Luxembourg Work Visa: How to Get an Authorisation to Stay for Salaried Work

Luxembourg is a founding member of the European Union, inside the Schengen Area and the eurozone, and one of the wealthiest countries in the world. It is also a genuine logistics hub for its size, with a major all-cargo airline at Findel, the Bettembourg intermodal rail terminal and a river port on the Moselle at Mertert, sitting at the junction of France, Belgium and Germany.

Citizens of the EU, the EEA and Switzerland need no permit. For everyone else, working here means a temporary authorisation to stay, granted only after the employer has tested the labour market through the national employment agency. This guide explains the certificate, the test, the documents, the costs and renewal — and gives professional drivers an honest read on a market whose geography works against them.

What is a Luxembourg work permit?

Luxembourg does not issue a stand-alone work permit in the usual sense. A third-country national needs an authorisation to stay (autorisation de sejour temporaire) and then a residence permit. A third-country national here means someone from outside the EU and outside Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland. The authorisation is required if you live abroad and intend to move here to work, if you already live in Luxembourg lawfully without having worked and now want a salaried job, or if you already live and work here but want to move into a profession or area of activity you are not yet authorised for.

The ADEM certificate and the labour market test

This is the heart of the system, and the step that decides most cases. Before recruiting a salaried worker, the employer must declare the vacant position to ADEM, the National Employment Agency, which then checks whether a suitable candidate is available on the local or EU job market. The job offer stays active for two months. If ADEM cannot present a suitable candidate within three weeks of the declaration, the employer may request a certificate from the director of ADEM authorising it to recruit a third-country national. Without that original certificate, the application goes nowhere — the worker must enclose it with their own application. ADEM also publishes an annual list of occupations in high shortage, and where the declared position is on that list, the certificate is issued within five days of the request rather than after the full test.

Who needs an authorisation to stay?

Citizens of the EU, the EEA and Switzerland work freely. Everyone else needs authorisation, with one important exception: non-EU nationals who are family members of an EU citizen living in Luxembourg do not need a specific permit to engage in paid activity. Cross-border workers are a category of their own here, and they matter enormously to how this country works — a third-country national residing in a neighbouring EU state who wants to work in Luxembourg must apply in writing for a work permit to the General Department of Immigration before starting.

Types of work authorisation

• Authorisation to stay for salaried workers — the standard route, following the ADEM certificate.
• Shortage-occupation route — the same permit, but with the certificate issued in five days.
• EU Blue Card — for highly qualified workers meeting a high annual salary threshold.
• Work permit for third-country cross-border workers — for those resident in a neighbouring EU state.
• Family members of EU citizens are exempt from any specific work permit.

Processing stages and the two-month window

The sequence is unusually rigid, and each stage gates the next. The vacancy declaration opens a two-month window during which the offer is live and a certificate can be requested; once the offer closes, no certificate will be issued, and the employer must start again. The certificate request can be made at the time of declaring the vacancy or at any point. At the same time, the offer remains valid, and an acknowledgement of receipt will be provided within two business days. Only with the certificate in hand can the contract and the authorisation application proceed, and only once the authorisation is approved can you travel. Getting these in the wrong order is the commonest way to lose a month.

Eligibility and salary

You need a dated employment contract signed by the employer, which may state that the start date is contingent on obtaining authorisation to stay — a let-out clause that protects both sides. For the EU Blue Card, you need a relevant higher-education degree or at least five years of specialised professional experience, a contract of at least six months, and a salary at or above the threshold set annually by Grand-Ducal regulation. That threshold has moved sharply: it was lowered to €58,968 in 2024, raised to €63,408 from 18 March 2025, and raised again to €65,652 thereafter — so check the current figure rather than an older one.

Documents you’ll need

The Immigration Directorate sets the requirements; a typical file includes:

• A valid passport and the application to the Immigration Directorate.
• The dated employment contract signed by the employer.
• The original certificate from ADEM authorising the employer to hire a third-country national.
• Proof of your qualifications and a covering letter supporting the application.
• A criminal-record extract from your country of residence.
• Originals or certified true copies of every document.
• Official translations by a sworn translator if documents are not in German, French or English.

Step by step

1. The employer declares the vacant position to ADEM.
2. ADEM tests the local and EU markets; if no suitable candidate appears within three weeks, or within five days for a shortage occupation, it issues the certificate.
3. The employer signs a dated contract, which may state that the start date depends on the authorisation.
4. You apply for the temporary authorisation to stay from your country of origin before travelling.
5. The temporary residence certificate is sent by post and is valid for 90 days.
6. You travel to Luxembourg within those 90 days with valid documents and, where needed, a visa.
7. You make a declaration of arrival at your commune within three days.
8. You take the medical check, give biometrics and apply for the residence permit within three months of arrival.

Processing time

Two clocks matter. The ADEM stage takes three weeks for an ordinary role or five days for one on the shortage list, and it must be completed before anything else begins. The Immigration Directorate then decides on the authorisation, after which the temporary residence certificate is valid for 90 days for you to travel. Add the visa where required, the three-day and three-month deadlines after arrival, and a realistic plan that runs for a few months.

Fees

Budget for the authorisation to stay and residence-permit charges, the visa fee where one is required, the medical check, and sworn translations where documents are not in German, French or English. Where the authenticity of a document is in doubt, the Minister of Immigration can require it to be authenticated by the local authority and legalised by the embassy, or notarised with a Hague apostille. This slow and costly step is best avoided by supplying clean originals.

Validity and renewal

The first permit is valid for one year. After 12 months, it can be renewed for up to 3 years, and at that point, the worker can move between sectors more freely. During the first year, the sector and profession are tied to the permit and recorded as an ISCO occupation code on the residence permit card, so your first year is genuinely locked to the job you came for. Under updated EU rules being brought into Luxembourg law, single permit holders will have three months to find another job before the permit is withdrawn.

After you arrive

Make your declaration of arrival at the commune within three days — this is a short deadline and easy to miss. Complete the medical check and biometrics, and apply for your residence permit within three months of arrival. Keep your ISCO code, contract and actual duties aligned during the first year, since the permit is tied to that occupation.

Common reasons for refusal

By far the most common obstacle is the ADEM stage: if the agency presents a suitable candidate from the local or EU market within three weeks, no certificate is issued, and the process stops there. Beyond that, applications fail when the original ADEM certificate is missing, when documents are photocopies rather than originals or certified copies, when translations are not by a sworn translator, or when someone travels before the authorisation is approved. Applying from inside Luxembourg is not permitted except in defined cases.

Tips to get approved

Check ADEM’s current shortage list before anything else, because a listed occupation turns a three-week test into a five-day certificate. Have the employer request the certificate when declaring the vacancy rather than later, and remember no certificate will be issued once an offer is closed. Supply originals or certified copies, use a sworn translator, and use the let-out clause in the contract so neither side is exposed while the authorisation is pending.

Your rights as a foreign worker

Luxembourg has the highest statutory minimum wage in the European Union and strong labour protections, and permit holders are covered by the same employment law as everyone else, with affiliation to the Joint Social Security Centre. After the first year, the permit loosens, allowing movement between sectors, and the incoming three-month job-search window gives real protection if a job ends. Family reunification is available, and long-term residence follows continued lawful stay.

For professional drivers in Luxembourg

Luxembourg is a serious logistics country for its size. One of Europe’s largest all-cargo airlines operates from Findel; the Bettembourg terminal is a major intermodal rail-road hub feeding traffic between northern and southern Europe; Mertert gives access to the Moselle and the Rhine; and the whole country sits at the meeting point of France, Belgium and Germany. Wages are the highest in the EU. So why is this a hard market for a non-EU driver? Geography and free movement. Roughly half of everyone working in Luxembourg commutes in each day from France, Belgium or Germany — a workforce of well over 200,000 people who are EU citizens and need no permit at all, living within an easy drive of Bettembourg or the capital. When ADEM tests the market for a driving vacancy, that is the pool it searches, and it will usually find someone. Driving is also not among the occupations on ADEM’s high-shortage list, which centres on finance, IT, engineering, health and personal care, social work and business support. So there is no five-day fast track, and the full three-week test applies. The Blue Card, at €65,652, is far beyond ordinary driver pay. For an EU driver, Luxembourg is excellent, and you can commute. For a non-EU driver, it is one of the tougher doors in Western Europe, and Belgium or France next door will usually be more realistic.

• Browse driver vacancies in Luxembourg.
• Register a driver profile.
• For employers — recruitment and compliance support

Work permits by region in Luxembourg.

The rules are national, run through ADEM and the Immigration Directorate wherever you work — the whole country is smaller than many European provinces. What differs among the twelve cantons is where employers and freight infrastructure are located, and how close each canton is to the French, Belgian, and German borders that supply half the workforce.

Luxembourg

The capital canton, home to the financial sector, the institutions, Findel airport and its cargo operations — by far the largest job market in the country. Driver jobs in Luxembourg.

Esch-sur-Alzette

The southern industrial canton on the French border, containing the Bettembourg-Dudelange intermodal terminal, the country’s principal rail-road freight hub. Driver jobs in Esch-sur-Alzette.

Capellen

A western canton on the Belgian border, with business parks, logistics and heavy cross-border commuting from Arlon. Driver jobs in Capellen.

Grevenmacher

An eastern canton on the Moselle and the German border, home to the river port of Mertert and the wine country. Driver jobs in Grevenmacher.

Echternach

A north-eastern canton on the German border, largely rural and tourism-oriented, with a modest local economy. Driver jobs in Echternach.

Mersch

A central canton on the main north-south axis, with distribution and services serving the capital region. Driver jobs in Mersch.

Remich

A small south-eastern canton on the Moselle at the German border, focused on wine and tourism. Driver jobs in Remich.

Diekirch

A northern canton with light industry and food production, on the routes toward Belgium and Germany. Driver jobs in Diekirch.

Redange

A rural western canton on the Belgian border, with agriculture and a small local labour market. Driver jobs in Redange.

Wiltz

A northern canton in the Ardennes, with manufacturing, forestry and long distances to the capital. Driver jobs in Wiltz.

Clervaux

The northernmost canton, bordering Belgium, is largely rural, with tourism and agriculture as its main sectors. Driver jobs in Clervaux.

Vianden

A small northern canton known for its castle and hydroelectric plant, with a very limited local jobs market. Driver jobs in Vianden.

Related guides

• EU work visa — overview
• Luxembourg residence permit
• Health insurance in Luxembourg
• Luxembourgish citizenship

Official government sources

• Guichet. lu — official guidance on residence conditions for third-country salaried workers.
• ADEM — vacancy declaration, the certificate and the shortage occupation list.
• Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs — the Immigration Directorate and authorisations to stay.
• Legilux — the official journal, including the Grand-Ducal salary regulations.

Information only — not legal or immigration advice. Salary thresholds are set annually by Grand-Ducal regulation, and the shortage list is revised each year. Always confirm current requirements with the official Luxembourg authorities before you apply or pay anyone.