Work Permit for Employees
No employer can engage a worker from foreign areas who does not hold a valid work permit, or without having declared the position to be filled to the Employment Office of Luxembourg, the ADEM, in advance and obtained the work permit. Once the ADEM has examined the request, it will forward the dossier alongside an opinion on the case, to the Ministère des Affaires étrangères et de l’Immigration (Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration). Before any decision can be taken, or whether to deny or grant a work permit, the case has to go before a special advisory committee.
Work permits are granted, refused or rescinded by the Minister of Foreign Affairs or the person to whom this responsibility has been delegated.
New Member States
Nationals of the EU-Member States, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland are able to work without restriction within Luxembourg. Special rules apply to the new Member States of the European Union. For a certain transitional period, free movement of workers from these countries is subject to some restrictions. Job seekers from the new EU member states are not required to complete any formality in order to obtain a work permit, it is up to the employer to apply to the competent authority. Those within the EU member states have the right to stay for three months. If they wish to stay for longer, they must be self-employed, employed or enrolled at a public or private educational institution.
For all other nationalities, a work permit must be acquired before working in Luxembourg. Travel insurance is required to accompany your visa application.
Croatian Citizens
Citizens from Croatia are under a transitional regime. It has been decided that in some sectors work permits will be readily granted to nationals from Croatia under a minimal and simplified procedure. This does not mean that work permits for Croatian nationals has been abolished however. The sectors under this parameter are agriculture, viticulture and the catering and hotel sector. For the Financial sector, people with specific qualifications for which there is a need that is not met on the labour market, the same measures of flexibility will be allowed and applied.
Visa Processing Time
It should be noted that, currently, the processing time for Visa applications is a minimum of 10 working days.