Working in Luxembourg as a third-country national and cross-border worker
Last update
Third-country nationals legally resident in another Member State of the European Union (EU) or in a country treated as such (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland) and wishing to work in Luxembourg without residing there must, in principle, obtain a work permit before commencing work in Luxembourg.
Who is concerned?
Third-country nationals (i.e. not a citizen of the EU or a country treated as such - Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland) who have been authorised to legally reside in another Member State of the European Union (EU) or in a country treated as such and who wish to work in Luxembourg without residing there must apply for a work permit.
Third-country nationals who are the spouse, registered partner or child of a citizen of an EU Member State or a country treated as such (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland) already working in Luxembourg do not require a work permit. A work permit exemption must be requested.
Prerequisites
Third-country nationals legally resident in another EU Member State or a country treated as such (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland) will be subject to the labour market test: the employer declares the vacant position with the National Employment Agency (Agence pour le développement de l'emploi - ADEM) , so that it can check whether the vacant position can be filled by an individual available on the national or European labour market.
Highly qualified employees will not be subject to the labour market test, but the employer must still declare the vacant position.
In this context, highly qualified workers are third-country nationals who:
- present an employment contract for a highly qualified position with a term of a year or more;
- present a document proving that they possess the high professional qualifications required for the activity or sector mentioned in the employment contract, or that they meet the requirements to carry out the regulated profession indicated in the employment contract;
- receive a salary at least 1.5 times the average gross annual salary, or 1.2 times the average gross annual salary for some specific professions.
If ADEM is unable to offer a candidate with the desired profile within 3 weeks, the employer may ask ADEM to provide a certificate allowing them to recruit the individual of their choice.
The employer must sign a contract with the third-country national. The contract may include a let-out clause specifying that the employment contract will not take effect until the work permit has been obtained.
The employer must provide the original ADEM certificate to the third-country national, who must enclose it with their work permit application.
How to proceed
Work permit application
Before commencing work in Luxembourg, third-country nationals must make a written application for a work permit to the Immigration Directorate of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Defence, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade.
Applicants must indicate their surname(s) and first name(s) as well as their exact address in their country of residence. They must also enclose the following with their application:
- a copy of their valid passport, in its entirety;
- a copy of an authorisation to stay issued by another EU Member State or country treated as such (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland);
- a recent household composition certificate or recent certificate of residence from their country of residence;
- a curriculum vitae;
- a copy of their diplomas or professional qualifications;
- a copy of the employment contract compliant with Luxembourg labour law, dated and signed by both the applicant and the employer;
- the original, recent certificate issued by ADEM authorising the employer to recruit the individual of their choice for the declared job vacancy;
- where applicable, a recent certificate of affiliation to the Luxembourg Joint Social Security Centre for the spouse/registered partner or the ascendant (parent);
- where necessary, a power of attorney.
Power of attorney: third-country nationals may mandate a third party (e.g. the future employer) to submit the application in their place. In this case, the mandate holder, with the exception of attorneys, must provide proof of their mandate in the form of a written power of attorney, duly dated and signed by the principal. The signature must be preceded by the handwritten note 'bon pour procuration' (good for proxy).
The documents enclosed must be originals or certified true copies (except for passports and diplomas, for which plain copies will suffice). Should the authenticity of a document be in doubt, the Minister of Immigration can request that the document be authenticated by the appropriate local authority and legalised by the Embassy (or alternatively notarised with an apostille of the Hague).
If the documents are not drawn up in German, French or English, an official translation by a sworn translator must be attached.
Only complete applications will be processed. Incomplete applications will be returned to the applicant.
The time required for a response from the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Defence, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade is generally a maximum of 3 months. If no response is received within this time limit, the applicant can consider that their application has been denied.
Work permit application for highly qualified workers
In this context, highly qualified workers are third-country nationals who:
- can present an employment contract with a term of a year or more;
- can present a document proving that they possess the high professional qualifications required for the activity or sector mentioned in the employment contract, or that they meet the requirements to carry out the regulated profession indicated in the employment contract;
- receive a salary of at least 1.5 times the average gross annual salary (EUR 84.780 in 2021) or at least equivalent to 1.2 times the Luxembourg average gross annual salary (EUR 67.824 in 2021) for work in one of the professions for which the government has noticed a particular need for third-country nationals.
Before commencing work in Luxembourg, third-country nationals must submit a written application for a work permit to the Immigration Directorate of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Defence, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade.
Applicants must indicate their surname(s) and first name(s) as well as their exact address in their country of residence. They must also enclose the following with their application:
- a copy of their valid passport, in its entirety;
- a copy of an authorisation to stay issued by another EU Member State or country treated as such (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland);
- a recent household composition certificate or recent certificate of residence from their country of residence;
- a curriculum vitae;
- certified copies of the applicant's diplomas or professional qualifications;
- a copy of the employment contract compliant with Luxembourg labour law, dated and signed by both the applicant and their employer, indicating a salary at least 1.5 times the average gross annual salary or at least 1.2 times the Luxembourg average gross annual salary for work in one of the professions for which the government has noticed a particular need to employ third-country nationals, and with a term of a year or more;
- where necessary, a power of attorney.
Power of attorney: third-country nationals may mandate a third party (e.g. the future employer) to submit the application in their place. In this case, the mandate holder, with the exception of attorneys, must provide proof of their mandate in the form of a written power of attorney, duly dated and signed by the principal. The signature must be preceded by the handwritten note 'bon pour procuration' (good for proxy).
The documents enclosed must be originals or certified true copies (except for the passport where a plain copy will suffice). Should the authenticity of a document be in doubt, the Minister of Immigration can request that the document be authenticated by the appropriate local authority and legalised by the Embassy (or alternatively notarised with an apostille of the Hague).
If the documents are not drawn up in German, French or English, an official translation by a sworn translator must be attached.
Only complete applications will be processed. Incomplete applications will be returned to the applicant.
The time required for a response from the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Defence, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade is generally a maximum of 3 months. If no response is received within this time limit, the applicant can consider that their application has been denied.
If the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Defence, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade requests additional documentation to be provided within a specific deadline to process the application, the initial three-month deadline will be suspended until the additional documentation has been provided. If the applicant fails to provide the additional information or documentation requested before the deadline set by the Ministry, the application may be automatically rejected.
Work permits are issued for performing one profession in one sector with any employer. This restriction applies for the first year. A change of sector or profession is subject to the approval of the Ministry responsible for immigration.
Application for a work permit for a third-country national who is a family member of a British national covered by the Withdrawal Agreement
Until 31 December 2020, family members of a British cross-border worker, who are themselves third-country nationals, benefited from a work permit exemption if they were employed in Luxembourg.
From 1 January 2021, however, these persons must have a work permit as a third-country national cross-border worker.
The third-country national must apply in writing for a work permit to the Immigration Directorate of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Defence, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade.
Applicants must indicate their surname(s) and first name(s) as well as their exact address in their country of residence. They must also enclose the following with their application:
- a full copy of their valid passport (all pages);
- a copy of their residence permit issued by another EU Member State;
- a recent household composition certificate and a recent certificate of residence from their country of residence;
- a curriculum vitae;
- a copy of their diplomas or professional qualifications;
- a copy of the employment contract compliant with Luxembourg labour law, dated and signed by both the applicant and the employer;
- where applicable, a recent certificate of affiliation to the Luxembourg Joint Social Security Centre for the spouse/registered partner or the ascendant (parent);
- where necessary, a power of attorney.
Power of attorney: third-country nationals may mandate a third party (e.g. the future employer) to submit the application in their place. In this case, the representative, with the exception of legal advisers, must justify the mandate by a power of attorney duly dated and signed by the principal. The signature must necessarily be preceded by the handwritten note 'bon pour procuration' (good for power of attorney).
If the documents are not drawn up in German, French or English, an official translation by a sworn translator must be attached.
Validity and renewal of work permits
Work permit validity period
A work permit is valid from the date on which the application was approved. The permit may be renewed on request provided that all the eligibility requirements are still met and the beneficiary can prove that they actually worked while their work permit was valid.
The initial work permit is valid:
- for a maximum of one year (without extending beyond the validity period of the residence permit);
- for one profession only with any employer;
- for a specific sector.
The sector and profession for which the third-country national is authorised to work are indicated on the residence permit under the field 'observations' in the form of an 'ISCO' code.
This is a three-digit code representing the profession for which the access to the job market is granted, defined according to the ISCO classification (International Standard Classification of Occupations). The ISCO classification is an international classification of professions developed by the International Labour Organization.
The complete list of ISCO codes is available online. For more information on this classification, please refer to the website of the International Labour Organization.
A change of sector and/or profession is only possible if authorised by the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs.
Change of activity: in order to be authorised to fill another position which does not meet the conditions of higher professional qualification, the third-country national must start the procedure again and submit an application for third-country worker.
Work permit renewal
From the first renewal, a work permit can be renewed for a maximum of 3 years and gives access to any sector and any profession.
However, if the permit holder cannot prove that they have actually worked during the validity period of the work permit, or the renewal of the work permit occurs during a period when they are receiving unemployment benefits, the work permit will only be renewed for a maximum of one year.
Renewal procedure
In order to renew a work permit, third-country nationals must apply to the Immigration Directorate of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Defence, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade in the 2 months prior to the expiry date of the work permit.
The application for renewal must be accompanied by the following documents:
- a copy of their valid passport, in its entirety;
- a copy of the employment contract compliant with Luxembourg labour law, dated and signed by both the applicant and their employer (for a highly qualified worker: a salary at least 1.5 times the average gross annual salary or at least 1.2 times the average gross annual salary for some professions);
- a recent certificate of affiliation to the Luxembourg Joint Social Security Centre including all the salaried worker's affiliations to date;
- a copy of a temporary authorisation to stay issued by the EU Member State where the applicant resides, or a copy of the receipt for the renewal request for the temporary authorisation to stay;
- a recent residence certificate (less than 3 months old) for the country of residence.
Loss, theft or damage to the permit
In the event of loss or theft of the work permit, the third-country national must submit an application for replacement and enclose:
- a copy of their valid passport, in its entirety;
- the declaration of theft/loss established by the police.
In the event of damage to the work permit, the third-country national must submit an application for replacement and enclose:
- a copy of their valid passport, in its entirety;
- the damaged work permit.
Online services and forms
Who to contact
Immigration Directorate - Department for Foreigners
-
Ministry of Home Affairs General Department of immigration - Department for foreigners
- Address:
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26, route d'Arlon
L-1140
Luxembourg
Luxembourg
B.P. 752 L-2017 Luxembourg
- Phone:
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(+352) 247-84040
from 9.00 to 12.00 and from 14.00 to 16.00
- Fax:
- (+352) 22 16 08
- Email address:
- immigration.public@mai.etat.lu
enrolment and issuing of biometric residence permits: only by appointment
Related procedures and links
Procedures
Links
Further information
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Visa and immigration
on the website of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Defence, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade
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Time frame for processing requests and for issuing documents
Pdf • 363 Kb
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Liste complète des codes ISCO
sur le site de l'Organisation internationale du Travail
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Listes des experts, traducteurs et interprètes assermentés
sur le site du ministère de la Justice
Legal references
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Loi modifiée du 29 août 2008
portant sur la libre circulation des personnes et l'immigration
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Règlement grand-ducal modifié du 5 septembre 2008
portant exécution de certaines dispositions relatives aux formalités administratives prévues par la loi du 29 août 2008 sur la libre circulation des personnes et l'immigration
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Règlement grand-ducal modifié du 26 septembre 2008
déterminant le niveau de rémunération minimal pour un travailleur hautement qualifié
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Règlement ministériel du 19 décembre 2022
fixant le salaire annuel brut moyen au titre du règlement grand-ducal modifié du 26 septembre 2008 déterminant le niveau de rémunération minimal pour un travailleur hautement qualifié en exécution de la loi du 29 août 2008 sur la libre circulation des personnes et l’immigration
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