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LUXEMBOURG
1. INVOLUNTARY RETURN
1.1 POLICY
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LUXEMBOURG
Immigration has played a significant part in the economic and social development of Luxembourg
over the past few decades. To date, 38 pe rcent of its current population are foreigners, the
majority of whom originate from other EU Member States, and about 5 per cent from third countries
outside the EU.
As a country with low levels of unemployment, Luxembourg has traditionally welcomed
migrants, mainly from within the EU, to meet the demands of its labour market – and more
recently also other third-country nationals. Immigration has therefore not been a big issue, and
the integration of labour migrants has been actively encouraged, with regularization occurring
very soon after migrants’ arrival.
The only law that regulates immigration is the 1972 Law on the Entry and Residence of Foreigners,
which has undergone very little change since its adoption.
Since the late 1970s, Luxembourg has had an administrative framework to deal with asylum
seekers and other foreign nationals, which was different from the way migrant workers were
dealt with. In the early 1990s, immigration and asylum procedures in Luxembourg changed with
the arrival of refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina following the outbreak of conflict there.
In order to cope with the influx of new arrivals, the government introduced a temporary protection
status, then referred to as humanitarian status, which granted a provisional authorization to
reside and work in Luxembourg for six months. This permit could be renewed twice. However,
in light of the persistently high levels of asylum applications from other countries of the Former
Yugoslavia, this permit was abandoned after some four months, but continued to be available to
those able to prove they originated from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Subsequent refugee arrivals from Kosovo and Serbia and Montenegro coincided with the adoption
in April 1996 of a Law on Asylum Procedure, which was later amended in March 2000.
With the passing of the Asylum Law, unsuccessful asylum seekers were supposed to be
expelled. But involuntary returns have not been successfully enforced in Luxembourg in recent
years. In order to correct this deficiency in the asylum system, a regularization campaign was
initiated in 2001, targeting migrants who could prove they were residing in Luxembourg before
1 July 1998 or had been working illegally in the country since 1 January 2000. Nationals from
Kosovo were entitled to be regularized if they could prove residence before 1 January 2000. This