Status security scores 94, close to the maximum in the index. There is no visa for remote work, and access to entry drops to 56.
On paper Luxembourg is one of the most predictable options in our sample. Foreigners make up about 47% of residents, the state recruits skilled workers, and the annual reviews of the European Migration Network record only easing: since September 2023 a worker's spouse may work straight away, with no labour market test. The higher Blue Card threshold of 2026 applies only to new applications; cards already issued were left alone.
The weak point is getting in, not living there. Without a job offer from a local employer the way is almost closed: there is no remote-work visa, the Blue Card threshold is high, and the employer has to pass a labour market test. The state does not publish refusal statistics, so you cannot judge your odds in advance.
We found no pressure on legal foreign residents: no campaigns, no raids, no retroactive revocations. The law lists the grounds for withdrawing a permit, and before any decision on public order grounds the minister must weigh how long the person has lived in the country, their family, health and ties to their home country.
Losing your job does not cancel the card automatically. Registering as a jobseeker with ADEM and receiving unemployment benefit helps you keep the status, and a renewal during that time is granted for one year instead of three; the law sets no fixed job-search period. You may change employer in the first year, but changing profession or sector in that year needs the minister's approval. A renewal filed on time lets you live and work until the decision.
Day to day, you declare your arrival at the commune after moving, which is simple. Banks open accounts for residents, but customer checks are strict. No integration courses are required for a residence permit; Luxembourgish matters only for citizenship, and the state offers free classes. Family reunification needs only stable income around the minimum wage and decent housing, but the law gives the agency up to 9 months to decide.
The index score ignores nationality. This is what changes for citizens of specific countries.
Visa-free entry for up to 90 days within 180, as across the Schengen area. To live and work, the same route through a local employer or the Blue Card.
No permit needed at all: EU free movement rules give the right to live and work, and the labour market test does not apply.
EU temporary protection has been extended to 4 March 2028. Since 31 July 2026 new applicants must show they left in line with their military obligations; people who already hold the status are not affected.
When we checked on 9 August 2026 we found no direct nationality restrictions on the salaried worker permit: the official list of residence types is set by purpose, not by passport. Banks apply EU sanctions limits on payment instruments for citizens of these countries.
The place interval 6-15 shows where the country lands when the data is nudged and the index is recalculated. One place of difference in the table means nothing; a difference of a league means something.
The thin mark on each bar is the average across 97 countries
The strongest category here is Status security: 94 out of 100, against a 97-state average of 57.9. The weakest is Access to entry: 56 against 65.7. Above the world average: 6 out of 7.
All 97 states are calculated for one applicant: 35 years old, income of $2,500 and $3,856 a month before tax, passport not counted, the most accessible route that is actually in use.
Your passport, your income and your family do not change the table. They change which of its lines apply to you. A different income makes entry read differently, a family makes the family category read differently, and your passport makes everything read differently.
The ministry has up to 4 months to decide, 2-4 months in practice for a complete file. With the ADEM vacancy declaration, the D visa, the medical and the card, the whole path takes 3-6 months.
Only as a self-employed person, with a separate permit for independent workers. Luxembourg has no visa for remote work for a foreign employer.
Applying is free; the salaried worker card costs €80, and the same for every renewal. For a family of three, about €720 over five years.
After losing a job you can keep the status by registering as a jobseeker with ADEM and receiving benefit; a renewal during that time is granted for one year. We found no retroactive revocations.
Long-term resident status after 5 years of continuous residence. Citizenship also after 5 years, with dual nationality allowed; you need the Sproochentest (speaking at A2, listening at B1) and the "Vivre ensemble" course.
Almost half the population is foreign, legal residents face no pressure, and rules are not changed retroactively. The hard part is getting in: without a local employer, moving there is difficult.
97 states, 26 indicators, seven categories, 2,522 scores. Every score has a source and a source class: primary means the texts of laws and government portals; reliable secondary means reports by international organisations, tax reviews by audit firms and specialist legal publications; weak means community posts and single secondary sources. The classes add up to a confidence level for the country, and a country with low confidence gets neither a score nor a place.
Every indicator is scored against a fixed ruler, not against its neighbours. Adding new countries therefore does not move the old ones, and a change in a score means a change in policy and nothing else.
A high place does not mean a good country. It means one thing: the state machine treats newcomers predictably and by the rules. Living there may be expensive, dull or hot; that is not our question.
Checked 01/10/2026. Facts come from the country's index card and official websites.
We make mistakes and we will go on making them: policy changes faster than any database. Our answer is not a pose of infallibility but a visible trail of corrections. Every correction is published: what it was, what it became, the source and the reason for the error. The corrections log opens with the second issue, together with the first block of changes.