Everything you need to know about acquiring Luxembourgish Citizenship
As people frequently have to prove a certain proficiency in the Luxembourgish language when applying for Luxembourgish citizenship, we get questions about the citizenship process all the time.
If you've lived in Luxembourg for at least 5 years, you'll have to take the language exam (and likely fulfil a few other conditions) to receive Luxembourgish citizenship. The language exam to receive Luxembourgish nationality requires the A2 level in speaking and the B1 level in listening comprehension. In other words, you don't have to speak Luxembourgish like a native but you need to be able to have a decent conversation about current everyday topics like your line of work, your hobbies, culture, your family, and so on. The requirements for your listening comprehension are higher, so you have to be able to understand Luxembourgish news stories or slightly more complex dialogues between people.
We have recently also had confirmation from the Ministry of Justice that you don't need to wait until your 5 years of residency are up before taking the Sproochentest. You can take the Sproochentest anytime, and once your residency requirements have been met, you can apply for citizenship with the Sproochentest passed already.
How long does it take to be able to pass the language exam for nationality?
Although I have seen a few exceptions of people who went from zero to passing the exam within three months, this is, and I say this with love, not feasible for the average human being :) Based on my experience, two years is a reasonable time frame to expect in order to be able to pass the nationality exam. I've seen shorter than that, and I've seen longer than that, but two years seems to be the average of time that passes between the start of studies and the passing of the exam. Doing it in 6-12 months is possible but requires a lot of work, discipline and practice.
If you can, give yourself at least a year before you try the exam. After all, you are learning how to speak a new language. If you've ever learned a foreign language in your school days, try to remember how fluent you were after 6 months - likely not very fluent. And it's true, now you are an adult with a better sense of work ethics, still, you also probably have a life, a job and/or a family who all compete for your attention as you're trying to learn Luxembourgish. If you can, give yourself at least a year or just be aware of the amount of work required to do it in less time.
What does the language exam entail?
The language exam is composed of two parts:
an oral exam consisting of a) small talk about topics of the A2 level, such as introducing yourself or others, describing your heritage/culture, talking about your hobbies/work, talking about the weather,…; and b) describing a picture.
The listening exam makes you listen to three stories in Luxembourgish to which you then have to fill out a multiple choice questionnaire.
There is no written component in either of the exams.
How do you prepare for the language exam?
All our courses are laid out in such a way so as to maximize your time in order to pass the nationality exam. Our aim is to try to teach you as much as possible in as short a time as possible. There are four main courses: A1 Basics, A1 Conversation, A2.1 Conversation and A2.2 Conversation. Most people are ready to take the exam after that, if not, we supplement with private lessons and/or TWAL courses(TWAL = Talk With A Luxembourger).
The exam itself, also called Sproochentest, is organized by INL: http://www.inll.lu/nationalite/sproochentest-letze...
You can take your language lessons to prepare for the exam at any language school of your choice.
If you're about 2-3 months away from your Sproochentest, we offer a set of 10 private lessons to specifically practise the tasks of the exam. We've had over 30 of our students who have passed the exam in the last year alone and we frequently get feedback as to the topics that came up. If you'd like to know more, please email me: learnluxembourgish@gmail.com
For people who have lived in Luxembourg for a very long time
If you've lived in Luxembourg for at least 20 years, you don't have to take the language exam, but instead, you'll need to participate in 24 hours of Luxembourgish lessons. We have received our certification from the Luxembourg Ministry of Education to hold these 24 hours of lessons. If you'd like to know more, please email me: learnluxembourgish@gmail.com
If you're wondering what requirements you might have to fulfil to receive Luxembourgish citizenship, the Ministry of Justice in Luxembourg has a free hotline you can call with your questions (tel.: 8002 1000, email: nationalite@mj.public.lu). You can also read more on the Guichet website, or consult the actual law.
For people who don’t live in Luxembourg at all
If you are a non-resident, for example, if you live in the US, Canada, Brazil, Paraguay,... and would like to look into acquiring Luxembourgish citizenship, feel free to check out the services provided by LuxCitizenship: www.LuxCitizenship.com. Find out more about the 1465 Americans who have reclaimed Luxembourgish Citizenship and watch the RTL TV documentary with English subtitles about one of our students, New Yorker Daniel Atz, who has helped hundreds of Americans with Luxembourgish roots recover their Luxembourgish citizenship: https://www.luxcitizenship.com/1465-americans-have-gained-luxembourgish-citizenship-in-last-10-years/
Did you know we sometimes offer Skype courses to learn Luxembourgish at times more suitable for people living on the American continent? Check out our current class times for beginners here.