Luxembourg is one among the 18 EU states that operate a Golden visa scheme in Europe. Between 2008 and 2022, only six golden visas were granted. Five chinese and one australian have been granted visas for investment, according to latest immigration figures from Luxembourg Government reveals. After 2017, not even a single golden visa was issued.
Luxembourg golden residence scheme received only little interest from foreign investors, as real estate investments directly or indirectly do not qualify for Golden visa in Luxembourg. Luxembourg provides the same investor rights like any other GV program in Portugal or Greece.
“It is currently not a priority to end the investor residency scheme,”
Ministry said, according to Luxembourg Times
New provisions of Golden visa law, relating to residence authorization for “investors” have been introduced in the law of August 29, 2008, part of the diversification policy of the economy, encouraging entrepreneurship and repositioning Luxembourg as the financial center. The GV program aims to attract new quality investors to Luxembourg to invest for example capital transfer or creation of businesses, “family office” type structures or companies, wishing to manage their investment fund assets from the Luxembourg. The Grand Duchy regulation of December 5, 2017 determines the sectors of the economy open to investors.
The following three investments are eligible for Golden residence permit in Luxembourg. The residence permit issued for investments are valid for 3 years. Applicants undergo medical checks, security check and anti-money laundering. The examination of residence permit applications for investors takes 3 months.
1.Investment Structures
This type of investment is examined by Ministry of Finance.
- investing at least EUR 3,000,000 in an existing or new investment and management structure, which will have its registered office in Luxembourg together with an appropriate structure; or
- investing at least EUR 20,000,000 in the form of a deposit with a financial institution established in Luxembourg and committing to maintain this investment for a period of at least 5 years.
2.Deposit in Financial Institutions
This type of investment is examined and verified by Ministry of Finance.
- be of an amount higher than or equal to EUR 20,000,000;
- be provided by either the applicant or by another investment structure of which they are the beneficial owner;
- consist of 100% equity (i.e. no borrowed funds). They can however consist of cash (euros or foreign currencies) or financial instruments;
- be free from any liens, pledges, collaterals, mortgages, or other security of any nature whatsoever and restricting the applicant’s full ownership.
3.Companies
This type of investment is examined and verified by Ministry of Economy.
- At least EUR 500,000 in an existing company with its registered office in Luxembourg an commit to keep for a duration of at least 5 years: their investment and level of employment which must be equivalent to the level at the time of the investment (in the case of an acquisition of a company in difficulty and under a redundancy plan, the aforementioned requirement does not apply); or
- At least EUR 500,000 in a new business still to be created, with its registered office in Luxembourg and at least 5 work positions which must be created within 3 years of the incorporation of the business. The recruitment of staff must be in collaboration with the National Employment Agency (Agence pour le développement de l’emploi – ADEM);
Conditions
- All funds managed by the investment structure must be deposited in Luxembourg.
- The beneficial owner of the investment structure must also be either the applicant for the investor residence permit, or their spouse or legal partner.
- Finally, the activity of the investment structure must not have as its main objective a direct or indirect real estate object.
Family members covered by family reunification are:
- The spouse or registered partner of the foreign investor; and
- Unmarried children under the age of 18 of the foreign investor and/or his/her spouse or partner.
Security checks are in place for investments made. The investor residence permit is linked to an annual monitoring of the investment project for the entire period of validity of the residence permit.
Application Refusals
Article 101 of the Immigration Law provides the general reasons for refusing the issuance or renewal of the residence permit of third-country nationals (thus, including investors). These reasons are:
- That the third-country national does not have the necessary permit to stay and reside in Luxembourg;
- That the third-country national is considered a threat to public order, security or health;
- Documents used in the application or the permit granted appear to have been fabricated, forged, falsified or tampered with;
- That the third-country national has used false or misleading information or has resorted to fraud or other illegal means to enter and stay in Luxembourg or to enable the entry and stay of another third party;
- That the third-country national has been prosecuted and condemned abroad for a crime or misdemeanour for which the sanction is the extradition of the person concerned in accordance with the relevant laws and treaties on extradition;
- The third-country national is subject to an expulsion order
As of 2023, Ireland, United Kingdom, Hungary have terminated their Golden Visa schemes. Netherlands made a decision to abolish in 2024.
