Luxembourgish nationality after 20 years: the 24-hour course route

After 20 years of legal residence in Luxembourg you can acquire nationality by option with a 24-hour introductory Luxembourgish course, with no Sproochentest and no Vivre ensemble exam. The course is organised by the Service de la formation des adultes (SFA) or by an approved provider, and the SFA stamps your certificate before it goes into your file.

The 20-year route at a glance

Article 28 of the law of 8 March 2017 sets the route. Guichet.lu lists it as case no. 6 of the ten option cases.

20 years of residence: option or naturalisation?

A candidate with 20 years behind them also meets the five-year residence condition of naturalisation in article 14. The two routes then differ in what they ask for and how fast they decide:

The option route asks for conversation-level Luxembourgish and no test. The naturalisation route asks for the Sproochentest certificate, which INLL states is valid for an unlimited period. Both are laid out in the naturalisation guide and the guide to all option routes.

What the 24-hour course teaches

Article 28(2) gives the course one aim: an introduction to Luxembourgish in oral expression and oral comprehension. The Ministry of Education's approval framework for providers without an SFA agreement, in its version of 15 July 2025, turns that aim into a programme:

• Objective. You introduce yourself and communicate with simple means in everyday situations.
• Speaking. Greetings and polite formulas, introducing yourself or another person, numbers, dates and times, simple instructions, wishes and preferences, a simple description of your day, your work and your leisure, the weather, and common verbs in the present tense.
• Listening. Greeting formulas, simple information about yourself, other people and daily life, numbers, times and places, and short instructions and wishes.
• Reading. Short, simple texts with information and instructions.

The same framework sets the rules an approved provider follows:

A programme approved for article 28 cannot certify a level of the Common European Framework, so your certificate states that you attended the course. The framework recognises only full attendance of a single cycle and does not add up hours from different cycles, so enrol in one course and attend it to the end.

How to choose an approved course

Look for the official mention on the course page: "Cours visant à offrir une initiation à la langue luxembourgeoise en expression orale et en compréhension de l'oral, conformément à l'article 28 de la loi modifiée du 8 mars 2017 sur la nationalité luxembourgeoise".

• The approved list. The Ministry of Education publishes a PDF, in French, of 29 organisations with an approved programme. It includes the communes of Differdange, Mamer, Sanem and Strassen, the Chambre des salariés, language schools and non-profit organisations.
• Current offers. The ministry points to unipop.lu and lifelong-learning.lu for the courses on offer today.
• INLL courses. INLL states that, under article 28, its courses do not give a certificate valid for a nationality application. Only courses organised by the SFA, or run under a programme the minister approved, do.
• A more advanced course. If you completed a higher Luxembourgish course, send that certificate to the SFA. It assesses case by case whether the course meets or exceeds the introductory course.
• Doubts. Write to nationalite.sfa@men.lu to confirm that a course falls under article 28.

What the course costs

Guichet.lu states that there is no fixed registration fee for the 24-hour course: each organiser sets its own fee. The State reimburses the registration fees of the article 28 course up to 750 euros (article 15 of the regulation of 22 July 2019), and up to 1,500 euros when a reasonable accommodation applies. You send the claim, with proof of payment, after you submit your nationality application to the civil registrar. The fee reimbursement guide lists the documents.

From certificate to nationality, step by step

1. Finish the course. The provider certifies your attendance of the 24 hours.
2. Have the certificate validated. Send the original certificate and a pre-stamped envelope with your address to the Service de la formation des adultes, Bâtiment Terres Rouges, 14 porte de France, L-4360 Esch-Belval. It returns the certificate with an official seal.
3. Gather the documents of article 34. A full copy of your birth certificate, a copy of your valid passport (or another identity or travel document), a signed biographical notice, your authorisation to request criminal record bulletin No 2, criminal record extracts from the countries of your nationality and from the countries where you lived from age 18 during the previous 15 years, and the validated course certificate. Documents not in French, German, English or Luxembourgish need a translation by a sworn translator or a foreign public authority.
4. Appear before the civil registrar. Go in person to the registrar of your commune of residence, or of the City of Luxembourg if you live abroad. You sign the declaration yourself, and signature by proxy is not permitted. If documents are missing, you have three months to supply them.
5. Wait for the ministry. The registrar sends the file to the Ministry of Justice. The declaration takes effect four months after receipt unless the minister cancels it, and the registrar notifies you with the acquisition date written on the declaration.

If the registrar refuses to record the declaration, Guichet.lu explains that you can appeal to the Minister of Justice within one month of the notification.

Good repute

Acquiring Luxembourgish nationality always depends on good repute. The registrar refuses the declaration, and the minister cancels it, for false statements, concealed important facts or fraud. The registrar also refuses it after a criminal sentence, a custodial sentence of 12 months or more, or a suspended sentence of 24 months or more. A foreign conviction counts only when the same facts are an offence in Luxembourg law, and a sentence counts only if it was fully served less than 15 years before the declaration and the person was not rehabilitated. A cancellation for fraud brings a 15-year ban on a new procedure (article 38).

Get ready for the course with daily Luxembourgish

The course starts from simple spoken Luxembourgish, so the more you have heard and said before the first lesson, the more each of the 24 hours gives you. MoienLab matches that starting point:

• The free level test shows your level in 12 questions across A1, A2 and B1, in under 8 minutes, with no account.
• The six free lessons start on the same ground as the course: greeting and thanking someone, introducing yourself, numbers and contact details, family, work and a morning routine, directions and appointments, and ordering in a café.
• Full Access continues with appointments and time, weather and small talk, the doctor, shopping and work, 57 lessons in total from A1.1 to B1, with A2 oral practice and photo description.

MoienLab Full Access runs for 12 months with one payment and no subscription. If you decide to document your Luxembourgish with the Sproochentest instead, the same lessons carry you to the exam, and the language requirement guide and the levels guide show how the levels fit together.