in higher education: the VAE procedure is decentralized, meaning that each institution defines its own administrative procedures to be followed by candidates.
- VAE in continuing education : applications must be submitted to the Luxembourg Lifelong Learning Center, the continuing education center of the Chamber of Employees.
Find details on the prerequisites, deadlines, costs, and composition of the files on Guichet.lu.
