Luxembourg Aims to Axe Investor Program, After Only 15 Applications in 7 Years

Luxembourg’s Home Affairs Ministry has launched a review of its investor residence program, pivoting from its April 2023 stance that ending the initiative “was not a priority.”

Since its 2017 launch, Luxembourg’s program has attracted 15 total applicants. Only six investors from Russia, Israel, India, and China had applied in 2023 and 2024, but Luxembourg’s government rejected four.

The ministry has not disclosed which nationalities faced rejections nor explained its reasoning.

In the program’s first year, one Australian and five Chinese investors received approvals. Only three more approvals followed between 2018 and 2023.

The European Commission intensified pressure on EU nations to close their residency by investment programs after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, warning these programs create “inherent security, money laundering, tax evasion, and corruption risks.”

The Commission had reported that Luxembourg’s program has “gaps” such as setting no cap on applications, demanding no public disclosure of successful applicants, and lacking systems to track economic impact or enable parliamentary oversight.

The Netherlands similarly terminated its investor visa program last October after processing just ten successful applications over ten years.

Ireland scrapped its Immigrant Investor Programme in 2023, and Spain will close its golden visa to new applicants in April.

Terminating Luxembourg’s program requires parliamentary action to amend immigration laws. The government must draft a bill for State Council review before parliamentary committees examine it.

The Chamber of Deputies then conducts final debates and votes on the legislation.

Under Luxembourg’s investor residence program, applicants can obtain residence permits through four investment pathways:

• A €500,000 investment in an existing Luxembourg company
• A €500,000 investment in a new business that creates five jobs
• A €3 million investment in management structures
• A €20 million deposit in a Luxembourg financial institution

Successful applicants receive three-year renewable residence permits, requiring review after one year.

Permit holders may pursue Luxembourg citizenship after five years of residence and completing language and citizenship requirements.

Luxembourg’s government has not announced a timeline for completing its review or outlined plans for current permit holders.