Those who move to Luxembourg with children encounter a lot of paperwork at first. Before moving to a new country, it is recommended to collect all the necessary documents in advance: this way it will be easier to get settled in and register when you arrive.
There are some documents that will be essential and others that you should take with you for different situations. Let's see what are they.
Which papers are needed depends largely on the grounds on which an expat is moving to the Grand Duchy.
Generally, there are five types of documents required for most matters — passports, certificates, an apostilled criminal record certificate, health records and medical documents. However, you can ask the embassy for an up-to-date list of documents for your specific situation.
You can request your criminal record, indicating the absence or existence of any criminal convictionsб from your local competent authority. You need to request it in person and receive it on paper. The criminal record should be recent, not more than 6 months old, and be notarized or apostilled. Normally, it takes 30 days to obtain this document, but the timing can differ depending on the country of your origin.
You will need them to confirm income, enroll your children in school, etc.
For adults
For children
For students
These are official documents that are not obligatory for relocation, but which can still come in handy in Luxembourg depending on the situation. For example, if you are relocating for work, you might need some additional papers according to your employer's request.
Required papers usually are as follows:
However, depending on your employer company and ADEM requirements, you may also need:
Clarify the requirements with your employer's HR specialist.
These types of documents are essential documents for the employment process. You may also need them to open a bank account in Luxembourg.
Should include apostille and notarized translations to French/German (also for convenience you can prepare them in Word format):
It's reasonable to take some additional official papers that contain:
Besides the essential diploma, consider collecting these papers:
Typically, the education documents apostille process takes up to 45 days. The time limit may be extended in some cases. Education documents are usually provided with an apostille, but sometimes it is not necessary, if not stated otherwise. If you will translate the diploma, request a Word format translation to be sent via email from your translator as well.
This is one of the necessary documents that require the notary's help – a general power of attorney in the name of a close relative or another trusted person must be made, so you can manage your property, accounts, etc. without being present.
The person with such a document will have the authority to deal with urgent matters on your behalf: obtaining documents, paying bills, withdrawing money from the bank, selling an apartment that is no longer in use, and so on.
The Power of Attorney is not on the list of essential documents, but it is a must-have in case you do not plan to travel to your home country to deal with organizational moments in person.
Foreign passport and notarised copy of all its pages; internal passport and copies of the main page and the registration page; birth certificate; apostilled marriage certificate (if you are married); higher education diploma; CV; motivation letter; work contract. The latter three documents will be necessary at the job-seeking and applying stage.
We suggest translating documents at most in Luxembourg, except for the documents required to obtain a temporary residence permit and a visa. It is also always better to have originals with you in a new country for any situation.
Your criminal record and marriage certificates must be apostilled in all cases. Then you may also be required to have your diploma, birth certificate and notarized copies of these documents apostilled as well.