Immigration Series: All about Luxembourg’s Residence by Investment programme

The Luxembourg Residence by Investment Programme allows wealthy individuals to make a significant contribution to the country and become Luxembourgish residents within approximately six months, with the possibility to acquire citizenship after five years.

Benefits of Luxembourgish residence by investment:

• Visa-free access to the EU and Europe’s Schengen Area


• High quality of life, stable political environment, and investor-friendly legislation


• Low investment threshold, with no obligation to purchase real-estate


• Flexible and practical corporate law for rapid company formation


• No wealth tax and favourable inheritance and capital gains taxation regime

Requirements for Luxembourg Residence by Investment programme

Third-country nationals can apply for a residence permit as an investor provided they plan to invest:

• at least €500,000 in an existing company with its registered office in Luxembourg and commit to keep for a duration of at least 5 years: their investment and a level of employment which must be equivalent to the level at the time of the investment (in the case of an acquisition of a company in difficulty and under a redundancy plan, the aforementioned requirement does not apply); or


• at least €500,000 in a new business still to be created, with its registered office in Luxembourg and at least 5 work positions which must be created within 3 years of the incorporation of the business. The recruitment of staff must be in collaboration with the National Employment Agency; or


• at least €3 million in a management and investment structure, either existing or still to be created, with its registered office in Luxembourg where it must have and maintain the necessary substance; or
  at least €20 million in the form of a deposit of funds with a financial institution established in Luxembourg, and with the commitment to keep said deposit for at least 5 years

With regard to investments in existing or still to be created businesses (investments of at least €500,000), the company must or will have to carry out a commercial, craft or industrial activity.

Prerequisites: Third-country nationals must meet the following requirements first:

• hold a valid passport;


• check whether or not  they have to obtain a visa to enter the Schengen area;


• have obtained an approval from the Minister of the Economy or the Minister of Finance with regard to their investment

Preliminary steps: Third-country nationals are required to present their project or proof of investment to the Minister of the Economy or to the Minister of Finance and must have obtained the approval from the minister concerned before they can submit their application for an authorisation to stay. In the case of approval, the third-country national has to, before entering the country, submit the application for the authorisation to stay.

Authorisation to stay: The third-country national must submit an application for an authorisation to stay (on plain paper) from their country of origin to the Immigration Directorate of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs; or to a Luxembourg diplomatic or consular body or to a diplomatic or consular mission representing Luxembourg. Applications submitted from Luxembourg are inadmissible.

Only complete applications will be processed. Incomplete applications will be returned to the applicant. If the documents are not drawn up in German, French or English, an official translation by a sworn translator must be attached.

Except in exceptional cases (e.g., third-country nationals who already hold a residence permit in Luxembourg), the application must be submitted and approved before coming to Luxembourg.

Residence by private reasons (where the successful applicant cannot be employed in the country): Individuals from developing nations can apply for residence by private reasons by fulfilling the following requirements:

• Prove that they can live off their own financial resources (proof of a regular flow of income of at least €27,000 per year is required; bank savings alone might not be considered sufficient


• Have permanent accommodation in Luxembourg, which includes third-party liability insurance and property insurance for rented or purchased property

Under both options, the client:

• Travels to Luxembourg (within 90 days of receiving authorisation)


• Undergoes a medical check


• Submits their application for the residence permit


• Registers with their commune of residence within three days of their arrival

Validity: The residence permits are valid for an initial period of three years under residence by investment, or one year under residence by private reasons, subject to renewal. To renew their residence permit, investors must demonstrate having spent a significant length of time in the country (at least, six months).

Renewal of the permit: Third-country nationals must send their application for renewal of the residence permit within two months prior to the expiry date of the residence permit, together with the following documents:

• a copy of their valid passport, in its entirety;


• a recent extract from the Luxembourg criminal record


• proof of payment of a €80 fee

Luxembourgish citizenship following residence by investment: Successful clients can apply for Luxembourgish citizenship after five years of continuous residence, gaining a passport to this European Union nation. The final year of residence immediately preceding the citizenship application must have been uninterrupted. To receive citizenship, investors need to prove knowledge of the Luxembourgish language through an oral test and take an integration course.