Luxembourg nationality law is ruled by the Constitution of Luxembourg. The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is a member state of the European Union and, therefore, its citizens are also EU citizens.

Nationality by birth

Luxembourg law generally follows jus sanguinis with limited jus soli provisions. Citizenship is automatically given to:

Naturalization

Naturalization is permitted, subject to the following conditions:

Acquisition of nationality by option

Luxembourg law also provides for the possibility to acquire nationality by option, which is a separate legal concept from naturalization. Obtaining nationality by option is permitted in the following ten cases: All of the options also have the same "good repute" requirements as for naturalisation, i.e. the applicant must not have made any false statements in conjunction with the request for citizenship or have been issued an immediate custodial sentence of 12 months or more or a suspended custodial sentence of 24 months or more, in any country, if that sentence was not fully served within the fifteen years before the application for acquiring citizenship.

Recovery of citizenship

It is also possible to "recover" or "reclaim" Luxembourg nationality if a person can prove that they have an ancestor who was a Luxembourg citizen as of 1 January 1900. The Luxembourgish diaspora at the time moved to France, Belgium and the USA. As of January 2022, a total of 31,151 people had claimed citizenship since the passing of the 2008 law, of which more than 11,000 were Brazilian nationals. The final deadline to reclaim citizenship for some qualifying individuals was moved to December 31, 2022 because of the Covid-19 Pandemic. This has in part contributed to a considerable increase in the number of people eligible to vote in legislative elections, with 23,992 new voters counted between the 2018 and 2023 elections. In light of this evolution, ahead of the 2023 election, representatives of most major parties, such as Piraten deputy Sven Clement and déi Gréng deputy Djuna Bernard travelled to Florianopolis, Brazil to co-organize an election information event, an action which some, such as déi Lénk deputy Nathalie Oberweis, criticized as unnecessary and overly expensive. Ultimately, only 188 of the 19,000 eligible voters registered to vote, by post, in the election.

Loss of nationality

A Luxembourg citizen aged 18 or over may renounce their citizenship at any time, free of charge, provided that doing so would not render them stateless. A Luxembourg citizen who became such by naturalization, option or recovery may be stripped of their citizenship if it emerges that they obtained it by making false statements or through a marriage of convenience, provided that such an action would not render them stateless.

Multiple citizenship

Since 1 January 2009, Luxembourg has allowed multiple citizenship. Since then, many Belgians have made use of the new law to adopt Belgian-Luxembourg citizenship, especially Belgians living in Arelerland, a part of the Belgian province of Luxembourg at the border with the Grand Duchy.

Citizenship of the European Union

Because Luxembourg forms part of the European Union, Luxembourg citizens are also citizens of the European Union under European Union law and thus enjoy rights of free movement and have the right to vote in elections for the European Parliament. When in a non-EU country where there is no Luxembourg embassy, Luxembourg citizens have the right to get consular protection from the embassy of any other EU country present in that country. Luxembourgish citizens can live and work in any country within the EU as a result of the right of free movement and residence granted in Article 21 of the EU Treaty.

Travel freedom of Luxembourg citizens

Visa requirements for Luxembourg citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of Luxembourg. In 2015, Luxembourg citizens had visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 171 countries and territories, ranking the Luxembourg passport 3rd in the world according to the Visa Restrictions Index. In 2017, Luxembourg nationality is ranked sixteenth in Nationality Index (QNI). This index differs from the Visa Restrictions Index, which focuses on external factors including travel freedom. The QNI considers, in addition, to travel freedom on internal factors such as peace & stability, economic strength, and human development as well.