This is the main finding of the research paper published by the Parliament’s Scientific Unit on the voting rights of Luxembourgers living abroad. As at 31 March 2026, the National Register of Natural Persons (Registre national des personnes physiques or RNPP in French) recorded 160,116 Luxembourgers living abroad, representing 30.2% of the 530,953 Luxembourg citizens listed on this register. The Scientific Unit estimates that a maximum of 4.6% of Luxembourgers resident abroad actually took part in the 2023 parliamentary elections. And this figure could, in fact, be closer to 2.5%, as the available statistics do not allow for the precise identification of votes cast solely by expatriates officially resident abroad.
This difference is due to the fact that not all Luxembourgers living abroad are covered by the legal system. Some remain registered in a Luxembourg municipality – students, diplomats, military personnel or people who have never deregistered – whilst others are officially resident abroad.
The former are automatically registered on the electoral roll, remain subject to compulsory voting and may vote either at a polling station or by post. The latter group, which forms the focus of this study, do not appear on any electoral register. They are not subject to compulsory voting and can only take part in parliamentary elections by submitting an application to vote by post to their local authority.
Postal voting is showing its limitations. Unlike many European countries, Luxembourg does not allow its expatriates to vote at embassies or consulates, nor electronically or by proxy. Expatriates officially resident abroad must apply, before each election, to be eligible to vote by post. The “vast majority” of them do not do so.
Pathways to integration
How can a diaspora that has grown to a significant size online be sustainably integrated into an electoral system designed primarily for resident voters? In its report, the Unit does not recommend any reforms. However, it examines various scenarios as potential avenues for change.
These include the possibility of making the right to vote conditional on maintaining a genuine link with Luxembourg, for example, by requiring a minimum period of prior residence, limiting the time spent abroad, or demonstrating genuine ties with the country. Another, more ambitious option is the creation of one or more electoral constituencies reserved for Luxembourgers living abroad, similar to those that exist in France and Italy, for example. Other scenarios focus on the practical arrangements for casting a vote.
An issue set to gain momentum
By providing a particularly comprehensive legal, demographic and comparative overview, the Scientific Unit highlights a reality that policymakers will sooner or later have to face: Luxembourg’s political community is no longer synonymous with the national territory. Luxembourg continues to define its electorate on the basis of nationality, whilst citizens’ places of residence are rapidly becoming more international.
A legal framework which, for the time being, ensures the diaspora’s political influence. But if this demographic influence were to continue to grow, the question of its representation could quickly become a genuine subject of constitutional and democratic debate. This line of thinking directly concerns the definition of the electorate and, beyond that, the very concept of Luxembourgish citizenship.
At present, France, Belgium and Germany are home to more than half of all Luxembourgers living abroad, whilst there are also large communities in Brazil and the United States.
