Luxembourg, decoded for the people moving here.
In-depth, source-checked guides to banking, tax, housing, schools, healthcare, work and cross-border life in the Grand Duchy — written by someone who lives it, updated when the rules change.
Where would you like to start?
Eight topics cover roughly everything a new arrival, cross-border worker or relocating family needs to understand in their first year.
Moving to Luxembourg
The first 90 days: residence registration at the commune, social security number, EU vs non-EU paths, bringing family, recognising diplomas.
Money & Banking
Opening an account as a non-resident, the realistic options (BIL, BGL, Spuerkeess, Banque de Luxembourg, ING, Post, plus Wise/Revolut/N26), wealth management thresholds and cash transfer rules.
Tax, properly explained
Tax classes 1, 1a and 2, the impatriate regime, how cross-border days are counted, the annual declaration and what actually gets deducted from a Luxembourg payslip.
Housing & Property
Renting (deposits, garantie locative, agency fees), buying (notary, registration duty, Bëllegen Akt), mortgages, and a neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood guide to Luxembourg City and beyond.
Work & Salaries
Reading a Luxembourg contract (CDI / CDD), the 13th month, notice periods, the indexed minimum wage, sector pay benchmarks, freelance status (indépendant) and CCSS registration.
Family & Schools
The choice between public (multilingual), European Schools, international schools and private bilingual options — plus crèches, maisons relais, child benefit (allocations familiales) and parental leave.
Healthcare & Insurance
How the CNS works, what's reimbursed and what isn't, why almost everyone takes complementary insurance (CMCM, DKV, Foyer), choosing a doctor, and emergency numbers that actually matter.
Transport & Daily Life
Free national transport, the tram network, P+R parking, driving licence exchange, importing a car, and the cross-border lines from Thionville, Arlon and Trier.
A country smaller than Rhode Island, surrounded by three.
Luxembourg is 2,586 km² — about an hour's drive top to bottom. Most jobs are in the capital and Kirchberg, most cross-border workers arrive from Thionville (FR), Arlon (BE) and Trier (DE).
Working in Luxembourg, living abroad.
Nearly half the workforce commutes from a neighbouring country every day. The tax, social security and remote-work rules are different for each.
From France
Mostly via Thionville and Metz. The 2023 tax convention raised the tolerated remote-work threshold to 34 days per year — what it actually means in practice.
Read the France guide →From Belgium
Arlon, Athus, Aubange. The Belgian tolerance for remote days is its own framework — and reporting in Belgium is non-negotiable even when the tax is paid in Luxembourg.
Read the Belgium guide →From Germany
Trier and the Eifel. German residents face the strictest remote-day threshold and the most complex Kirchensteuer / health insurance interaction with Luxembourg's CNS.
Read the Germany guide →Recently updated guides.
How to actually open a Luxembourg bank account as a non-resident
Which banks accept non-residents, the documents you'll be asked for, realistic timelines, and what to do if you're rejected.
TaxTax classes 1, 1a and 2 — and why marrying changes everything
A worked example showing exactly how the same gross salary nets out under each class, plus the cross-border non-resident wrinkle.
HousingRenting in Luxembourg: deposits, agency fees, and the questions to ask
What the garantie locative legally caps at, when agency fees are split, and the clauses landlords slip in that you should refuse.
SchoolsChoosing a school: public, European, international or private
The honest trade-offs — including waiting lists, language pathways, fees and what happens when your child arrives mid-cycle.
WorkReading a Luxembourg payslip, line by line
CCSS, FNS, dependency contribution, tax retained at source — every deduction explained with a real example.
HealthcareThe CNS, explained — and why people still buy complementary insurance
What the public system actually covers, the reimbursement workflow, and the maths on whether CMCM, DKV or Foyer is worth it.
Frequently asked.
The questions people search for most before moving. Each answer links to the in-depth guide.
Do I need a visa to move to Luxembourg?
EU, EEA and Swiss citizens can move freely and register at their local commune within three months. Non-EU nationals normally need a residence permit — for employment, study, family reunification or self-employment — applied for at the Immigration Directorate before arrival. The exact path depends on your nationality and purpose. Full breakdown →
What are the official languages, and what do I actually need?
Luxembourgish is the national language, French is the language of legislation, and German is used widely in media and administration. In practice: French gets you through almost everything administrative, English dominates finance and the EU institutions, and Luxembourgish is required for naturalisation. Languages, decoded →
Is public transport really free?
Yes — since 1 March 2020 Luxembourg has been the first country in the world with free national public transport. That covers buses, trams and second-class trains everywhere in the country. First-class trains and cross-border services still require a ticket. How it works in practice →
How much do I need to earn to live comfortably?
Housing dominates. A single person renting in Luxembourg City typically needs a gross salary clearly above the national median; families generally aim for the upper quartile or move to commuter areas in France, Belgium or Germany where rents and house prices are dramatically lower. Realistic cost-of-living numbers →
Can I work in Luxembourg and live in France, Belgium or Germany?
Yes. Around 47% of the country's workforce does exactly that. Tax is generally paid in Luxembourg under bilateral conventions, with country-specific rules on tolerated remote-work days and EU regulation 883/2004 governing social security. The rules differ materially between the three countries. Cross-border overview →
How long does it take to feel settled?
Most arrivals describe the first three months as bureaucratic (commune registration, social security number, bank account, housing), the next six as adjustment, and the second year as the point where the country starts to feel like home. A practical 90-day checklist is here: First 90 days →
Written by someone who moved here. Updated when the rules change.
World.lu is an independent publication. No paywalls, no AI-generated filler, no affiliate-driven rankings. Guides are written from primary sources — STATEC, the ACD, the CCSS, official journals, EU regulations — and each one carries a visible "last reviewed" date so you know whether it survived the last legal change.