The Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom was applied provisionally as of January 1, 2021 and entered into force on May 1, 2021.
The agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom 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 agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom, 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 The United Kingdom has left the Union's single market and customs union and has withdrawn from all of the Union's policies and international agreements.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 European Union and the UK now constitute two separate markets and two separate legal and regulatory spaces.
As a reminder, following the completion of all the procedures necessary to ratify the Withdrawal Agreement, the United Kingdom had left the European Union on January 31, 2020. Between February 1, 2020, and December 31, 2020, a transition period has been in place.
More detailed information on citizens' rights after the withdrawal is available on this website.
Citizens
By virtue of to the Withdrawal Agreement agreed between the European Union and the United Kingdom, British nationals and their family members, beneficiaries of the Withdrawal Agreement, keep their right of residence in another Member State of the European Union after the United Kingdom has left the European Union.
The Agreement provided for a transition period until 31 December, 2020, during which the rules on the free movement of persons have continued 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 latters' 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 have arrived in Luxembourg after the end of the transition period, i.e. after December 31, 2020, 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 British 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 Union citizens and their family members.
Right of residence and right of permanent residence
The right of residence is subject to the same conditions as the right of residence for 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 on grounds of public policy or public security.
The right of permanent residence is available to British residents after five years of living in Luxembourg. It can only be withdrawn on serious grounds of public policy or public security.
It should be noted that since the end of 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 must hold 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.
Since December 31, 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 December 31, 2020.
These regulations 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 resident in Luxembourg and Luxembourg citizens resident in the United Kingdom on December 31 , 2020.
Moreover, the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom includes a Protocol on social security coordination applicable since January 1, 2021. According to this Protocol, rules quite similar to those in the European regulations on social security coordinate the social security legislation of the Member States of the European Union and the United Kingdom and largely allow to protect the social security rights of persons in a situation with links between the European Union and the United Kingdom, even if they do not fall within the scope of the Withdrawal Agreement.
Other rights
British nationals and their family members who are covered by the Withdrawal Agreement keep the same rights as Union citizens in the following areas:
- Access to the Luxembourg job market;
- 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:
General Department 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
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 have the same rights as Union citizens with respect to access to the labour market. Accordingly, they can freely access the labour market without having to hold a special authorisation, except for their residence document as beneficiaries of the Withdrawal Agreement.
British nationals and their family members who resided in Luxembourg and were in paid employment in Luxembourg at the time of the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union have therefore been able to continue to work in the Grand Duchy 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 resided 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 concerned persons 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 arrived in Luxembourg after the United Kingdom's withdrawal and before the end of the transition period (set on December 31, 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 are also beneficiaries of the Withdrawal Agreement under certain conditions. They are therefore entitled to freely access the labour market. Upon arrival, they will receive a residence document that will certify their status as beneficiary of the Withdrawal Agreement.
British nationals who arrived in Luxembourg December 31, 2020 who are not fulfilling the conditions to be considered as beneficiaries of the Withdrawal Agreement do not enjoy the right of free access to the labour market. These persons are 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 on the territory of another State, to which he in principle returns every day or at least once a week.
British nationals who reside either in another Member State of the European Union or in the United Kingdom and who wish to start work in Luxembourg are subject to the rules governing access to the labour market for third country nationals. They must therefore hold a work permit to work in Luxembourg and must wait for the work permit to be issued before they can start work.
It should be noted that British nationals residing either in another Member State of the European Union or in the United Kingdom and working in Luxembourg are authorised to engage in paid employment in Luxembourg if the salaried activity has begun before January 1, 2021. 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 here:
British trainees
British nationals who arrived after December 31, 2020, and who are not beneficiaries of the Withdrawal Agreement are considered third country nationals. They must therefore hold 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 only valid in the country of residence.
British nationals who are beneficiaries of the Withdrawal Agreement may start a traineeship 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 European Union, both for a stay of less than three months and for a stay of more than three months.
The explanations given in the two 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, or ITM) checks whether the posted worker holds, 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