I personally (and many of my colleagues) found the process of getting the paperwork sorted out upon arrival to Luxembourg quite a tedious task - a situation which certainly wasn’t helped by the fact that I hadn’t a clue before moving here as to what the actual requirements were. As an EU national, I essentially assumed that I could just stroll into the country and start applying for jobs. That’s not quite true, and the process is even more complicated for those of you who ware not EU citizens - but don’t worry, we’ve got you covered, too.
EU nationals enjoy freedom of movement and employment within other member states, Luxembourg very much included. No special permit is required for EU nationals in order to seek or begin employment in Luxembourg, which means that you can start looking and applying for jobs that interest you right away. The main administrative work begins once you have found a job and start the process of moving here.
Assuming that you intend to stay in Luxembourg for over 90 days, you will have to complete a declaration of arrival at your local municipality within8 days of entering the country. This is a fairly quick and straight-forward procedure, though you do need to bring a few specific documents: (1) a valid passport or national identity card, (2) a certificate of marriage or civil partnership, and (3) your children’s birth certificate(s), if applicable.
Once you have declared your arrival, you will also need to return to the same municipal office withinthree monthsof arrival to fill out a ‘registration form’. EU regulations state that the right to move and work across member states is conditional on your not becoming unreasonably dependent on your new host country’s social welfare system. The declaration of arrival requires that you show evidence of your employment or self-employment in Luxembourg, or proof that you are in possession of sufficient resources to avoid dependency on welfare.
Coming here as a third country national is more complicated and will require a bit more effort – but it’s entirely possible. As with EU nationals, the requirements vary depending on whether you intend on staying here for more than 3 months. There are certain job categories that do not require a work permit if your stay is less than 3 months (see links box below for more information), but as a general rule of thumb you will need to apply for a work permit with the immigration directorate before arrival to Luxembourg. To do this, you will have to supply them with several documents:
Staying for over 3 months means that you will have to apply for a visa, which carries with it further and more exacting requirements. For additional details, see our links box below.
Luxembourg is an advanced economy, the cornerstones of which are finance, digital economy, automotive components, industry, and logistics (see the ‘infographic’ link in the link box for a good overview). The European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training forecasts that that 44% of opportunities in Luxembourg between today and 2025 will be for professionals (higher-level occupations in engineering, healthcare, science, teaching, and business), and 19% for clerical support workers.
According to data from Statec, the biggest employers in Luxembourg (2018 data) are:
The job market is quite competitive, and generally requires a relatively high level of education and several years of experience. Your chances of employment are also considerably improved if you speak more than one language, particularly French, German, English, and Luxembourgish. With that in mind, the list of places where you might find a job could extend more or less into infinity. The first step you may want to consider is registering with ADEM – as noted above, they have seen a 24.7% increase in the number of positions listed over the past year. Beyond that, there are of course job fairs and plenty of websites to visit.
Luxembourg is host to several job fairs throughout the year, and the best way to find out about upcoming job fairs relevant to your profession is to carry out a search, as they happen at various times throughout the year. Two of the larger fairs that you may want to look into include Plug&Work and Moovijob‘s Tour Luxembourg.
If you are register with ADEM you will have access to their JobBoard website, which could be a good place to start. You may also be interested in looking at available state jobs (French only), and register with EURES (if you are an EU citizen). Beyond that, we have compiled a (far from exhaustive, but it should provide a decent starting point!) list of job boards that should provide good snapshot of the jobs available.
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