LuxCitizenship’s 2021 Annual Report

Growth & Milestones

On November 16^th, 2021, LuxCitizenship celebrated its 5^th anniversary. Exactly one month before this deadline, we hit the milestone of 1,000 total clients we have helped on the path to dual citizenship. On December 23^rd, 2021, we hit the milestone of 1,000 active American clients.

LuxCitizenship in Portuguese

Did you know that for every American applicant, 3 Brazilians applied to reclaim Luxembourg dual citizenship? In September, we launched a whole new version of our website for the Brazilian dual citizens moving to Luxembourg. We also added several videos!

Expansion of Our Team

In 2021, our team grew from 2 to 6! In January 2021, we welcomed Sarah Friedman as General Manager at our office in New York. Daniel and Sarah previously worked together at the Belgian-American Chamber of Commerce.

Operation From Luxembourg

Daniel spent from May-August 2021 living in Luxembourg which allowed LuxCitizenship to expand our services, build new partnerships on the ground in Luxembourg, expand our video content, and meet with Luxembourgish politicians and press about dual citizen issues.

Expansion of Our American-Luxembourgers Study

This year we launched the first survey of American-Luxembourgish dual citizens, a research report how the events of 2020 affected applications for dual citizenship, and an expansion of our annual American-Luxembourgers study. We also launched a special interactive study about the dual citizens living in Minnesota.

About the New Applicants by Article

67% of LuxCitizenship’s 2021 clients or 227 people are applying under Article 7. This is a decrease of 15% when compared to 2020, where Article 7 represented 261 people or 70% of clients. For the 227 clients from 2021, a total of 172 or 76% were able to submit their applications to Luxembourg by the end of the year. Of those, 11 or 6% have already received proof of citizenship and 161 or 94% are still waiting for a response. An additional 55 or 24% have not yet submitted their mail-in application.

Like for Article 89, this procedure is split into a first mail-in and then a second in-person phase in Luxembourg. However, unlike Article 89, these people have no deadlines. 4% of LuxCitizenship’s new clients in 2021 or 15 people are applying under Article 23. For these 15 clients, a total of 12 were able to submit their mail-in applications to Luxembourg. Of those, 5 have received a certificate from Luxembourg and an additional 7 are still waiting for a response. Of the people who received a certificate, none traveled to Luxembourg to actually apply for citizenship.

Because these individuals had to first apply before 12/31/18, our new 2021 clients completed the 1^st phase without LuxCitizenship’s help. While Article 89 represent 22% of total LuxCitizenship clients, only 7% of 2021 clients are applying under Article 89. This is equivalent to 23 people, which is a decrease of 4% when compared to 2020 (24 people, 6% of 2020 clients). Currently, we have an additional 89 Article 89 clients who are waiting to travel to Luxembourg. While the deadline has since been extended, they originally had until 12/31/2022 to do so.

Article 7/23 applicants represent 23% of LuxCitizenship’s 2021 clients or 79 people. This figure represents an increase of 5% on 2020’s 75 applicants or 20% of total 2020 clients. For our 2021 Article 7/23 clients, a total of 39 or 49% were able to submit their mail-in applications by the end of the year. Of those, 30 or 77% have already received a certificate from Luxembourg. An additional 9 or 23% are still waiting for a response. Of the people who received a certificate from Luxembourg, 6 were able to travel to Luxembourg and complete their application in 2021.

Citizenship Received by Article

Article 7

252 people or 81% obtained their dual citizenship under Article 7. This is a 681% increase compared to the 37 total Article 7 applicants who received their citizenship in 2020. Of the 252, 93 individuals or 37% submitted their applications in 2021, 139 or 55% submitted their applications in 2020, 18 or 7% submitted their applications in 2019, and 2 or less than 1% submitted their applications in 2018.

Other Procedures

An additional 9% or 29 people traveled to Luxembourg and received their citizenship under Article 89. 4 clients or 1% traveled to Luxembourg and received citizenship under Article 23.

Under the Article 7/23 combo, 26 clients or 8% of 310 received citizenship in 2021.

We fervently believe that building bridges across the Atlantic that can better facilitate collaboration between the Americas and Europe is one of the best ways to strive to reinforce the place of democratic values in our world and to overcome tomorrow’s global challenges.

We set out on this adventure as a mission-driven social enterprise in 2016. We specifically work with individuals who have ancestors from Luxembourg to establish eligibility and apply for dual citizenship in the Grand Duchy. We also strive to educate and keep these new transatlantic influencers informed about Luxembourg, the European Union and its culture, economy, and history. Once these individuals obtain dual citizenship, we also help them assess, prepare for, and accomplish building a future in Europe.

LuxCitizenship was founded by international affairs expert and entrepreneur Daniel Atz. Our LGBT-owned business is headquartered on New York City’s famous Madison Avenue.