Commune

Your first government contact point is your local town hall, aka your Gemeng. Go there for “Valorlux” recycling bags, to vote, to apply for citizenship, etc. Your Gemeng may also organise language classes, clothing swaps, parties and the like. If Kleeschen (St. Nick) is coming to Luxembourg on 6 December, he might just be coming to your Gemeng.

Chamber of Employees (CSL)

Very few countries in the world have such a government body: the CSL represents the interests of private sector employees. Its plenary assembly members are chosen by ballot (called the “social elections”) and, importantly, you don’t need to be a citizen to vote. Instead of political parties, they are affiliated (or not) with trade unions.

Government initiatives

There are lots of organisations that are fully or partly government initiatives. They are typically well-funded and, obviously, exist to make a difference, so it’s worth being aware of them. Some examples are emwelt.lu (Emwelt means “environment”), Film Fund Luxembourg or Digital Lëtzebuerg.

Ministry of home affairs

All things immigration fall under the remit of this ministry, like the Blue Card scheme, whereby “highly skilled” workers (often IT specialists) can qualify for visas under certain conditions.

Embassy

And finally, your port of call for homeland business is obviously your embassy. There are 22 embassies in Luxembourg and many more consuls (general or honorary).

This article first appeared in the 2024-2025 Paperjam Expat Guide.