Moving to Luxembourg: a practical checklist

Use this as a list to tick off. Each step says who you deal with, what to bring, the deadline where an official page gives one, and where to check. Communes run some things differently, so your own commune’s website always has the last word.

Pick your route first. The commune steps depend on where you’re coming from:

You are…	First step	Official deadline
Moving within Luxembourg	Declare your move at your new commune (or on MyGuichet.lu). It tells the old one.	Within 8 days of moving in
An EU, EEA or Swiss citizen arriving from abroad, staying more than 3 months	Declare your arrival at the commune, then complete the registration declaration there	Registration within 3 months (90 days) of arriving. Luxembourg City also asks for the arrival declaration within 8 days (a City rule)
A non-EU citizen arriving from abroad	Get your temporary authorisation to stay before you arrive; declare your arrival at the commune; then apply for your residence permit	Arrival: within 3 days (Guichet.lu; Luxembourg City says 3 working days). Residence permit: within 90 days

Details: What your commune can do for you.

Before you move

1. Non-EU, staying more than 90 days: get your temporary authorisation to stay (and a visa D if you need one) before you arrive.
   Who: the Immigration Directorate (Ministry of Home Affairs) · Bring: passport and the documents listed for your situation · Deadline: before arrival
   Official page Our guide
2. Read the lease. Check the rent, the charges (an advance or a flat rate), the deposit, and which of heating, water, electricity and bins are paid through the charges.
   Who: landlord or agency · Bring: the lease
   Official page
3. Check internet at your exact address and order early. Ask for an activation estimate and whether they lend a 4G box while you wait. See Internet, mobile and landline below.
   Who: the operator · Bring: full address, floor and flat number · Deadline: none official
   Compare offers (SmartCompare)
4. If fibre work is needed, get permission from the landlord and, in a block of flats, the co-ownership (syndic).
   Who: landlord; syndic
   Official page
5. Choose an electricity supplier and sign a contract from your move-in date. The regulator advises doing it before you move in. See Electricity, heating and water.
   Who: a supplier · Bring: address; later the meter and POD numbers
   Compare offers (Calculix)
6. Ask whether the moving van needs a reserved parking space. Each commune has its own rules. In Luxembourg City you apply at least 5 working days ahead and put up the no-parking signs at least 24 hours before; Lorentzweiler asks for 10 working days.
   Who: your commune
   Luxembourg City example
7. Moving within Luxembourg? Redirect your post from the old address.
   Who: POST · Bring: ID or a MyPost account · Deadline: at least 3 working days before the start date. Parcels aren’t redirected.
   Official page
8. Pets: check the microchip, pet passport and rabies vaccination. The first rabies vaccination is valid only after 21 days. From outside the EU, ask about a rabies antibody test.
   Who: your vet; ALVA
   Travel rules (LAK) Our dog guide
9. Children: international and private schools have their own admissions, so contact them early. For state school, the commune enrols your child.
   Who: the school; your commune · Bring: birth certificate, family record book
   Official page Our guide

When you receive the keys

1. Do the written check-in inventory (état des lieux), signed and dated by you and the landlord. It’s mandatory when you pay a deposit.
   Who: you and the landlord · Deadline: no later than move-in
   Official page
2. Photograph the meters (electricity, water, gas or heating) with the date, and note the electricity meter number and POD number (usually near the meter).
   Who: you
   Official page
3. Send your electricity supplier the meter and POD numbers, if you haven’t already.
   Who: your supplier
4. Water: find out who holds the contract (you or the owner) and send the move-in reading.
   Who: the commune’s water service, landlord or syndic
   Luxembourg City example Our guide
5. Ask how the home is heated (a building boiler, gas, electric, oil, heat pump or district heating) and whether you pay it through the charges or with your own contract.
   Who: landlord or syndic
6. Ask where the bins are, who supplies them and which days they go out.
   Who: landlord, syndic or commune
   Collection app Our guide

Your first days

1. Declare your arrival at the commune (arriving from abroad).
   Who: your commune (Bierger-Center, bureau de la population) · Bring: passport or ID (non-EU: visa or authorisation to stay); marriage certificate or family record book; children’s birth certificates; proof of address. Sworn translations if not in French, German or English. · Deadline: non-EU within 3 days (Luxembourg City: 3 working days); EU: within 8 days in Luxembourg City (no day limit on the national page for this step)
   Official page Our guide
2. Moving within Luxembourg: declare the move at your new commune, or online on MyGuichet.lu.
   Who: your new commune · Bring: ID; proof of address · Deadline: within 8 days of moving in
   Official page
3. Get a residence certificate if your employer, bank or landlord asks for one.
   Who: your commune or MyGuichet.lu
   Our guide
4. Set up your bins: get Valorlux blue bags, find your collection calendar and turn on reminders. See Bins and recycling.
   Who: commune or syndic; Valorlux
   Blue bags Our guide
5. Get a local SIM if you need one (prepaid or a plan).
   Who: a mobile operator · Bring: ID
   Compare offers
6. Know where to go for urgent care, for you and for any pets.
   Health Paying the doctor Pets

Your first month

1. Check your social security letter has arrived. Employees: your employer registers you with the CCSS, and the confirmation with your 13-digit number comes by post. Self-employed: you register yourself.
   Who: employer; CCSS
   Official page Our guide
2. Not working? Ask about being co-insured through a family member, or about voluntary health insurance.
   Who: CCSS
   Official page
3. Register your dog with the commune.
   Who: your commune · Bring: vet certificate (chip, rabies), proof of liability insurance · Deadline: within one month of moving from abroad or to another commune
   Official page Our dog guide
4. Childcare: sign up for the childcare voucher (CSA) at your own commune, and separately apply for a place with crèches or maisons relais. They’re two different steps.
   Who: your commune; the childcare provider
   Official page Family & kids
5. School: arriving mid-year? Enrol at the commune’s school office for state school.
   Who: your commune · Bring: family record book or birth certificate
   Our guide
6. Residential parking permit, if your street needs one.
   Who: your commune · Bring: the car’s registration document in your name
   Luxembourg City example Our guide
7. Find your recycling centre and whether you need an access card. Not every commune has one, and some take only residents of certain communes.
   Who: commune or syndicate
   Map of centres Our guide
8. Tell your bank, employer, insurers and providers your new address.

Once you’re settled

1. EU, EEA or Swiss: complete the registration declaration and get your registration certificate.
   Who: your commune · Bring: ID; proof for your situation (an employment contract, for example) · Deadline: within 3 months (90 days) of arriving
   Official page Our guide
2. Non-EU: apply for your residence permit (fee €80) and book the appointment for photo and fingerprints.
   Who: the Immigration Directorate · Bring: passport; arrival declaration; proof of housing · Deadline: within 90 days of arriving
   Official page
3. Register a car you’ve brought with you. The steps go in order: number plate if needed, insurance, tax stamp, customs, then an SNCA appointment.
   Who: SNCA and customs · Deadline: within 6 months of your arrival declaration
   Official page Our guide
4. Driving licence: a licence from outside the EEA must be converted within one year of moving here (possible from 185 days; fee €30). EEA licences only need action in specific cases.
   Who: SNCA
   Official page
5. Check what support you may qualify for. See below.
6. Owners planning work: run the Klima-Agence simulator and check the conditions before you commit. Some work needs approval before it starts.
   Who: Klima-Agence (free advice line 8002 11 90)
   Simulator
7. Expect the yearly charges statement from your landlord or syndic, and ask for the receipts if anything is unclear.
   Official page
8. Think about registering to vote in communal elections.
   Our guide

Internet, mobile and landline

• Mobile: a SIM for your phone. You can usually get one straight away, prepaid or on a plan.
• Home broadband (fibre, or cable or DSL where there’s no fibre): a fixed connection to your address, with a router. It depends on what’s installed in the building and may need a technician.
• Landline: a fixed phone number. Today it usually comes with the internet box (some fibre offers include one), so it’s not a separate installation.

Compare offers on the regulator’s independent tool, SmartCompare, which covers internet, mobile and fixed phone. Coverage maps and a connection test are on myilr.lu.

Providers (check your exact address on each one’s site):

• POST (and its fibre eligibility test, which gives an estimated date if your address isn’t ready yet)
• Orange
• Tango
• Luxembourg Online
• Eltrona

Good to know:

• No installation time applies to everyone. Ask your provider for an estimate for your address, and whether the line can simply be switched on or needs a technician.
• Ask the landlord or seller whether there’s a working fibre socket in the flat.
• Activation, installation and equipment charges vary by operator and offer. Read the contract summary you get before signing.
• Several operators lend a 4G box or SIM while you wait. Ask.
• Contracts: the commitment can’t be longer than 24 months. After that you can cancel any time with one month’s notice (ILR). Leaving earlier can cost a lot.

Electricity, heating and water

Electricity. You choose a supplier and sign with it; the network operator (Creos for most addresses; Diekirch, Ettelbruck and Sudstroum run their own) looks after the lines and the smart meter. Households get one bill from the supplier. Sign before you move in: if a home has no contract, the meter can be switched off. Give the supplier your meter number and POD number. The person moving out reads the meter on moving day for their final bill.

• Compare offers on Calculix, the regulator’s tool for electricity and gas at your postcode.
• Household suppliers on the ILR list include Energy Revolt, Enovos, LEO, NordENERGIE, Steinergy, SUDenergie and Sudstroum. Full list (ILR).

Heating. Heating and gas are often in the rental charges. Ask how the home is heated and whether you pay it through the charges or with your own contract. Calculix covers gas offers too.

Water. The commune runs the water, and the rules differ. In Luxembourg City, the owner or the tenant can sign the contract; in Esch-sur-Alzette, only the owner can. Even if the tap runs, ask who holds the contract and send a dated meter reading. More in the commune guide.

Charges. Charges are usually advances. Your landlord must send a yearly breakdown with the receipts, which can lead to an adjustment.

Bins and recycling

In your first days, find out:

• who supplies your bins. In Luxembourg City the building owner or syndic orders them; in Esch you contact the commune for private bins and the syndic for shared ones; in Bettembourg residents can order them with a form;
• which day each kind of waste goes out. The free Mäin Offall app has the calendar and reminders for more than 88 communes; otherwise use your commune’s calendar;
• where to get Valorlux blue bags: from your commune, the Valorlux shop or partner service stations;
• which recycling centre you may use, and whether you need a card. Not every commune has its own, and some centres take only residents of certain communes;
• how bulky items are collected. Often by appointment, and sometimes paid.

Bin colours are local. In most places glass goes in green and food waste in brown, but Bettembourg uses brown for glass and green for organic waste. Always go by your commune’s information.

Everything else (what goes in which bin, bottle banks, hazardous waste, fines): Sorting your waste and recycling.

Check what support you may qualify for

Rules, amounts and timing change, and each scheme has conditions. Check the official page before you sign or start any work.

• Rent subsidy from the Ministry of Housing, for tenants on the private market whose rent is a large share of their income. Applications are open all year. Guichet.lu
• Other housing aid, including help with a rental deposit: overview on Guichet.lu.
• Childcare vouchers (CSA) at your commune: Guichet.lu.
• Your commune’s social office can help if things are hard, including with energy bills. Commune guide.
• Home owners: the Klima-Agence simulator shows state, commune and energy-supplier aid for renovation, heat pumps, solar and more. Free advice: 8002 11 90. Some aid needs approval before work starts.
• Commune schemes: many communes add their own grants. Ask yours.

Things people wish they had known

• Internet can take a while. Have you ordered it before moving, and asked whether you can borrow a 4G box meanwhile?
• The lights are on, but is the contract in your name? Sign with a supplier from your move-in date.
• Who pays for the water: you or the owner? It depends on the commune.
• Are your charges an advance? Expect a yearly statement and an adjustment.
• Do you know which recycling centre you can use? Your address decides, and some need a card.
• Booked the bulky-item pickup? It’s often by appointment, and sometimes paid.
• Registered at the commune, so is your child in school or childcare? Not automatically: the CSA voucher and a crèche place are separate steps.
• Done the inventory in writing, with dated meter photos? It protects your deposit.
• Does the moving van need a reserved space? Ask your commune well ahead.
• Post redirected at least 3 working days ahead? Parcels aren’t included.