With the 48% of Luxembourg's foreigners made up of EU residents several generations in, as well as newcomers freshly arrived, who do we mean when we say 'foreign'?
That Luxembourg punches above its weight when it comes to ethnic and cultural diversity is of no surprise to anyone who lives here. And it makes much sense when considering the country’s makeup: As of 2025, the numbers stand at 52% Luxembourgish, with 48% making up the foreign population.
But who makes up that 48% and in a Luxembourgish context, what does 'foreign' mean?
While the largest communities have traditionally been Portuguese, French, Italian, and Belgian, third-country nationals were more marginal in numbers. That, however, is changing.
Jessica Lopes, research and training officer at the Centre for Intercultural and Social Studies and Training (Centre d'Etude et de Formation Interculturelles et Sociales – CEFIS), an association that aims to promote social cohesion in Luxembourg through research on migration trends and policies, shared more insight with RTL Today.
"Luxembourg always had quite a big foreign community; it was relying a lot on inter-European migration", she said. "What's happening now is that the foreign community is diversifying really quickly."
According to the latest reports shared with RTL Today by Luxembourg's Ministry of Home Affairs, citizens of India, Syria, and China claimed the top three spots for new residence permits issued to third-country nationals in 2025.
"The Indian community, for example, has been growing really fast and that has more to do with the changing work environment in Luxembourg as well", Lopes shared. "There are professions where Luxembourg does not have in-house capacities, so the migration law has also had some shifts and made it a bit easier for some professions to move to Luxembourg."
These professionals are highlighted in a list of professions that Luxembourg needs, published annually by the National Employment Agengy (Agence pour le développement de l'emploi – ADEM).
Geopolitical situations and asylum-seekers also impact changes in the foreign community.
"The Ukrainians now are the first third-country community in Luxembourg", Lopes said. "That community grew drastically within the last four years."
To simplify the numbers, a Luxembourgish passport means Luxembourgish – the 52% – and anything else is considered foreign – the 48%. But both sides demand more attention than that.
Consider these residents of Luxembourg: One, born through generations of a Luxembourgish family, is a Luxembourgish citizen and part of the 52%. Another arrived in Luxembourg five years ago, passed their Sproochentest, and has naturalised. A third, originally French, recently acquired a second Luxembourgish passport, shifting the count from foreigner to Luxembourgish.
There is no easy way to differentiate between a foreign resident who has been here for generations and a new arrival, either.
Consider these two: A resident of Luxembourg, who moved to Luxembourg in the 1970s from Portugal, never saw the need to naturalise, and remains till this day, a foreigner and part of the 48% – though their children and grandchildren are Luxembourgish. And again another of the 48%, who arrived in Luxembourg last year, speaks no Luxembourgish or French, and has little tying them to the country besides their job.
The case of residents who have lived in Luxembourg for decades but do not naturalise is something seen exclusively with EU citizens, said Lopes.
"We can see that there is a working class category of migrants from Europe that never really felt this urge to become Luxembourgish. [Becoming Luxembourgish] also implied a lot of work in terms of learning the language, and depending on the sector you work in, it is a language that you have zero contact with."
While there is an option for residents to receive citizenship without taking the language test after 20 years of residence, for EU citizens, there is often no need.
Things are the opposite for non-Europeans in Luxembourg, where acquiring citizenship is often a priority.
"We see that people holding non-European citizenship tend to get citizenship as soon as they can", Lopes said. "They have this pressure that doesn't really exist for Europeans: of having to renew residency permits and knowing that if they lose their job or separate with a partner or whatever is linked to that residency permit – that could put their existence in Luxembourg in danger."
From the most recent data, 18% of Luxembourgers have a second nationality. Of that number, 75% are of another EU country. But beyond this statistic, it becomes more complicated to analyse the makeup of the Luxembourgish population.
"When you look at the official statistics of STATEC [the National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies], usually when you hold Luxembourgish citizenship, you are counted as Luxembourger. So you will not be counted as Portuguese or Italian or anything, anymore", Lopes said. "Statistically, you just become a Luxembourger and disappear in the stats. But we see these people still exist."
A representative from STATEC confirmed: "In STATEC, we don't have a separate category for long-term EU residents. In our annual data, we don't have the information when a person came to Luxembourg."
While the 2021 census included a question on when the resident arrived in Luxembourg, the information remains unavailable for non-respondents.
Over the last five years, the highest number of citizens naturalising has fluctuated, but the top five have remained the same: Portuguese, French, Brazilian, American, and Belgian. STATEC shared that a general increase, most notably of Americans and Brazilians, was seen between 2021 and 2022, though this largely applies to overseas individuals and can be linked to a rush to reclaim nationality, which was due to expire on 31 December 2022.
As of 2025, a five-year post-Brexit spike in Britons acquiring permanent residency rights was seen in Luxembourg. Asylum-seeking Ukrainians who arrived in 2022 will also soon reach their five-year mark, though time spent under Temporary Protection doesn't automatically count toward those five years – a transition to a standard residency permit, which typically comes with employment, is required.
Yet as a whole, immigration is on the decline, and new trends present themselves.
In 2025, the Directorate of Immigration issued 3,788 permanent residence certificates to EU citizens who had acquired the right of permanent residence, compared to 3,974 in 2024. For new arrivals in 2025, French citizens overtook Portuguese citizens for the first time, with 4,186 registration certificates issued compared to 3,942 for Portuguese citizens.
For third-country nationals, a total of 18,524 residence permits (comprising 8,366 new permits, 1,174 long-term resident permits, and 8,984 renewals) were issued in 2025 – a decrease compared to 2024 (19,760 permits in total).
Today, walking through Luxembourg City, overhearing Mandarin, Russian, or Hindi has become common as the country grows increasingly diverse.
With the increase of third-country nationals settling in Luxembourg, this could point towards something different Luxembourg has posed for its diverse population: an encouragement to embrace being citizens or residents of Luxembourg, without surrendering their roots.
"At no point was there a message transmitted directly or indirectly that we should not speak our native language at home, while this was done in other neighboring countries", Lopes noted. "For example, in France we can see that the Portuguese or the Italian came around the same time as Luxembourg, but they have progressively lost their language, maybe also their culture, while Luxembourg has always encouraged the use of native languages."
Despite efforts to encourage harmonious coexistence, challenges and tensions remain. Amid Luxembourg's vibrantly multi-cultural fabric, hostility is growing, especially online, when it comes to immigration.
"We see hostility, for example, on social media where people are a bit more anonymous", Lopes explained. "More hate messages and blatant racism."
There is perhaps some irony in this – as Lopes points out, around 80% of the people in Luxembourg have at least one parent born abroad. When looking at what makes up Luxembourg's past, present, and future, one point stands out: "It is very difficult to be consistently anti-migration in dialogue."
"If you look even at our politicians, we can recognise Italian names. There are already a few generations of Portuguese and Italian, but also people from Bosnia, Croatia who are Luxembourgish, but also members of their respective communities", she said.
When considering the population, cross-border workers need to be factored in as well: More than 220,000 people cross borders to work in Luxembourg every day.
"Even if they don't sleep in Luxembourg, we still spend our days with these people", Lopes stressed. "They are part of our daily life, so they should be included in the 'living together' efforts."
With just over half the population holding citizenship and a large number of citizens coming from a migrant background, residents making up those who have stayed in Luxembourg for days to decades, or from across borders, the concept of integration or peaceful coexistence is not an easy job, nor does it fall on just one group.
"The whole of society needs to be involved", Lopes said, "because we all have to adapt to each other."
