Luxembourg citizenship by descent

Who qualifies

• Likely LuxembourgishA parent who was a Luxembourg national when you were bornChildren of Luxembourg nationals are Luxembourgish, wherever they’re born. Ask the Ministry of Justice for a certificate of nationality to confirm it. If it turns out you weren’t, you can opt through your parent.
• OpenA parent who is or was Luxembourgish but didn’t pass it to youFor example, your parent became American before you were born, when that meant losing Luxembourg nationality. As an adult you can opt for it.
• OpenA grandparent who is or was LuxembourgishIt doesn’t matter if they later lost it, or if your parent never had it. As an adult you can opt for it, with no residence, language test or course.
• Only via a grandparentA Luxembourgish great-grandparentThe option covers parents and grandparents only. It works if your grandparent was a Luxembourg national too, for example because they were born to your Luxembourgish great-grandparent.
• ClosedDescendants of someone who was Luxembourgish on January 1, 1900This route needed a certificate requested by December 31, 2018 and a declaration signed by December 31, 2025. Both deadlines have passed.
• ReclaimFormer LuxembourgersAdults who lost Luxembourg nationality can reclaim it, including women who lost it through marriage. It’s free, and this route has no deadline.

The option route

Article 23 of the Nationality Law of March 8, 2017 lets an adult opt for Luxembourg nationality in two cases:

• Your parent or adoptive parent is or was a Luxembourg national, and the nationality wasn’t passed to you.
• Your grandparent is or was a Luxembourg national, and the nationality wasn’t passed to your parent.

“Is or was” means they held it at any time, even if they later lost it, for example by becoming American before 2009. Anyone born in Luxembourg before April 19, 1948 counts as Luxembourgish under the law. That date moves forward a year every January 1.

Unlike most other option cases, these two have no residence requirement, no Luxembourgish language test and no citizenship course. You must be 18 or over. A serious criminal sentence in the last 15 years, such as 12 months or more in prison, or giving false information, leads to refusal.

Your children under 18 become Luxembourgish automatically when you do.

How to apply

1. Get a certificate of nationality for your parent or grandparentThe Ministry of Justice’s nationality office issues it for free. You can ask by email or post from abroad. If your parent was Luxembourgish when you were born, ask for a certificate for yourself instead: you may not need to opt at all.
2. Gather the documentsSee the list below. The City of Luxembourg says documents don’t need an apostille. Anything not in English, French, German or Luxembourgish needs a sworn translation.
3. Book an appointment in Luxembourg CityIf you live abroad, you file with the civil registrar of the City of Luxembourg, at its Bierger-Center. Book by email. You can send scans first so they can check your file is complete. They only see people with a confirmed appointment.
4. Sign the declaration in personNo one can sign for you, and the embassy can’t take it. Bring originals: incomplete files are refused.
5. Wait 4 monthsIf the Ministry of Justice doesn’t object within 4 months of receiving your file, you become Luxembourgish. Allow another 2 to 6 weeks for the paperwork.
6. Apply for a passportThrough the Luxembourg embassy in Washington, by appointment. An adult passport lasts 10 years and costs €50.

Documents

• Your full birth certificate, showing your parents’ names
• A copy of your valid passport
• The full birth certificate of your Luxembourgish parent or grandparent
• A certificate of Luxembourg nationality for that parent or grandparent
• Through a grandparent: your parent’s full birth certificate, to show the family link
• Criminal record certificates from each country you’re a national of, and each country you’ve lived in since 18 in the last 15 years. In the US, the FBI issues these.
• The signed biographical questionnaire, and the form letting the Ministry check your Luxembourg criminal record

Criminal record certificates are valid for 6 months; other documents don’t expire. For UK, Irish and US certificates, see where to order certificates.

The 1900 descendants’ route has closed

From 2009, descendants of anyone who was a Luxembourg national on January 1, 1900 could recover Luxembourg nationality. It took two steps: a certificate of descent, requested by December 31, 2018, then a declaration signed in Luxembourg. The deadline for the declaration was extended more than once, finally to December 31, 2025.

In April 2026 the Justice Minister confirmed that this route has “definitively expired”. Between 2009 and March 2026, 41,569 people regained Luxembourg nationality this way, 3,915 of them from the US. At that point 252 declarations made before the deadline were still being processed.

If you got a certificate of descent but didn’t sign in time, check whether a parent or grandparent of yours was ever Luxembourgish. If so, the option route is still open to you.

Common questions

What a Luxembourg passport gives you

The right to live, work, study and retire across all 27 EU countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. See what an EU passport lets you do.