What your commune can do for you

Why the commune matters so much

In Luxembourg a lot of everyday life runs through your commune, the local council and town hall where you live. It’s where you register when you move in, and almost everything else (school places, childcare vouchers, parking permits, the dog, your vote in local elections) follows from that registration.

The front desk has different names in different places: Bierger-Center in Luxembourg City, Biergeramt in Esch, Biergerzenter in Bettembourg, or simply the bureau de la population. They’re all the same idea.

Every commune does things a little differently. Opening hours, fees, which documents they want and which services they offer all vary. Before you go, look at your commune’s website or phone the desk. Many procedures can also be done online on MyGuichet.lu if you have a LuxTrust or eID login.

Registering when you arrive

This is the first and most important one. You register at the commune where you’ll live, in person, with your passport or ID card.

• Arriving from another EU country (or Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland): Guichet.lu says to declare your arrival if you’re staying more than 3 months, without giving a day limit for this first step. Luxembourg City has its own rule and asks for it within 8 days of arriving there. Then, within 3 months (90 days) of arriving, you fill in the registration declaration at the same commune, with proof of why you’re here (an employment contract, for example). You get your registration certificate on the spot, and it doesn’t expire.
• Arriving from outside the EU: declare your arrival within 3 days of arriving (Guichet.lu; Luxembourg City says 3 working days), however long you’re staying. Go as soon as you can. Bring your passport, visa and your temporary authorisation to stay. The commune registers you, but your residence permit comes from the government’s Immigration Directorate, not the commune. You apply for it within 90 days, and the fee is €80.
• Bring proof of where you live: a lease, a recent electricity, water or landline bill, or a signed form from the person housing you (a certificat d’hébergement). If you have a marriage certificate or children’s birth certificates, bring them too. Documents not in French, German or English need a sworn translation.
• Moving within Luxembourg: you declare the move at your new commune within 8 days, and they tell the old one. You can do this online on MyGuichet.lu.
• Leaving the country: tell your commune no later than the day before you go.

Certificates and documents

• Residence certificate (certificat de résidence): proof of your address, often asked for by banks, employers and landlords. It’s free if you download it yourself on MyGuichet.lu. At the commune’s desk there may be a small fee. There’s also an “extended” version that lists your partner and children at the same address.
• Identity cards and passports: the commune makes these for Luxembourg nationals. If you’re not Luxembourgish, your papers here are the registration certificate (EU) or the residence permit (non-EU) described above.
• Copies of civil records such as birth, marriage and death certificates for events in Luxembourg, certified copies of documents, and legalised signatures. Esch and Bettembourg both list these. Bettembourg lets you order some online.

Getting married

Weddings in Luxembourg are civil ceremonies at the commune, and they must be held in a commune where at least one of you lives. Hand in your file at least a month before the date. Guichet.lu suggests going two or three months ahead. The banns are then posted at the town hall for 10 days. Ask your commune which documents they want, because it depends on your nationality.

Rubbish, recycling and bulky waste

This is very local, so take the example below as an example only. Your commune’s website will have a collection calendar, and it’s worth finding in your first week.

Luxembourg City, for example:

• The Resource Centre in rue du Stade takes sorted recycling and small amounts of bulky waste free of charge. It’s only for residents of the City and Strassen. You need an access card, which you get there with your ID and social security number. It’s open Monday to Friday 7:00 to 19:30 and Saturday 8:30 to 18:00.
• For bulky items at home, the City will collect on request: €20 for up to 100 kg, then €0.20 a kg. Email hygiene@vdl.lu or call 4796-3640, and it usually happens within 5 working days.
• Bins are arranged with the commune too. Esch, for example, has a page for signing up to its waste charge (taxe poubelle), and Bettembourg has a form for ordering bins. Ask your commune how it works there.

Water

Drinking water is run by the commune, and who signs the water contract differs. In Luxembourg City, the owner or the tenant can take out the contract: send the Service Eaux your move-in date with the meter reading for that day. In Esch-sur-Alzette, only the owner can apply. In flats, water is often billed to the owner or the building and passed on in your charges.

Even if the tap runs, ask who holds the water contract, and send the commune or your landlord a dated meter reading when you move in.

Parking near home

If you live in a paid-parking area, the commune issues a residential parking permit (vignette). In Luxembourg City the first one is free, a second costs €60 and a third €120. You apply with the car’s registration document in your name. Visitor permits are €16 each, up to three a year. If you move house or sell the car, the permit has to be sent back.

Esch, Bettembourg and Mertert-Wasserbillig all have their own residential parking schemes. Check yours.

The dog

Every dog has to be registered with your commune within 4 months of its birth, with the vet’s certificate (microchip, rabies vaccination) and proof of liability insurance. There’s an annual dog tax, set by each commune, with a legal minimum of €10. In Esch it’s €50 a year. If you move during the year and have already paid in your old commune, you don’t pay twice.

Children: school and childcare

• School: the commune runs enrolment for the state primary schools. Children who turn 4 before 1 September must start school, and from 3 there’s an optional early-years class. The commune normally writes to you. If you arrive mid-year, go to the commune’s school office with the birth certificate and family record book.
• Childcare vouchers (chèque-service accueil, or CSA): this lowers the cost of crèches, maisons relais and childminders, and includes 20 free hours a week (46 weeks a year) for children aged 1 to 4 in a crèche that takes part. You sign up at your own commune, not the one where the crèche is. Ask beforehand which documents to bring. Signing up doesn’t reserve a place: you still have to find one.

Help when things are hard

Every commune has a local office social, the social welfare office, sometimes shared with neighbouring communes. You can go in and ask in person, write, or email. They explain your rights, help with paperwork, make sure you’re registered with social security, and where needed give money or practical help. If you’re struggling, this is a good first door to knock on. One thing to know: EU citizens can’t get cash benefits from the office social in their first 3 months here, or while they’re looking for work if that’s why they came. Bettembourg’s page also explains the allocation de vie chère, a cost-of-living allowance for low-income households from the National Solidarity Fund.

Your vote

If you’re not Luxembourgish, you can still vote in communal elections. EU citizens need to live here, and others also need a valid residence permit. You register at your commune or online on MyGuichet.lu. The deadline is the 55th day before an election. Once you’re on the list, voting is compulsory, just as it is for Luxembourgers.

Out and about

• Libraries: many communes have one. In Luxembourg City, borrowing from the Lëtzebuerg City Bibliothèque is free. A card from a partner library (the City, Esch, Differdange, Dudelange, Ettelbruck, Mersch, Grevenmacher and others) also gives you free e-books and audiobooks in English, French and German through ebooks.lu. For English that’s the Libby app.
• Bikes: some communes hand out the card for their shared bikes. See Bike sharing outside Luxembourg City.
• Night buses: some communes support a Night Card for the Night Rider bus. In Walferdange it’s €25 a year for 16 to 26 year olds, bought at the commune.
• Clubs and events: every commune site has a list of local clubs (associations) and an events calendar. Esch even lets you add your own event to its agenda.

The quick list for your first visit

• Passport or ID card
• Your lease or another proof of address
• Marriage certificate and children’s birth certificates, with sworn translations if needed
• For non-EU arrivals: visa and temporary authorisation to stay
• Ask about: the residence certificate, bins and recycling, parking, school or childcare if you have children, the library, and any local cards (bikes, recycling centre, Night Card)