1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites
Live TV
Latest audioLatest videos
In focus
IranIsrael-Hamas warIndia elections

Luxembourg: Opportunities for illegal immigrants

January 21, 2013

Luxembourg wants to stop the employment of illegal immigrants. But before doing so, the country intends to issue more residence permits.

https://p.dw.com/p/17OXe
Luxemburg's old town skyline is seen from across the deep gorge that runs through the city in July, 1996. The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg doesn’t get a lot of turns in the spotlight. It’s an independent country tinier than Rhode Island, the smallest U.S. state, and it would fit inside Germany, its neighbor to the east, 138 times with room to spare. It won no medals at the 2012 London Olympics; its only gold came at the 1952 Helsinki Games, in the men’s 1,500 meters. But this week is Luxembourg’s turn to shine. Prince Guillaume, the heir to the throne _ the grand duke-to-be _ will marry the Belgian Countess Stephanie de Lannoy. It will be a two-day affair, including fireworks, concerts, a gala dinner at the grand ducal palace, and two marriages between the betrothed _ a civil wedding Friday afternoon and a religious ceremony Saturday morning. (Foto:Paul Ames/AP/dapd)
Image: AP

A one-off legalization campaign for non-EU citizens currently living and working illegally in the grand duchy runs out at the end of February. The hurdles for getting a residence permit are high. Only people who can prove they have been working in Luxembourg for at least nine months and have an open-end work contract can get the new permit. Employers of foreign nationals living illegally in the country will in future risk prison sentences of up to a year.