How to get Luxembourg citizenship — and how the Sproochentest works

Becoming a Luxembourger is mostly a matter of time, language and paperwork rather than money. The rules sit in the nationality law overseen by the Ministry of Justice, and the practical steps are set out on the State portal Guichet.lu. Here is how the main routes work, and what the Sproochentest actually tests.

The routes to citizenship

There are several legal pathways. Which one fits you depends mostly on how you are connected to Luxembourg.

• Naturalisation — the standard route for foreign residents with no special tie.
• Option — a shorter procedure for specific categories: spouses of Luxembourgers, people born in Luxembourg, people who attended at least seven years of Luxembourg schooling, and very long-term residents.
• Operation of law / birthright — for children with a Luxembourgish parent, or born here under qualifying conditions.
• Recovery (recouvrement) — for people who once held Luxembourg nationality and lost it.

Naturalisation requires at least five years of legal residence, and the final 12 months immediately before the application must be uninterrupted. You also need to pass the Sproochentest and complete the civic course (see below). You apply to the civil registrar (officier de l'état civil) of your commune in person, and the Minister of Justice decides within eight months.

The option route keeps the language and civic conditions but eases the residence rules for defined groups. Spouses of Luxembourgers living in the country qualify directly (those abroad need three years of marriage before the declaration). People born in Luxembourg can apply from age 12 with five consecutive years of residence. Young people who completed at least seven years in the Luxembourg school system qualify with 12 consecutive months of residence. Residents of 20 years or more can opt in after a 24-hour introductory Luxembourgish course. A declaration by option takes effect after about four months if there is no objection.

The Sproochentest

The Sproochentest is the spoken-Luxembourgish evaluation run by the Institut national des langues Luxembourg (INLL). It is not a written exam in the academic sense — it measures two skills on the Common European Framework scale:

• Speaking: level A2 — you introduce yourself and talk in simple terms about family, living conditions, education and work.
• Listening comprehension: level B1 — you understand the main points of clear, standard speech on familiar everyday topics.

Registration costs EUR 75. If you fail one part you can keep the part you passed and re-sit only the other. There is no upper limit on attempts.

Some applicants do not have to sit the full test. People naturalising who have resided in Luxembourg for at least 20 years may replace the Sproochentest with 24 hours of Luxembourgish lessons rather than passing the exam. There is also a medical exemption: if a physical or mental condition prevents you from learning Luxembourgish, you can ask the Minister of Justice to waive the language test. People taking the seven-years-of-schooling option are assessed through that schooling rather than a stricter standard. Always confirm your own situation with the INLL or your commune, because the exemptions are narrow.

The 'Vivre ensemble' course

Alongside the language test you must complete the 'Vivre ensemble au Grand-Duché de Luxembourg' civic course — or pass an exam covering the same material — organised under the Ministry of Education (MEN). The course runs to 24 hours across three modules:

1. Fundamental rights of citizens — 6 hours.
2. State and communal institutions of the Grand Duchy — 12 hours.
3. The history of Luxembourg and European integration — 6 hours.

The course and the exam alternative are free of charge. If you would rather not attend the classes, you can register for the exam directly.

Dual nationality

Luxembourg has allowed dual (and multiple) nationality since 1 January 2009, under the reform adopted on 23 October 2008. You do not have to renounce your existing passport to naturalise or to recover Luxembourg nationality. Whether your other country lets you keep its nationality is a separate question governed by that country's law, so check both sides before you apply.

The closed ancestry route

One pathway often mentioned online is no longer available. The special Article 89 'recovery' route — for descendants of an ancestor who held Luxembourg nationality on 1 January 1900 — required a certificate request to the Ministry of Justice by 31 December 2018 and a declaration before a civil registrar by 31 December 2025. Both deadlines have now passed, so this ancestry route is fully closed. A separate general recovery procedure still exists for people who personally held and lost Luxembourg nationality.

Last reviewed: June 2026. Nationality rules change — check the official sources linked above for the latest.