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Around noon, the fog will rise and turn into a haze. The sky will be covered for a short time. The day will be mostly sunny and dry. 

Temperatures will reach 19-21°C during the day and 13-15°C at night

No rain in Luxembourg

A charity run organized by the childhood cancer foundation Kriibskrank Kanner has raised a record amount of money for pediatric oncology research. The money will be donated 

 projects that aim to improve treatment outcomes and develop less invasive and more effective cancer treatments for young patients.

600,000 euros raised for childhood cancer research

The Democratic Party (DP) suggested lowering the corporate tax rate, which is currently 

. Other parties pointed to the country's geographical location and short administrative procedures as attractive factors. Creating more jobs in trade, taxing the population fairly, inheritance tax, and increasing purchasing power by eliminating taxes on various goods were also discussed.

Politicians debate taxation and attractiveness to foreigners

400 of the 750 students at Ermesinde Lyceum put their phones in a special box at the beginning of the day. They can pick them up at the end of the day. So far, the policy applies only to 

junior high school students and their teachers

. Secondary and high school students are allowed to carry their phones, but they can't use them inside the school.

Students in Mersch were left without smartphones

A team of researchers from Israel, including Luxembourg scientist Emilie Wildschutz, has created a male embryo from human stem cells. The embryo was grown ex utero for 14 days and was 

no different from a naturally created embryo

. This study may provide insight into the first weeks of pregnancy, a critical period when many miscarriages occur, but it also raises ethical questions about the differences between artificial and natural embryos.

Scientists have created an artificial embryo

🇱🇺 Gudde Moien! Bonjour! Guten Morgen! The main news by the morning of September 25

Luxembourg film to represent the country at the Oscars

Luxembourg to spend 50 million euros on urban sustainability

Luxembourgers work harder than any of their neighbors

Will Luxembourg fight shrinkflation

Coliving is a new trend in Luxembourg

Moving

Get a look at the professional landscape in Luxembourg through expat interviews on Luxtoday. Learn about job opportunities, work culture, and career tips to successfully navigate the Grand Duchy's job market.

Work

Uncover hidden gems and top attractions in Luxembourg through expat interviews on Luxtoday. Get insider tips on the best places to explore, dine, and unwind in the Grand Duchy from those who've experienced it firsthand.

Sightseeings

Discover the diverse hobbies and interests of expats in Luxembourg through engaging interviews on Luxtoday. Learn how they pursue their passions and find inspiration for your own leisure activities in the Grand Duchy.

Hobbies

What language to start with in Luxembourg, how to learn Luxembourgish and prepare for the Sproochentest, how to integrate into the local culture and how knowledge of the Luxembourgish language is connected to obtaining Luxembourgish citizenship — get to know the experience of real people who teach and learn the language.

Learning a language

Explore the real-life relocation experiences of expats in Luxembourg through insightful interviews on Luxtoday. Get practical tips and advice for a pleasant moving and building your life in the heart of Europe.

Relocation

My name is Mikhail and I have been living in Luxembourg for a year. I work as a cloud engineer for a large IT company. That's what brought me to the Grand Duchy.

There's another reason we chose the car. It's a convenient way to transport your personal belongings, especially when you're in a hurry. Just throw everything in and off you go. I have travelled a lot for for business purposes. What happens to my luggage sometimes made me want to cry. 

The fact that the car is almost essential for getting around the country is another argument in its favour. Public transport is something Luxembourg is proud of. I don't really have any complaints about it in the capital. Except that I work in Esch-sur-Alzette, on the border with France. Getting there is quite a challenge.

There have been many occasions when the buses haven't arrived. You look at the timetable and there's a "5 minute delay". Then it's 15, then 20. Half an hour later you realise it's not coming at all.

You can take the trains but there are also problems with it. For example, the train line to Esch-sur-Alzette was under repair for most of the summer. And the trains either didn't run at all, or they ran to some station and then you had to get back on the bus. Long story short, it wasn't easy.

The issue of legalising the car was also a matter of some urgency. A few times I had to use the car for short trips. I didn't want to take the risk of long journeys, because if you get caught by an inspector, the fines are quite high here.

Getting legalised can be very confusing for some people from different contries. Usually you buy a car firstly, then you go to the registration office, they check it and issue the documents, and after that you have the plates.

You can book number plates at Guichet or choose from a pool of available numbers. It is possible to have a bit of customisation, but it will be more expensive. For those who like to show off their numbers, you can even queue for some unique plates.

When I received Guichet's reply, I printed out the letter and took it to the company that makes the plates. I paid for the production and after a while the plates were ready. At the moment they are not yet registered on any vehicle, so you can pick them up and put them wherever you like.

Importing the car was the next step. As I arrived in mine, it had to go through customs.

. No customs fees are payable in this case.

. In this case you have to pay a customs duty of 10% of the cost of the car. And on top of that there is the VAT — 17% of the cost.

Of course I took the first option. And as it turned out, it is almost impossible to do anything without a customs agent. There may be a few other options out there, but I haven't found them yet.

There are several customs agents in Luxembourg. I had no idea which one to choose. So my plan was to ask for advice at the customs office itself.

They gave me a list of companies and even highlighted the ones that deal with cases like mine. For example, there are companies that only specialise in commercial vehicles.

I chose one of the closest ones geographically. But I didn't write or make any phone calls beforehand. That was a mistake. 

So I became the owner of a card with all the contacts. I went back home and wrote an email: described my situation, attached the documents and sent it. It was a day or two before they replied.

However, they provided me with guidance about all the paperwork I had to fill in. I was allowed to come back the next time whenever it suited me.

You just had to make an appointment to be sure they were there. And of course there was a charge for the service — it was either 200 or 250 euros. By the way, they only accept payment in cash.

I handed over all of the documents and I also included the technical papers for the car. To be sure there would be no questions, I had them translated into English beforehand. And there was no: I waited for a while and was given my motorway tax sticker №705. This is a piece of coloured paper — a proof that the car has been through customs successfully.

 to arrange this. You can do this on their website, that is a familiar story. You make an appointment, fill in the paperwork and turn up on the agreed date.

The memo gives details of specific cases, procedures and, most importantly, the documents that are required. I saw one important point I hadn't thought of — the mandatory technical inspection.

I thought, "Great! I've got a checkpoint right next to my house". I went there with my car all dressed up — I washed it specially. And they're like: "Who are you?" They only speak Luxembourgish! But we managed to understand each other somehow.

I went to the SNCA and explained again that I wanted to register my car. They understood and took the registration certificate. The truth is that as long as the car is registered in Luxembourg, the registration certificate is kept there.

I was given a registration form. It explained all the stages of the registration process. The rest of the paperwork was done without any problems. But there is also a technical part. An adventurous one.

As soon as I got to the technical department, I was asked: "Do you have an EU certificate 

(vehicle certificate of conformity with EU environmental standards — ed.)

I knew I would need this document back in my hometown. Then I tried to contact the department, but still no answer. I decided to solve the problem on the spot. And that's when the question of the certificate came up.

I got the contact details of two companies that work with these cars. I wrote to both of them and they both said more or less the same thing: "Come and we'll do a test drive". The only difference was that in one of them it cost 400 euros and in the other one it cost 250 euros. I went to the second one, of course.

I explained the situation for the hundredth time. They took my documents and left. There was a half-hour wait in the reception area. At the end of it, one of the employees came up to me and said: "Let me see your car". I said: "Here it is, the car. Just like in the documents".

The funny thing is that this paper was almost an exact copy of my vehicle licence. In other words, I gave them the driving licence, they transferred the data from it to their form, added a few things and that was it. I have to admit that I would also like to earn 250 euros a day this way.

There was nothing to do: I went home. A few hours later, I checked to see and it had already been emailed to me. It was a same-day delivery. So it turns out they could have done it on the spot? Why did they say such deadlines?

Well, never mind, I thought. "Now that I have collected almost all necessary papers, I can try to pass the technical inspection".

I learned my mistake from the last visit to the service station. So, this time I made an appointment. I was lucky — I went to an employee who spoke English as well as Luxembourgish. He looked at my documents and gave me one:

What should I do? I came home and made an appointment with the SNCA. I'd been there before. A few days later I came there and said: "Here's the problem, help me, I have pussycat paws". At least I didn't have to wait again — they quickly stuck the barcode on and the next morning I finally got the technical report.

I was naive enough to think that the deal was almost done: I had all the papers, I would just bring them in and register the car. But it wasn't like that.

I went to the SNCA for the thousandth time, they took the documents and started to process them. And then it turns out that I don't have another application.

I filled in the paperwork on the spot because they gave me a sample. I gave it to the clerk and he gave me a fracture for 88 euros.

The question is, for what? For the fact that I did the application form and for their help. I couldn't do anything about it, so I paid them. They sent it all to the department. I got an official reply on paper that they had approved it in about a week.

Once paid for, the certificate was issued. And the one that had become an alternative to the EU environmental certificate (that one with cost of 250 euros). I was told that, as the inspectorate might need them for verification, I should always carry both certificates with me, along with my insurance policy.

I took the documents and breathed a sigh of relief: There was nothing left to do but pay the transport tax. It is not a big deal, especially not very fast. Drivers have official permission to drive for 30 days without paying because the tax is written off by another department. And that seems to be the happy ending, but no.

I decided to check that all the documents were filled in correctly on my way home. I opened it. It was not a Chevrolet, it was a Toyota. And the engine is not petrol, but diesel... And then it was the holidays for next week, no one was working...

And here I am back at the SNCA. I tried explaining the problem to three people. They didn't believe me that there was a mistake in the document, they said, "That's fine!"

In the end, only the third person did a careful comparison. "Yes," he said, "a mistake!" I was about to go up to the same person who had done all this for me and ask him to find five differences between the two documents.

But unfortunately he wasn't there that day. In the end, everything was redone and I immediately double-checked all the data — it was correct. But there was still one thing left to do.

I wrote them an email, not a phone call of course. I attached valid documents, I attached the wrong message. I even put red circles around it to make the errors clear.

Guess where they sent me? TO THE SNCA! That's when I realised that the letter hadn't been read carefully. I explained what, where and why they had gone wrong, step by step. This time it worked: they issued me with a new tax bill and a cancellation of the old one.

The fact that all these details, procedures and necessary documents are not described anywhere is the most frustrating part of the whole story. It all had to be experienced first hand, literally. To summarise. 

However, the main question every car enthusiast has to answer is: do you really need it? Here is a step-by-step guide to the cost of all the work involved in the legalisation of your car.

Think twice about bringing and registering your car here. Especially if you are not prepared for the expense and adventure.

Share your stories with us. If you would like to tell us about moving to Luxembourg and about life here, please write to our editors 

 or email editorial@luxtoday.lu. One person's experience can help many.

Maria Ovseytseva

Mikhail Alekseev

How to register a car in Luxembourg and what it costs

My husband and I both got our driving licenses in Luxembourg: me first, and one year after – he did it too. At the time I was studying for a driving license, there were only two schools available nearby, more specifically, schools that have been teaching in English. There was Pepe driving school and the one at the Gare.

I found these schools in expat community groups on Facebook, with real feedback from other people. The school next to Gare did not satisfy users at all: the reviews told about how bad the instructors are, how they don't explain the theory well, and how they are late all the time. And on the contrary, Pepe school had good reviews only, especially on the theory. So I quickly enrolled there.

The only problem happened to be with the lessons in English: they were only scheduled once a week. Maybe now they have more classes, because of course, if we knew more languages, the theoretical part would be faster. And this way the theory process stretched out for 8 weeks because you must listen to all the topics and collect attendance stamps.

At last, I practiced and got used to this theoretical test so well, that I passed the real examination in 10 minutes. Including the time I spend thinking about some particular questions. In my opinion, the theory test is not that hard, especially if you train well. 

After successfully passing the examination, you will get the stamp on your paper, so you can show it in your driving school.

It is possible to change the driving school at this stage if you want. It means that you can study theory in one place, and practice driving in another.

Eventually, my instructor suggested that I switch to an automatic car because I was too distracted by the gearbox and couldn't keep my attention on practicing driving. This time I waited only around 3 weeks, maybe because I already started driving with an instructor at that point.

When I finished my practice, I was supposed to take an exam. Though I was indecisive, even nervous, and wanted to take more hours, my instructor was sure of me and registered me for the driving exam.

On the examination day, I had to drive to SNCA with my instructor next to me. At that facility, we submitted all the documents, meet our examiner, and went to the planned examination route.

And here I got lucky as well. My instructor was fluent in Russian, my native language. So during the exam, he translated all the things the examiner told me to do from Luxembourgish to Russian. Pretty convenient!

As well as you have to keep in mind all the rules — no one is there to remind you about the signs and signals.

Your instructor is not there just to keep you company. His pedal set has a sound signal system, so when he or she uses it — the examiner will be notified. This implies an automatic fail. Because if your instructor had to intervene in your driving, you are not ready to do it on your own.

By the way, during your exam, you will get points for the right moves, and lose them for mistakes. This is exactly how I failed my first driving test! After we drove the route, the inspector told me about all the errors I made: once I drove too close to the wall, another time – hit the brakes too late. All these details lowered my total score and I failed.

On my second attempt to take the driving exam, I was trying to go slower, so I make no mistakes. And it was a success! Though the examiner told me there is no need to drive like a turtle: of course, it's not a crime, but it's usually rather uncomfortable for other drivers. 

As I mentioned earlier, my husband had to get a driving license during the pandemic. He took theory classes in the center of Luxembourg, and then switched schools for his practical part — we moved to the north of the country back then, and he found a school in Ettelbruck. Fortunately, he could enroll in just two weeks, as there was lower demand.

On that course, we drove slippery roads, practiced emergency brakes, and tested our driving abilities and limitations. With a theoretical backup.

And in the end, our instructor decided to try and trick us. It was a slippery part of the route with a sharp curve. And he told us that the first driver to race this section will get an automatic pass for the exam.

Everything went according to his plan. And there was a moral of the story at the end: the adrenalin and competitiveness can really fail your driving experience. Not to mention the danger of such action.

This extreme course is available when you have at least 4000 km mileage, as it requires some general driving experience.

As I took the driving course before the pandemic hit, the precise prices might be a little off nowadays. Inflation definitely caused price growth.

I paid around 2500 euros, including my second attempt and additional driving practice hours. My husband paid around 2000 euros. He succeeded on the first try!

The automobile school will bill you on their side:

The first payment receipt will account for the theory classes and the theory examination. You can study after you paid the bill.

Then you pay for your instructor hours and practical exam.

Additional billing will be provided if you take more practice hours or special classes.

In case you fail the exam – another bill: this time for the required additional 8 hours of driving with the instructor and the exam afterward.

Anyways, I recommend taking instructed course too. Your own car will not have a second set of brakes. And good driving skills are important for your safety.

To get enrolled in the driving school, you will need: 

A medical examination. There is a special kind of examination for the driving license;

A criminal record from all the countries you resided in;

An identification paper, like an ID card or passport.

Any changes in the process or additional documents are usually announced by the school you attend.

A car in Luxembourg is much more than a transport, your integration depends on it. A lot of people I know can not imagine a life without a car after getting one. Especially when you live in the countryside, far from the city center. After a few years of using a personal car in Luxembourg, you get used to the country's modest size, and start grumbling about an hour-long drive!

Government supports the public transportation system, nevertheless, it can not replace the benefits of a personal car for now. It seems like long routes and various stops make your path from A to B much more complicated.

Keep in mind the unpredicted crises. In 2020 the pandemic started, and it feels like a whole hero mission to be without a car in this scenario. I used my personal transport to buy groceries for the week, and can't imagine taking the bags home by bus.

Also during this tough period, the car helped us to escape to the hiking places. It's usually well-remote corners of the natural resources, where no one is around and you can admire the beauty of nature.

So, in order to get your driving license in Luxembourg, you need to:

Enroll in the driving school and pay for the course;

Pay for the driving lessons and the exam;

Get your temporary two-year driving license;

Take the one-day extreme driving course and pass the exam;

Share your stories with us. If you would like to tell us about moving to Luxembourg and about life here, please write to our editors 

 or email editorial@luxtoday.lu. One person's experience can help many.

How to register a car in Luxembourg and what it costs

How to obtain a driving license in Luxembourg