Luxembourg Citizenship Eligibility Is Changing on December 31, 2025. Take Action Now
Luxembourg Citizenship Eligibility Is Changing on December 31, 2025. Take Action Now
Updated: 16 January 2026
Written by: Daniel Atz with Lauren Lowell
We leverage Luxembourg government data to conduct in-depth analyses of the growth in the Luxembourg Dual National population and migration trends in Luxembourg. This page is updated on an ongoing basis.
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According to the Ministry of Justice, as of 31 December 2025, 41,181 adults had reclaimed Luxembourg nationality through an ancestor alive on 1 January 1900 (Article 89 of the Luxembourg Nationality Law).
This total number includes 12,661 Brazilians and 3,886 Americans, accounting for 40% of those who have recovered Luxembourg nationality through ancestry.
As of 1 September 2025, 623 American and 2,621 Brazilian adults were still eligible to apply under Article 89 until 31 December 2025. But we will only know the final number of how many people applied in the statistics release of January 2027.
These statistics do not include children under the age of 18, or those who have obtained nationality through ancestry under other parts of the law.
Because of their direct male lineage to a Luxembourg ancestor, many people have never legally lost their Luxembourg nationality. This is commonly called the Article 7 nationality procedure. The Luxembourg Ministry of Justice directly issues a certificate of nationality to these applicants proving they were born nationals. However, no statistics are published related to these nationality “recognitions”, as according to the law these people were always Luxembourgers.
Therefore, the best way to determine how many people have truly obtained nationality through ancestry is from the RNPP – National Registry of Physical Persons’ statistics. According to the RNPP, as of 31 December 2025, there are:
Luxembourg nationals living in the US
(+1,267 since 30.09.25)
(+778 since 30.09.25)
(+25 since 30.09.25)
Given current trends, we estimate that the US will overtake Germany for 4th place by the second half of 2026.
Country | Luxembourgish Nationals |
|---|---|
France | 35,623 |
Brazil | 32,144 |
Belgium | 28,563 |
Germany | 22,300 |
United States | 20,954 |
Historically, the largest concentration of Luxembourgers abroad was in Luxembourg’s neighboring countries, Belgium, France, and Germany. However, in August 2023, Brazil overtook Belgium to become the second foreign country with the highest number of resident Luxembourg nationals.
Countries | Q4 2025 | Q4 2020 |
|---|---|---|
Americas (AR, BR, US) | 53,761 (34%) | 18,092 (19%) |
Neighbors (BE, DE, FR) | 86,486 (55%) | 68,010 (71%) |
Worldwide | 156,958 | 95,904 |
RNPP data shows that over the last 5 years, the population of Luxembourgers in the Americas has increased by 360%, while the population in Luxembourg’s border countries has only increased by 39%.
Data on the Luxembourgish government’s Open Data Platform provides ongoing updates about the population of Luxembourg as well as the total number of Luxembourgers living inside the country and abroad.
Luxembourg nationals in the Americas are now equivalent to 7.8% of Luxembourg’s population and 10.2% of all Luxembourg nationals worldwide.
Put it this way, if the population of Luxembourg nationals in the United States and Brazil were communes in Luxembourg, they would be almost equivalent to:
Brazil: Differdange
(Luxembourg’s 3rd Largest Commune – 31,420 inhabitants)
United States: Pétange
(Luxembourg’s 5th Largest Commune – 21,290 inhabitants)
