The Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom has been provisionally applied since January 1, 2021. The agreement between the EU and the UK protects the interests of European citizens as well as those of businesses based in the EU and will allow further cooperation in areas of mutual interest.
With the entry into force of the new EU-UK agreement, important changes have taken place. The United Kingdom has left the Union's single market and customs union and has withdrawn from all of the Union's policies and international agreements. The EU and the UK now constitute two separate markets and two separate legal and regulatory spaces.
Following the completion of all the procedures necessary to ratify the Withdrawal Agreement, the United Kingdom had left the EU on January 31, 2020. Since February 1, 2020 a transition period was in place until December 31, 2020.
More detailed information on citizens' rights after the withdrawal is available on this website.
Citizens
The Withdrawal Agreement agreed between the European Union and the United Kingdom provides for British nationals and their family members to keep their right of residence in another EU Member state when the United Kingdom leaves the EU.
The Agreement provides for a transition period until 31 December 2020 during which the rules on the free movement of persons will continue to apply to British nationals and their family members.
People covered by the Withdrawal Agreement
In Luxembourg, the following people fall within the scope of the Withdrawal Agreement:
- British nationals and their family members (irrespective of the latter’s nationality) residing in Luxembourg at the end of the transition period;
- British nationals and their family members who acquired a right to reside or a permanent right to reside in Luxembourg and who are temporarily absent at the end of the transition period;
- Family members of a British national covered by one of the points above and arriving in Luxembourg after the transition period under certain conditions.
British nationals who are not beneficiaries of the Withdrawal Agreement and who arrive in Luxembourg after the end of the transition period are considered third-country nationals and are therefore subject to the procedures applicable to third-country nationals.
Luxembourg nationals living in the United Kingdom should contact the relevant UK authorities and consult the website of the Embassy of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg to get information regarding procedures and conditions to fulfill to get a residence/work permit in the United Kingdom after Brexit.
Right of residence and other rights
British nationals as well as their family members who fall within the scope of the Withdrawal Agreement have the same rights as EU citizens and their family members and keep these rights even after the end of the transition period provided for in the Withdrawal Agreement.
Right of residence and right of permanent residence
The right of residence is subject to the same conditions British nationals enjoyed while being Union citizens. Hence, the withdrawal of the right of residence is possible if a person becomes an unreasonable burden on the social assistance system, in the event of abuse of the rights or fraud, or for reasons of public policy or public security.
The right of permanent residence is available after five years of living in Luxembourg. It can only be withdrawn for reasons of public safety.
It should be noted that after the transition period the right of residence is only valid in the country of residence, in this case Luxembourg.
Those covered by the Withdrawal Agreement will need to apply for a specific residence document, which certifies their status as beneficiaries of the Withdrawal Agreement.
The procedures for applying for the residence document as a beneficiary of the Withdrawal Agreement for British nationals and their family members are available here:
https://guichet.public.lu/en/citoyens/immigration/plus-3-mois/ressortissant-britannique.html
Social security rights
The social security situation of people moving within the European Union is regulated by European regulations which make it possible to coordinate the social security legislation of the Member States in order to avoid the loss of social security rights in the event of movement from one country to another.
After 31 December 2020, European legislation is in principle no longer applicable in relations with the United Kingdom. However, the Withdrawal Agreement provides that European regulations on social security coordination will remain applicable to certain categories of persons, even after 31 December 2020.
These regulations will therefore continue to protect the rights of persons who exercised their right to free movement before the end of the transition period. This includes British citizens residing in Luxembourg and Luxembourg citizens residing in the United Kingdom on 31 December 2020.
In addition, the new Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom includes a Protocol on social security coordination applicable from 1 January 2021. According to this Protocol, rules quite similar to those in the European regulations on social security will in the future coordinate the social security legislation of the Member States of the European Union and the United Kingdom and will largely protect the social security rights of persons in a situation with links between the European Union and the United Kingdom.
Moreover, as permitted by this new Protocol, Luxembourg has decided to continue to apply the rules on social security coordination in its relations with the United Kingdom. Consequently, a worker temporarily posted to the United Kingdom by his employer or a self-employed person who goes to work temporarily in the United Kingdom will be able to remain covered by the Luxembourg social security scheme provided that the duration of the temporary activity in the United Kingdom does not exceed 24 months.
More detailed information can be found at guichet.lu:
Other rights
British nationals and their family members covered by the draft Withdrawal Agreement will keep the same rights as EU citizens in Luxembourg in the following areas:
- Access to the Luxembourg job market, including public sector jobs;
- Recognition of academic (register of qualifications) and professional qualifications (recognition for access to a regulated profession);
- Financial aid/support for higher education.
Contact
For questions on the right of residence:
Directorate of immigration: Contact
For questions on social security:
Ministry of Health and Social Security: Contact
For questions on the recognition of qualifications and financial support for higher education:
Ministry of Research and Higher Education: Website
For questions related to the access to careers in the public service:
Ministry of the Civil Service: Contact
Useful links:
Q&A regarding the right of residence on guichet.lu
Businesses - British workforce
Access to the labour market for British nationals residing in Luxembourg
The Withdrawal Agreement agreed between the European Union and the United Kingdom provides that British nationals and their family members, who fall within the scope of the Withdrawal Agreement, will have the same rights as Union citizens with respect to access to the labour market.
British nationals and their family members who reside in Luxembourg and are in paid employment in Luxembourg at the time of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal may therefore continue to work after the United Kingdom’s withdrawal. They do not need a specific authorisation and do not need to take steps to be able to continue working.
British nationals and their family members, who reside in Luxembourg at the time of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal also have the right to begin a salaried activity after the United Kingdom’s withdrawal without having to apply for a specific authorisation. The residence document of the persons concerned will remain valid until it is replaced by a new residence document, which will certify their status as beneficiary of the Withdrawal Agreement.
British nationals, and their family members, who arrive in Luxembourg after the United Kingdom’s withdrawal and before the end of the transition period (31 December 2020) can also freely access the labour market.
Persons who are family members of a British national residing in Luxembourg before the end of the transition period and who arrive in Luxembourg after the end of the transition period (from 1 January 2021) are also beneficiaries of the Withdrawal Agreement under certain conditions. They are therefore entitled to free access to the labour market. Upon arrival, they will receive a residence document, which will certify their status as beneficiary of the Withdrawal Agreement.
British nationals arriving after the transition period, who are not fulfilling the abovementioned conditions, do not enjoy the right of free access to the labour market. These persons will be subject to the rules governing access to the labour market for third country nationals. They must therefore apply for a residence permit for one of the categories provided for by the law of 29 August 2008 on the free movement of persons and immigration (as amended), which allows them to exercise a salaried activity.
Access to the labour market for British nationals who are 'frontier workers' (cross-border workers)
A ‘frontier worker’ is any worker who is employed on the territory of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and resides in the territory of another State, to which he in principle returns every day or at least once a week.
British nationals residing either in another EU Member State or in the United Kingdom and working in Luxembourg are authorised to engage in paid employment in Luxembourg, if the salaried activity begins before the end of the transition period. The frontier workers concerned may request a document attesting their right to exercise their salaried activity in Luxembourg after the end of the transition period.
Further details are available on guichet.lu.
British nationals who reside either in another EU Member State or in the United Kingdom and who wish to start work in Luxembourg after the transition period will be subject to the rules governing access to the labour market for third country nationals. They must therefore have a work permit to work in Luxembourg and must wait for the work permit to be issued before they can start work.
British trainees
British nationals wishing to do an internship in Luxembourg after the United Kingdom’s withdrawal may do so without having to obtain a specific authorisation. They are subject to the general rules on the right of residence for British nationals as provided for in the Withdrawal Agreement. These conditions are similar to those applicable to citizens of the Union, both for a stay of less than three months and for a stay of more than three months. This applies in principle to all British nationals staying in Luxembourg at the time of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU, and to British nationals arriving during the transition period provided for in the Withdrawal Agreement.
British nationals who have started an internship before the United Kingdom’s withdrawal can continue their internship after the United Kingdom’s withdrawal. They do not need a specific authorisation and do not need to take any particular steps.
British nationals arriving after the transition period who are not beneficiaries of the Withdrawal Agreement are considered third country nationals. They must therefore have a residence permit for one of the categories provided for by the law of 29 August 2008 on the free movement of persons and immigration (as amended), which enables them to do an internship in Luxembourg. This also applies to British nationals enjoying a right of residence under the Withdrawal Agreement in another Member State, as the right of residence as provided for by the Withdrawal Agreement is valid only in the country of residence.
The explanations given in the three previous paragraphs also apply to third country nationals, who are family members of a British national.
Posting of workers
A ‘posted worker’ according to article L.141-1 paragraph (3) of the Labour Code, is any employee normally working abroad and carrying out his work on the territory of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, for a fixed period for the execution of the service provision for which the contract of service provision was concluded.
Any employee posted to the territory of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, regardless of his nationality, must be declared as soon as work begins on Luxembourg territory by his employer whose headquarters are established outside the territory of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, according to the Article L.141-1 of the Labour Code.
As part of its inspections, the Inspectorate of Labour and Mines (Inspection du Travail et des Mines - ITM) checks whether the posted worker has, where applicable, a residence permit in accordance with article L.142-3 point 10 of the Labour Code.
Contact
For questions on the right of residence:
General Department of Immigration: Contact
For questions on the posting of workers:
Ministry of Labour, Inspectorate of Labour and Mines: Contact and website
For questions on the notification of a service provision/establishment permit:
Ministry of Economy: Contact
For questions about the processing and protection of personal data:
National Data Protection Commission: Contact
Useful link:
You will find further information in Q&A format on guichet.lu