At Friday's meeting of the Luxembourg government cabinet, the details of the proposed reform of eligibility for Luxembourgish nationality were agreed.
The change in legislation will result in the Nationality Act of 23 October 2008 and the law of 7 June 1989 being repealed, following the 2013 Programme of Government which covered, amongst many other areas, the reform of the law of Luxembourg nationality. In October 2015 the Cabinet agreed to a draft law on Luxembourg nationality and proceeded with a process of consultation with the parliamentary opposition, with the aim of achieving a broad agreement in parliament. The draft law was adapted in the course of this process.
The new law will subsequently open Luxembourg nationality to the following:
- those aged 18+ who (1) have their habitual residence in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and be legally resident here for at least five years, the last year of residence preceding the declaration of naturalisation being uninterrupted; (2) have acquired a certificate of competency in Luxembourgish; and (3) have successfully passed the civics course entitled "Living together in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg".
- those who opt for a simplified procedure for acquiring Luxembourg nationality, which will be open under different requirements.
- those who are born in Luxembourg, when they reach 18 years of age, provided they have a habitual residence and a regular residence in the Grand Duchy for at least five consecutive years immediately preceding their 18th birthday.
- those who have lived in Luxembourg for 12 consecutive months immediately preceding the birth of a child in Luxembourg. In this case, the taking of a Luxembourgish language exam is optional.
The new law is expected to come into force on 1 January 2017.
