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The American-Luxembourgers Survey
Updated: July 2nd, 2023
Written by: Daniel Atz with Lauren Lowell
We now know that the Luxembourg citizens living in the United States are already equivalent to 2% of the Grand Duchy’s population, with more to come. Why are so many Americans applying for Luxembourgish citizenship? This is the first survey to measure how these new dual citizens see Luxembourg and their future in Europe.
The American-Luxembourgers Survey
Updated: January 25th, 2023
Written by: Daniel Atz with Lauren Lowell
We now know that the Luxembourg citizens living in the United States are already equivalent to 2% of the Grand Duchy’s population, with more to come. Why are so many Americans applying for Luxembourgish citizenship? This is the first survey to measure how these new dual citizens see Luxembourg and their future in Europe.
Background
There’s no doubt about it. Americans applying for dual citizenship in another country is not all together that common. Luxembourg being such a small country by comparison to the United States makes the story even more unique. Since we launched our first American-Luxembourgers study in 2018, we’ve had a lot of questions about the people that make up this unique group. So we decided to ask them to speak for themselves.
The following is the first of its kind survey of the American-Luxembourger dual citizens. 131 (future) dual citizens responded to our publicly available survey.
The responses come from roughly 50% LuxCitizenship clients and 50% other American-Luxembourger dual citizens.
American and Brazilian Luxembourg dual citizens talk about how they see Luxembourg in their future.
Let’s Put It in Perspective
The number of Luxembourg citizens in the United States has grown from 3,375 in 2018 to 14,111 Luxembourg citizens in 2023. Why does that matter? Today’s number is equivalent to 2% of Luxembourg’s national population.
That’s equivalent to the population of Bettembourg, Luxembourg’s 8th largest commune.
However, if we estimate that 70% of these total citizens are adults and therefore eligible to vote, the number of eligible Luxembourgish voters in this group (9,595) would be equivalent to the total in Pétange (9,713), Luxembourg’s 5th largest commune.
As of Luxembourg’s upcoming elections in October 2023, there is now a sizable new American “city” in Luxembourg’s central electoral circumscription that didn’t exist in the last elections of 2018. With this quick shift, we think it’s important to understand these new Luxembourgers.
Key Findings
Having analyzed the results of our survey conducted in November 2021, we have highlighted some general findings.
Of all the American Luxembourgers who participated in our studies, there are several key takeaways that the majority had in common:
1. 85% of the respondents want to learn Luxembourgish
2. There is a real interest in moving to Luxembourg or the EU one day
3. For most of the dual citizens, this move would not be in the short term but later in life
4. Some dual citizens are interested to move in the next five years and many are multilingual
Citizenship Status
We asked the respondents if they have already received their dual citizenship or if they have not yet completed the process.
Finishing the Process
At the time of our survey in 2021, 56% of eligible American applicants to reclaim Luxembourg citizenship through an ancestor alive on January 1st, 1900 (Article 89) had completed their application process. However, only 51% of our respondents had completed their process. This was primarily due to Covid-19 travel restrictions.
Year Citizenship Was Received
Have You Received Citizenship?
International Experience
We asked the (future) dual citizens about their experiences outside the United States.
Who’s Been to the Grand Duchy?
Although only 43% of our respondents had fully obtained dual citizenship, 57.3% had already been to Luxembourg. That means that some applicants had already visited Luxembourg before applying for citizenship. This already indicates that this is a mobile group.
Traveled to Luxembourg?
Time Spent Outside the United States
Just under 36% of the survey respondents have lived outside of the United States. Over 27% have worked abroad in some capacity. These are both very high figures in comparison with the national average in the United States.
Have You Lived Abroad?
Worked Abroad?
Multilingualism
The US is famously monolingual. Most people in Luxembourg speak 4-5 languages. Where do the dual citizens land?
Speak a Foreign Language?
22.9% of the dual citizen respondents speak a foreign language fluently. This number is only slightly higher than the national average in the US (20%).
Do You Speak a Foreign Language?
Schwätzt Dir Lëtzebuergesch?
The dual citizens reflect the national US average of around 20% speaking a foreign language. Despite this, the number of dual citizens interested to learn Luxembourgish is overwhelming.
LearnLuxembourgish.com is a wonderful resource to start learning Luxembourgish
Interested in Learning Luxembourgish?
Interest to Move
Do these new dual citizens plan to put their Luxembourg passport to use? How do they see their future in Europe?
Packing Bags: Are American Luxembourgers Headed to the EU?
79.4% of our dual citizen respondents expressed interest in moving to the EU. However, our research shows that over half have no immediate plans to move. Our motivations section indicates that many of the dual citizens hope to eventually retire in Europe.
Want to Move to the EU
Luxembourg’s National Broadcaster RTL interviews two American-Luxembourgers about their plans to move to Luxembourg in the future.
The Sweet Spot
Well over half of the American-Luxembourgers who self-identified as multilingual have lived and worked abroad. Nearly half of them have plans to move to Luxembourg or the EU within the next five years.
All Respondents: When To Move?
Multilingual: Lived Abroad?
75
Multilingual: Worked Abroad?
71
Multilingual: Move to EU (1-5 years)?
46
Did you know…
While 79% of the American Luxembourger survey respondents expressed interest in moving to the EU, over 90% of our Brazilian Survey participants expressed interest in moving to Luxembourg or the EU. While Americans expressed interest in moving “later in life”, Brazilians were much more likely to express interest in moving in the next few years.
Application Motivations
What drove these Americans to apply for Luxembourg dual citizenship?
Dual Citizenship Motivations
We gave respondents a list of common motivators to apply for Luxembourg citizenship. They indicated which motivators were part of their decision making process. Our participants overwhelmingly listed reasons that would provide them and their families more opportunities in the future.
Main Motivations for Applying for Dual Citizenship
About These Motivators
Over 80% of participants in this study listed “Pride in my Luxembourgish heritage” and/or “Desire to reconnect with the land of my ancestors” as primary motivators.
Of the “other” responses received, obtaining a Luxembourg passport was the most popular.
Congratulations! You have completed reading our study on the American Luxembourgers.
Interested in reading LuxCitizenship’s other case studies? Check out our overview page to navigate all our studies, available in multiple languages.
Congratulations! You have completed reading our study on the American Luxembourgers.
Interested in reading LuxCitizenship’s other case studies? Check out our overview page to navigate all our studies, available in multiple languages.
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