There is quite a lot of buzz claiming that December 31, 2025, marks the final deadline to reclaim Luxembourg citizenship. Whether you’re reading online content or even speaking with some Luxembourg officials, you might be led to believe that this is the end of all citizenship-by-ancestry options.
That said, no person who has started a Luxembourg citizenship application since January 1, 2019, has been subject to this deadline.
However, with just 70 days remaining, if you’re considering applying for Luxembourg dual citizenship through ancestry, we strongly recommend taking action before December 31, 2025.
While the currently available pathways to Luxembourg citizenship have no legal deadlines, the rapidly changing European citizenship landscape suggests that now is the time to secure your position.
Understanding the Article 89 Deadline
On December 31, 2025, the Article 89 “Recovery of Luxembourg Citizenship” program officially comes to an end. This pathway, which required a direct ancestral link to a Luxembourg citizen who was alive and held Luxembourg nationality on January 1, 1900, stopped accepting new applications on December 31, 2018.
Important: If you did not submit an Article 89 application before January 1, 2019, this deadline does not directly affect you. However, it represents something much more significant: a clear signal that citizenship laws can and do change.
Your Pathways to Luxembourg Citizenship Remain Open
All of our clients in recent years have successfully pursued Luxembourg dual citizenship through alternative pathways that remain fully available:
Article 7 – Paternal/Maternal Lineage Recognition
- Direct lineage to a male ancestor born in Luxembourg
- Or maternal lineage if you were born after January 1, 1969
Article 23 – Citizenship by Option
- Parent or grandparent who is or was a Luxembourg citizen
- Requires an in-person trip to Luxembourg
Article 7/23 Combination Process
- For more complex ancestry situations
- Living or deceased parent/grandparent with all-male lineage to a Luxembourg ancestor
- Requires travel to Luxembourg
For a more complete overview of these eligibility pathways, please visit our Eligibility Page.
Why We’re Recommending Action Before December 31, 2025
While the remaining pathways to Luxembourg citizenship are not ending on December 31, several converging factors make it prudent to begin your application now.
The European Citizenship Landscape Is Changing Rapidly
Throughout 2025, we’ve witnessed unprecedented changes to ancestry-based and other dual citizenship programs across Europe:
- Italy ended its ancestry citizenship policy literally overnight in March 2025.
- Portugal has significantly reformed its ancestry-based programs in recent years, with a complete end to its Sephardic heritage pathway expected to be voted on within days.
- Spain closed its Democratic Memory Law ancestry citizenship pathway in October 2025.
- France and Germany have also announced modifications to their nationality policies, making naturalization more complex, with longer integration periods and stricter language standards.
These developments reveal a clear continental trend toward tightening citizenship access.
Luxembourg’s Legislative Pattern
Since approximately 1960, Luxembourg has modified its nationality law roughly once every eight years on average.
The last major reform occurred in 2017, meaning we are now completing the eighth year since that reform—placing us squarely within the historical window for potential legislative changes.
Political Perception vs. Legal Reality
Many Luxembourg politicians and officials believe that all ancestry citizenship programs end on December 31, 2025.
While this reflects a common misunderstanding of the nuanced legal pathways that remain available, such perceptions can influence future legislative discussions.
When policymakers believe a program is ending, they are often less motivated to preserve alternative pathways. In previous legislative sessions, all of Luxembourg’s political parties have voted against extending the Article 89 “Recovery of Luxembourg Citizenship” program, the most visible of these routes.
The Advantage of Early Application in Luxembourg’s System
Here’s something many people don’t know about European citizenship programs:
Even an incomplete application submitted before a final deadline counts as being on time—sometimes even just a signed letter of intent.
In Luxembourg’s administrative system, what matters most is having an application on file before any potential deadline.
Supporting evidence and documentation can be provided later, so long as the initial application was submitted in time.
Our Commitment: A Nimble Response to Potential Changes
As always, once a client signs up and submits their required information, one of our first steps is producing the official application letter.
Beginning November 15, 2025, we will ask all clients to sign and upload their application letters to our system as soon as possible. This ensures we have a signed application letter on file for every client—ready to send to Luxembourg immediately if any legal changes are announced (as was the case in Italy earlier this year).
This agile approach means that anyone under contract with LuxCitizenship by December 31, 2025 will be positioned to move forward successfully, even in the event of legislative changes to Luxembourg’s dual citizenship programs.
The Reality: No One Can Predict Legislative Changes
We don’t have a crystal ball. We can’t say with certainty whether Luxembourg will change its citizenship laws in 2026, 2027, or later.
What we can say is this:
- The European trend is unmistakable—citizenship laws are becoming stricter.
- Luxembourg’s legislative history suggests updates to the nationality law are due.
- Italy proved that changes can happen with virtually no warning.
- Political misunderstanding of the current law could accelerate reform discussions.
Take Action Now
If you’ve been considering Luxembourg dual citizenship through ancestry, this is your moment.
Not because your pathway is ending on December 31, 2025—it isn’t.
But because securing your position now, while the law is clear and the pathways remain open, is the wisest approach given the current European context.
The window of certainty is closing. The opportunity remains open. The choice is yours.
Don’t wait for headlines about changes. Act while the path is clear.
