Student Visa for Luxembourg: Type D Visa, Funds, Residence Permit

Fee figures: catalogue of 6 October 2026.

Immigration in Luxembourg is handled by the General Directorate of Immigration at the Ministry of Home Affairs. This guide covers degree students and follows the official Guichet.lu pages as of October 2026. Rules and forms change, so treat the official pages at the end as the final word.

EU, EEA and Swiss students

You need no visa. For a stay of more than 90 days you must be registered with an approved public or private education institution in Luxembourg and hold health insurance. You must also show that you have enough resources not to become a burden on the social welfare system. For students, the commune accepts any proof of resources, and an oral declaration is allowed. You declare your arrival and register at the commune where you live, and the registration form must be filed within 3 months of arrival.

Non-EU students: the two steps

The official procedure has two consecutive steps.

Before you travel, apply for a long-stay visa, type D, at a Luxembourg diplomatic or consular mission in your country of origin or residence. Long-stay visas can only be issued by Luxembourg or Belgian embassies, and applications made from inside Luxembourg are inadmissible.
After you arrive, declare your arrival at your commune, take a medical check-up and apply for the residence permit before the visa expires.

You apply only after you hold an admission letter, because proof of admission is part of the file. One wrinkle: the university's admission pages, captured in March 2026, still describe a temporary authorisation to stay that the admitted student requests from the ministry by post, with a file that must arrive before 1 July. The ministry's own page, updated on 1 October 2026, describes the visa route above. Follow the instructions in your admission letter and ask the Admission Office if the two differ.

Documents for the type D visa

The official list includes:

a valid passport, all pages;
a criminal record extract from your country of residence, dated within the last 3 months, if you are an adult;
proof of admission to a higher education institution in Luxembourg;
proof of sufficient resources: at least 80 percent of the social inclusion income per month. A student grant or loan certificate, a bank certificate, or a statement of support signed by a guarantor who lives in Luxembourg all count. A guarantor must cover living, study and health costs for at least one academic year, plus the return trip;
travel health insurance valid in the whole Schengen area, covering medical treatment including hospitalisation, repatriation for medical reasons and funeral costs, for the entire duration of the visa;
parental authorisation if you are under 18.

Documents not in English, French or German need an official translation by a certified translator. The size of the required monthly amount is discussed in the cost guide.

Timing and the permit

The ministry says it normally answers within 60 days, and that silence for 3 months means the application is rejected. An approved visa D is valid for 6 months. After you arrive:

declare your arrival at the commune within 3 days, with your passport and, if you have one, proof of address. Without a legal address no residence permit can be issued;
take the medical check-up, made up of a general medical examination and a tuberculosis screening, as soon as possible;
apply for the residence permit online through MyGuichet.lu or by post, attaching your passport, the arrival declaration and proof of housing. The official page says the application must be filed no later than 3 months before the visa expires;
when approved, pay the 80 euro issuance fee and book the appointment for photograph and fingerprints.

Because the process takes weeks, also read the arrival checklist.

Working and staying on

Third-country students may work up to 15 hours a week on average per month outside study time. The limit does not apply to paid work during school holidays. Before hiring you, the employer must file a declaration with the immigration authority, and you simply present your student residence permit.

After a Master's degree or doctorate earned in Luxembourg, you can apply for a 12-month, non-renewable permit for job search or business creation. The application is due at least 30 days before your student permit expires. The page lists the Master's or doctorate as the qualifying degree, so a bachelor's alone does not open this route.

Official sources

Always check current information on the official website of the university before you apply.