Legal residence in the Grand Duchy is governed by these two categories:
The special status of third country foreigners who are family members of an EU citizen.
Up to 3 months or more than 3 months in the case of third countries.
Third countries are considered all non-EU countries, except for citizens of Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Norway, and Iceland.
Regardless of the period of stay, all EU citizens have the right to travel within the EU, and work and reside in any eurozone country. The same applies to family members if they are EU citizens.
In this case, you can stay in Luxembourg legally — for family reunification.
The following categories can be reunited:
If a family member of the third-country citizen holds a valid residence permit issued by the authorities of Luxembourg or another EU Member State, no visa is required to enter Luxembourg.
Citizens of several non-EU countries can also enter Luxembourg without a visa. The full list of countries that do not require the visa is available on the website of the Luxembourg Government.
If the visa is required, you must apply for it and obtain it before entering Luxembourg. The documents required to obtain the visa depend on the type of family member.
Thus, to stay in the Grand Duchy, third-country citizens who are considered family members must hold only a valid passport and, if necessary, an entry visa before arriving in Luxembourg. Once done, you need to obtain documents at the place of residence in one of the communes and apply for a residence permit.
Here, besides a valid passport, you need a visa to legally stay in the Grand Duchy.
The visa is issued considering the purpose of your travel — study, work, family reunification, etc. — and the period of stay.
Visa A is not suitable in this case. It is for passing through the cross-border area at airports, that is, for transit. Visa A does not give travelers the right to enter the countries of the Schengen Area and, therefore, Luxembourg.
It is suitable for the following purposes of travel:
The process is broadly divided into three stages.
This visa can be obtained by:
The process is broadly divided into four stages.
It is issued by the Directorate of Immigration of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of Luxembourg. To obtain a temporary residence permit, you need to submit an application. The nature of your supposed activity determines the procedure for submitting the application. The application must be submitted in the country of residence and before you submit the documents for the visa.
They include the following:
The consulate often requires a financial report on the Luxembourg resident’s support. The document confirms that the citizen of the Grand Duchy financially supports the applicant. The one who acts as a guarantor must officially certify the document. You can do this at the Passport, Visa and Authentications Office (entry up to 90 days) or the Immigration Office (for those who need a long stay).
You can do this in two ways:
You must personally submit the documents in two copies. You must do this within 90 days of obtaining a temporary residence permit.
Thus, third-country nationals must obtain a visa C or D and hold a valid passport to stay in the Grand Duchy. Then you can apply for a residence permit.
Visa C costs about 80 euros, visa D about 50 euros, visa for children aged 6-12 costs about 40 euros. However, there is a reduced fee for citizens of Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and a number of other countries. It comes to 35 euros.
There is no visa fee for children under 6, school and university students, teachers, scientists traveling abroad for scientific research, family members who are EU/EEA nationals and some other groups of citizens exceptionally.