Luxembourg · Work authorisation

Residence permit for salaried workers

Issued by General Department of Immigration (Direction générale de l'Immigration), Ministry of Home Affairs. It is checked against conditions rather than scored, so the question is whether you meet each one, not how many points you gather.

Basis
Checklist
Steps
4
Possible outcomes
2
Last checked
2026-08-09

Conditions

What this permit
asks of you.

Which desk decides

The authority, exactly

The General Department of Immigration is competent for both steps, but the steps happen in a fixed order and at different times: it decides the temporary authorisation to stay before you travel, and it decides the residence permit itself only after you have entered Luxembourg, registered your arrival with your commune and completed the medical check-up. Communes handle the declaration of arrival; the National Employment Agency (ADEM) issues the certificate your employer needs before the temporary authorisation can even be requested.

The procedure

4 steps,
in the order they happen.

Prepare your documents

  1. Have your employer declare the vacant position to the National Employment Agency (ADEM). If ADEM has not presented a suitable candidate within three weeks, your employer can ask ADEM's director for a certificate that allows you specifically to be recruited.
  2. Gather your documents: a full copy of your passport, a criminal record extract or an affidavit, your CV and diplomas, and an employment contract compliant with Luxembourg law, dated and signed, together with the original ADEM certificate.

Get your qualification assessed

  1. Before travelling to Luxembourg, apply for the temporary authorisation to stay from the General Department of Immigration.If you are a visa-required national, request the type D visa only once you already hold this temporary authorisation — not before. Guichet.public.lu describes the two as sequential, both completed before you enter Luxembourg.

Register and start working

  1. Once you are in Luxembourg, make your declaration of arrival at your commune administration, complete the medical check-up, and only then apply for the residence permit for salaried workers from the General Department of Immigration.

Cost and time

What it costs,
and how long the authority says it takes.

Fees

Residence permit for salaried workers
€80
Type D national visa (if you are a visa-required national)
Not published on the pages reviewed — confirm the fee with the Luxembourg diplomatic mission handling your case

Timeframes

Temporary authorisation to stay, decision by the General Department of Immigration
Normally a maximum of 4 months
First residence permit
Valid for a maximum of 1 year
Residence permit renewal
Maximum duration of 3 years

Published processing times, not a prediction about your case.

Both halves together

Guides that use this permit.

Each one takes a profession into Luxembourg and runs the recognition branch and the authorisation branch side by side, including what your country of qualification adds.

Evidence

Every claim on this page, and where it came from.

1 official page, each with the jurisdiction it speaks for and the date a human last opened it. The oldest is 2026-08-09, and that is the date this page is only as fresh as.

Is this the right permit for you?

That depends on where you qualified.

The planner compares every route Luxembourg opens to your country of qualification, and adds the recognition branch when your profession has one.

Check my path →All Luxembourg permits