LUXEMBOURG: New Bills Passed Implementing Permit Changes

February 24, 2017


Earlier this month, Luxembourg’s parliament passed two new bills amending the rules regarding citizenship and introducing five new work and resident permit categories. Of the five new categories, one has been introduced following the implementation of the European Union (EU) Intra-Company Transfer Directive. Luxembourg is the seventh country to include the directive in its laws, joining France, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Romania, and Spain.

Below is a summary of the new bills and related changes:

Bill 6992, passed on 8th February, introduces five new work and resident permit categories and makes beneficial changes to the Blue Card.

Work and Resident Permit Categories

  • Intra-Company Transfers (ICT): This category allows individuals who hold an ICT permit issued by another EU member state to enter Luxembourg for up to 90 days without having to apply for additional work and residence permits. Should the individual need to stay for longer than 90 days, they can apply for an ICT permit in Luxembourg which carries a validity of three years for executives and experts, and one year for trainees.
  • Investors: High Net Worth foreign nationals are now eligible to apply for a renewable three year permit, provided they invest in the country via one of the following three options:
    1.Invest €500,000 in a new or existing company in Luxembourg, and maintain that investment for five years
    2.Invest €3,000,000 in an investment and management structure in Luxembourg
    3.Deposit €20,000,000 in a Luxembourg financial institution, and maintain that figure for five years
  • Business Continuity Plans: This program allows companies outside the EU to utilize Luxembourg as a temporary work location in the event that an incident in their country causes major disruption to their business. Companies and their key employees would be pre-authorised for entry into Luxembourg to facilitate urgent relocation in order to continue to carry out their business operations.
  • Seasonal Workers: Foreign workers entering Luxembourg for seasonal work can apply for a five-month permit introduced exclusively for seasonal workers
  • Non-EU National Students: This permit has been created in an attempt to retain talented foreign students. Graduating non-EU students, who have completed a Masters or Doctorate degree in Luxembourg and wish to secure a job in their particular field in Luxembourg, will no longer have to leave the country to apply for a work and residence permit.

Blue Card

The validity period of the Blue Card has been extended from two years to four, and can now be renewed for an additional four-year period.

Blue Card holders are now permitted to have their family members accompany them on assignments to Luxembourg. Under previous rules, Blue Card holders had to have resided in Luxembourg for one year before they could apply for dependent family residence permits.

Please note that this principle also now applies to ICT permit holders, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicating that they may expand this to further permit categories in the future.

Citizenship

Bill 6977, passed on 9th February, makes changes intended to make gaining citizenship in Luxembourg a much easier process.

Language and citizenship tests are still mandatory but standards will be relaxed, with simplified procedures being implemented for foreign nationals who apply whilst a minor. The most significant change is that the required length of residence in Luxembourg before an individual can apply for citizenship has been reduced from seven years to five.

It is expected that the Luxembourg authorities will release more detailed processes regarding the new bills in the near future, and we will provide updates in due course.

For advice and information regarding immigration to Luxembourg, please email us at [email protected].