The first morning in Luxembourg often goes like this: you have a flat key, a job contract and a vague feeling that something official is waiting. It is, but the list is short. Moving to Luxembourg means a handful of steps, and they only work in a certain order, because each one produces the paper that the next one asks for.
What do you do first when moving to Luxembourg?
Start with the commune (commune, the local authority; in the capital the citizen office is the Biergercenter). You declare your arrival there, and the commune enters you in the national register of natural persons, which is where your identification number comes from. This is the foundation of everything else.
Citizens of the EU, the EEA and Switzerland do not apply for a permit. Guichet.lu says that if you stay more than 90 days, you file a registration declaration with your commune within three months of arriving. You are handed a registration certificate on the spot, showing your name, address, registration date and declaration number, and it has no expiry date. The details are in our guide to residence in Luxembourg for EU citizens.
What does the checklist look like week by week?
Think in four stages.
- Before you leave: collect a valid ID or passport, and the document that proves your right to stay: a signed employment contract, proof of enrolment, or proof of resources plus health insurance covering all risks in Luxembourg. Take the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) of your current country for the first weeks.
- Arrival: declare your arrival to the commune, then file the registration declaration.
- First job weeks: your employer declares you to the social security centre (CCSS) within eight days. You then receive a social security card automatically.
- After that: the tax card, a bank account, MyGuichet.lu access, the car, the school.
Do not wait for week six to start the commune step. It is the one that opens the others, and the 90-day mark arrives quickly.
How do you get your matricule and your tax card?
Your matricule is a 13-digit national identification number, used with the administration, social security and the tax office. It is attributed when you are entered in the national register, in practice through your commune. Read how to get your Luxembourg matricule number if it has not arrived.
Your tax card (fiche de retenue d'impôt) is issued automatically by the tax administration (ACD) after you are affiliated to social security, in about 30 working days on average. Your employer receives an electronic version. If there is no card, the employer withholds tax at class 1 with a rate of at least 33%, which can hurt. If nothing arrives within 30 working days of your first day, contact the RTS office and warn your employer. Check the details on the card as soon as it arrives.
If you are unsure which of these steps applies to you, because you are self-employed, retired, joining a partner or arriving from outside the EU, Moovy can walk you through the order that fits your situation, using official sources. The authorities decide the outcome; Moovy helps you prepare.
How does health cover work when you arrive?
Employees are covered by the Caisse nationale de santé (CNS) as soon as the employer declares them. Your social security card is also your European card, and it is sent by post to your official address. If you arrive without a job and without other cover, you can ask to join voluntary health insurance, but there is a three-month waiting period before the first reimbursements. The commune also expects inactive residents to hold health insurance covering all risks in the country. See healthcare in Luxembourg for expats for the details.
What can you do online?
Almost everything goes through MyGuichet.lu, the state's secure platform. It needs strong authentication: a LuxTrust product, the GouvID app (which relies on the electronic ID card) or, if you come from certain EU countries, your national electronic identity. With a foreign electronic ID you can log in, but you cannot sign your formalities, such as a tax return. Plan a LuxTrust or GouvID route, or use a paper form.
What mistakes cost new arrivals time?
- Treating a small job as a basis for residence. Work under 10 hours a week is not enough to count.
- Arriving without health cover as an inactive person. The commune can ask for proof.
- Forgetting to report a change of address. Your tax card is updated from that change.
- Leaving the car for last. A car imported into Luxembourg must be registered within six months of your arrival declaration; see driving in Luxembourg.
- Underestimating housing. Rental rules are strict but the market is tight; read renting in Luxembourg before you sign anything.
What about people who live next door and commute?
Many people never move: they live in France, Belgium or Germany and drive or take the train in. That is a different set of rules for tax and social security, which the tax administration (ACD) and the CCSS explain for each country of residence. If you are choosing between moving and commuting, the cost of living in Luxembourg is the place to start.
What should you prepare before moving to Luxembourg?
A few things are easier to fix from your old country than from a Luxembourg waiting room.
- Proof of your right to stay. A signed contract or job offer, a student enrolment certificate, or proof of resources and full health insurance. The commune will ask for the one that matches your category.
- Identity documents. A valid ID card or passport. If yours expires within the year, renew it at home: it is the document every office photocopies.
- Health coverage from your current country. Order your EHIC for the first weeks. If your home country stays responsible for your health care, for instance because you are a pensioner paid by that country, ask for an S1 form before you leave and give it to the Luxembourg health fund.
- A place to live. Without an address you cannot register, and the market is tight. The rules on deposits and rent caps are explained in renting in Luxembourg.
- Your own bank account. You can keep your foreign IBAN to be paid, and open a Luxembourg account later; see bank accounts in Luxembourg.
What if you arrive without a job?
You can, as long as you can show sufficient resources and health insurance covering all risks in Luxembourg. The commune checks these documents when you register. Job seekers who live in Luxembourg can register with the ADEM, the national employment agency, and the country's labour market is described in our guide to working in Luxembourg. Do not rely on voluntary health insurance from the first day: it has a three-month waiting period before the first reimbursements, so a private policy or your home cover has to bridge the gap.
What does the first month feel like in practice?
Luxembourg is small, and nearly everything is a short ride away. Buses, trams and trains are free for everyone, residents and visitors alike (only first-class train tickets are paid), so you do not need to buy a car in the first week. Keep an ID on you, since it can be requested on board. The country has three administrative languages (Luxembourgish, French and German), and you will hear English at work; most offices will manage in French. More on this in living in Luxembourg.
Employees are also entitled to two days of leave for moving house, according to the practical notes on the national portal; ask your employer how they want it requested.
Where do families and cars fit in?
If you have children, the school registration depends on their age: the commune for primary school, the school itself for secondary. The language of teaching is the biggest choice you will make, and it deserves time; see schools in Luxembourg for expat children. If you arrive with a car, you have six months from your arrival declaration to register it, with a Luxembourg liability insurance and a technical inspection certificate that is valid. Plan the appointments early rather than late.
The rules above come from Guichet.lu and the administrations, which update their pages without warning. Check the date on each official page before you act on it.