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The American-Luxembourgers Survey
Updated: January 25th, 2023
Written by: Daniel Atz with Lauren Lowell
3,181 Americans have reclaimed Luxembourg citizenship through an ancestor alive on Jan 1, 1900. Why are so many Americans becoming Luxembourgish? 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
3,181 Americans have reclaimed Luxembourg citizenship through an ancestor alive on Jan 1, 1900. Why are so many Americans becoming Luxembourgish? 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 USA makes the story even more unique. Since we started LuxCitizenship, we’ve had a lot of questions about the people that make up this unique group. In 2018, we launched our first American-Luxembourgers study about who the dual citizens are. The more we learned, the more we asked, “why?” In 2021, we launched a public survey of the Luxembourg dual citizens.
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. They give us their feedback on their motivations for applying for dual citizenship and how they see their future in Luxembourg and Europe.
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
Why does 4,509 total Americans eligible to get dual citizenship through an ancestor alive on January 1st, 1900 matter? Well, combined with their minor children, the total numbers will be equivalent to 1% of Luxembourg’s national population.
Already today, 3,181 American adults have reclaimed Luxembourg dual citizenship through an ancestor alive on January 1st, 1900. That’s equivalent to the population of Lintgen, Luxembourg’s 51st largest town.
If all the additional 1,328 American adults make it to the Grand Duchy by the final deadline of 12/31/2025, they will equal 4,509 new Luxembourg citizens. That’s equivalent to Luxembourg’s 36th largest town Wencrange and equals the number of Luxembourgish voters living in Mersch (Luxembourg’s 13th largest town).
By the time of the next Luxembourgish elections in 2023, there will be a sizable American population 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
70% of Americans who applied for Luxembourg citizenship have received their citizenship. However, only 51% of our survey participants have already completed the process and received proof of citizenship.
Year Citizenship Was Received
Have You Received Citizenship?
Chart by Visualizer
International Experience
We asked the (future) dual citizens about their experiences outside the United States.
Whose 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?
Chart by Visualizer
Time Spent Outside the USA
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 US.
Have You Lived Abroad?
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Worked Abroad?
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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?
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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?
Chart by Visualizer
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 but our research shows that over half have no immediate plans to move. Our motivations section indicates that many of the dual citizens hope to retire in Europe.
Want to Move to the EU
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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. 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.
Chart by Visualizer
Of the “other” responses received, obtaining a Luxembourg passport was the most popular.
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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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