In certain cases, Luxembourgish nationality is granted by simple operation of law, i.e. automatically and without any action being taken by the party concerned.

If the conditions for obtaining Luxembourgish nationality by simple operation of law are not met, it may be possible to obtain Luxembourgish nationality by an act of will through the initiation of a naturalisation, option declaration or reclamation procedure.

How to proceed

Luxembourgish nationality by filiation

All minors born to a parent who is Luxembourgish at the moment of the child's birth or the establishment of their filial relationship with the child are Luxembourgish.

Minors are granted Luxembourgish nationality if:

one of their adult parents is a Luxembourgish national owing to the simple operation of law, or following a naturalisation, option declaration or reclamation procedure; or

is a Luxembourgish national owing to the simple operation of law, or following a naturalisation, option declaration or reclamation procedure; one of their underage parents is a Luxembourgish national owing to the simple operation of law, or following an option declaration procedure.

Luxembourgish nationality by adoption

Minors are granted Luxembourgish nationality if:

they are adopted by a Luxembourgish national; or

their adoptive parent obtains Luxembourgish nationality by means of a naturalisation, option declaration or reclamation procedure; or

they are adopted by a stateless person who has their legal and usual place of residence in Luxembourg; or

they are adopted by foreign nationals with a legal and usual place of residence in Luxembourg, provided that: the minor lost their nationality as a result of the adoption process and is not eligible to obtain the nationality of either of their adoptive parents pursuant to the applicable foreign legislation; or the nationality or nationalities of either of their adoptive parents can only be passed on in the event of residence in the respective country of origin; or

one of the minor's adoptive parents obtained Luxembourgish nationality by virtue of one of the preceding clauses.

These provisions also apply to people born before 1 April 2017 if they were under 18 years of age on this date.

Luxembourgish nationality by birth on Luxembourg soil

Luxembourgish nationality is granted to all minors born in Luxembourg with one or more biological or adoptive parents who were also born in Luxembourg.

Minors are also granted Luxembourgish nationality if they were born in Luxembourg:

and they are not eligible for any other foreign nationality because their parents are stateless persons; or

to non-Luxembourgish parents, provided that: they are not eligible to obtain the nationality of either of their parents pursuant to the applicable foreign legislation; or the nationality or nationalities of either of their parents can only be passed on in the event of residence in the respective country of origin; or

the parents are legally unknown. Minors found on Luxembourg soil are presumed to have been born in the Grand Duchy, unless it can be proven otherwise.

The abovementioned provisions also apply to people born before 1 April 2017 if they were under 18 years of age on this date.

Luxembourgish nationality is granted to all children born in Luxembourg with non-Luxembourgish biological or non-Luxembourgish adoptive parents when they turn 18, provided that:

their legal and usual place of residence was located in Luxembourg throughout the 5 consecutive years immediately preceding their 18th birthday;

one of their biological or adoptive parents had their legal and usual place of residence in Luxembourg throughout the 12 consecutive months immediately preceding their birth. This second condition only applies to persons born after 1 July 2013.

Persons born in Luxembourg before 19 April 1939 are considered Luxembourgish nationals. Each year on 1 January, the date relevant to this clause is changed.

E.g.: from 1 January 2018, the date before which persons must have been born will be 19 April 1940, from 1 January 2019, it will be 19 April 1941, etc.

Luxembourgish nationality by de facto enjoyment of this status

Luxembourgish nationality is also established if it can be proven that a person enjoys this de facto status, i.e. where a person believes in good faith to be Luxembourgish and acts as such, even though they are not.

Status as a Luxembourgish national is acquired by the exercise of the rights that this status confers.

Who to contact