Before you arrive: documents and your residency basics
Your first month in Luxembourg depends on a small set of documents, so gather them before you travel. Bring a valid national identity card or passport, and, if you have them, family documents such as marriage and birth certificates, which first-time registrants need at the commune. If you are moving for work, carry a dated and signed employment contract, permanent, fixed-term or interim, or a firm written commitment to hire.
Your obligations depend on your nationality. Citizens of the EU, the EEA and Switzerland move under free movement and face lighter formalities. Third-country (non-EU) nationals face tighter deadlines and usually need residence authorisation arranged in advance. The steps below note where the two paths diverge.
Week one: declare your arrival at the commune
The single most time-sensitive task is the declaration of arrival at the population office (Bureau de la population) of the commune where you now live. EU, EEA and Swiss citizens must declare their arrival within 8 days of entering the country. Third-country nationals must register within 3 working days. The deadline is short, so treat this as your first errand.
In Luxembourg City the declaration is made at the Bierger-Center, 44 place Guillaume II / 2 rue Notre-Dame, L-2090 Luxembourg, open Monday to Friday 08:00 to 17:00 (phone +352 4796-2200, bierger-center@vdl.lu). Bring your identity card or passport plus proof of residence at your new address: a signed lease, an accommodation certificate from the owner or occupant, or a recent utility bill. Procedures vary slightly by commune under communal autonomy, so check your own commune's page if you live outside the capital.
- EU, EEA and Swiss citizens: declare arrival within 8 days.
- Third-country nationals: register within 3 working days.
- Take: valid ID or passport, proof of address, and family certificates if registering for the first time.
Also in week one: your social security number, started by your employer
You do not register yourself for social security. When you start a job, your employer must declare you to the Centre commun de la sécurité sociale (CCSS) within 8 days of hiring. That single declaration also triggers your health insurance affiliation with the Caisse Nationale de Santé (CNS) automatically.
After affiliation you receive a social security card by post in roughly three weeks. It carries your 13-digit national identification number, the matricule. This one number serves as both your social security number and your tax identification number. Its first eight digits encode your date of birth in year-month-day form, and the last two are check digits. Keep the card, because almost every later step asks for the matricule.
The registration certificate, if you are staying past three months
EU, EEA and Swiss citizens staying longer than three months must, in addition to the arrival declaration, apply for a registration certificate (attestation d'enregistrement) at the commune within three months of arrival. A salaried worker needs a copy of a valid ID or passport plus a dated, signed employment contract or a firm commitment to hire. The certificate is issued on the spot and is valid for an unlimited period.
Two details often catch people out. A part-time job of less than 10 hours per week counts as a secondary activity and is not enough to obtain the salaried-worker registration certificate. The certificate itself is a plain document: it shows your name, address, registration date and a certificate number, with no photo and no mention of nationality.
First weeks: bank account, phone, health insurance and tax card
With your address and matricule in hand, the practical setup is quick. Most newcomers handle these four items in the first fortnight.
- Bank account. Major banks include Spuerkeess (BCEE), BGL BNP Paribas, BIL, ING and Post Finance. You generally need a valid passport or ID, proof of your Luxembourg address dated within the last 3 months, your matricule or tax number, and often an employment contract. Full functionality such as cash withdrawals usually needs an in-branch identity check.
- Phone. Every prepaid SIM bought in Luxembourg must be registered against an identity document, mandatory since the Law of 7 June 2017 and applying to everyone. As of 2026, prepaid starts from about €3 to €5 (Orange Hello), about €5 (Tango) and about €10 for 30 days (POST TipTop). Tango's monthly prepaid bundles run roughly €10 (Pack M) to €20 (Pack L, around 10 GB).
- Health insurance (CNS). Cover is automatic once your employer declares you. As of 2026 the employee health-insurance contribution is roughly 3.05% of gross salary, matched by the employer. The system reimburses: you typically pay upfront, then the CNS refunds most of it. A standard GP consultation, tariff about €59.50, is reimbursed around 88%, leaving you roughly €7. Children under 18 are reimbursed at 100%.
- Tax card. The tax card (fiche de retenue d'impôt, RTS), issued by the Administration des contributions directes, sets how much tax is withheld from your salary. New employees get one automatically after the employer's CCSS registration. Since 2022 it is electronic and sent directly to your employer, so there is no paper card to hand over. The main classes are Class 1 (single with no dependent children), Class 1a (single parents and widowed people with children) and Class 2 (married couples, or where at least 90% of household income is earned in Luxembourg).
Settling in: transport, groceries and costs
Public transport in Luxembourg is free, while food and housing are relatively expensive. Since 1 March 2020 Luxembourg has made buses, trams and trains free nationwide, for residents and non-residents alike, with no ticket needed. Plan journeys with mobiliteit.lu, the free official journey planner. In Luxembourg City the Night Bus runs free every Friday and Saturday, roughly 21:30 to 03:30, about every 15 minutes. The main paid exception is first-class rail: as of 2026, CFL first-class singles are €3 short-distance or €6 long-distance, with a monthly first-class network season ticket at €60 and an annual one at €500. Second class is free.
Groceries run higher than in neighbouring countries, often by 20 to 30%. A single person's grocery bill is estimated around €280 to €390 per month as of 2026. The main chains are Cactus, Auchan, Delhaize, Aldi and Lidl, with open-air markets and discounters noticeably cheaper for fresh produce. Housing is the largest single cost: a room in a shared flat (colocation) typically runs between about €800 and €1,200 per month, and in Luxembourg City you should budget around €900 or more, in a very tight market. Overall, a single person commonly spends around €1,900 to €3,100 per month including rent.
- Free: all second-class buses, trams and trains nationwide.
- Paid: first-class rail only (from €3 single, as of 2026).
- Budget: groceries around €280 to €390 a month; a shared-flat room from about €800.
- Plan trips with mobiliteit.lu (website and app).
Meeting people and making friends in your first month
Arriving is largely administrative, but settling in socially takes more deliberate effort. Newcomers commonly use InterNations Luxembourg, which runs monthly events including dedicated newcomers' evenings, and the Luxembourg Language Exchange Meetup, where people practise French, German, English and Luxembourgish over drinks. Clubs such as the American Women's Club are also active. Learning at least one of Luxembourgish, French or German measurably speeds up integration, and a language group doubles as a way to meet people.
If part of settling in is finding the right flatmates rather than just a room, Ayla is a WhatsApp-based flatmate-matching service in Luxembourg built around that.