Frequently Asked Question
Who can register for the municipal elections?
All foreigners aged 18 on the day of the elections,
domiciled in Luxembourg
For non-EU nationals:
have a valid residence permit,
domiciled in Luxembourg
have resided there at the time of the application for registration on the electoral roll
Is there a deadline for registration?
17 April 2023 at 5 pm.
Where do I register?
at the municipal administration Biergercenter (between 8am and 5pm)
on the MyGuichet.lu website using your personal page (by electronic registration)
What documents do I need to provide to register?
When you go to register at the Biergercenter (at Knuedler, place Guillaume), you will have to fill in a (pre-printed) declaration specifying your nationality, your date and place of birth, your last address in your country of origin and your address in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. You will also have to complete a declaration stating that you are not disqualified from voting in your home State. You must provide a valid identity document (identity card, passport).
Can I register at 17?
It depends, because in order to vote in the local elections on 11 June 2023, you must be 18 years old on that day. This means that anyone born on or before 11 June 2005 can register to vote in the 2023 municipal elections, even if they are underage.
Once I am registered on the electoral roll for the 2023 municipal elections, will I have to go through the same procedure again for the following municipal elections?
No, foreign nationals who have been registered on the electoral roll are kept on it under the same conditions as Luxembourgers. So once you have been registered, you will not have to re-register again, it is definitive as long as you are resident in Luxembourg. If you move, the commune will take care of transferring your voting rights to your new commune.
If I register on the electoral roll for the local elections, can I also vote in the European elections?
No, in order to participate in the European elections, you have to register a second time. The conditions are not the same. The European elections are only open to EU nationals.
What about the legislative elections?
No, the legislative elections are only open to Luxembourg citizens.
I am a national of a third country. Do I need a residence permit (titre de séjour) to register on the electoral roll?
Yes, to register on the electoral roll, you must be legally resident in Luxembourg.
Can beneficiaries of international protection (refugee status or subsidiary protection status) register on the electoral roll?
Yes, beneficiaries of international protection (BPI) can register on the electoral roll if they meet the age requirements in the same way as foreign nationals.
In contrast, applicants for international protection (DPI) cannot register to vote.
Beneficiaries of temporary protection who have fled the war in Ukraine cannot register to vote either.
Is it possible to withdraw from the electoral roll?
Yes, it is possible for foreigners to apply to be removed from the electoral roll. The voter who wishes to be removed from the electoral roll must submit a written request to the collège des bourgmestre et échevins, enclosing a photocopy of a valid identity document (identity card, passport, residence permit).
If I register in Luxembourg for the local elections, do I lose my right to vote in my country of origin?
No. Non-Luxembourgers have the right to vote in local elections without losing, in principle, the right to vote in the commune of their country of origin.
Please note that regardless of your registration on the electoral roll in Luxembourg, you may lose the right to vote in your country of origin due to residence outside your country of origin. This will depend on the legislation of your country of origin. Even if, most of the time, the right to vote in the country of origin is subject to the condition of having an effective residence there, some States allow their nationals residing abroad to participate, under certain conditions, in the local elections of the country of origin, even if they no longer reside there, for example the French, Italians or Finns.
In other words, most foreign nationals in Luxembourg can only take part in local elections in Luxembourg.
Are foreigners who register on the electoral roll subject to compulsory voting?
Yes, just like Luxembourgers, once you are registered on the electoral roll you are obliged to vote.
People over 75 years of age and voters who, on the day of the elections, live in a commune other than the one in which they are called to vote are exempt from the right to vote.
What should I do if I am not in Luxembourg on election day?
An application for postal voting can be made to your commune before the elections. The request is made on a blank sheet of paper or on a pre-printed form that can be obtained from the local administration. There is also the possibility of making an application electronically on the MyGuichet.lu portal and to be signed electronically. In this case you do not have to go to your commune.
The request for a postal vote (by electronic means or by post) must be submitted from 20 March to 17 May 2023 if the letter of convocation is to be sent to an address in Luxembourg and from 20 March to 2 May 2023 if the letter of invitation must be sent to an address abroad.
What happens if I am registered to vote and I cannot participate in the local elections?
Voters who are unable to take part in the local elections and who are not eligible to use the postal voting system can fill in a declaration of inability to vote in the local elections. The reasons for the inability to vote must be justified to the Public Prosecutor's Office of the District Court.
Do I risk a fine if I do not vote?
By law, you risk a fine. Indeed, Luxembourg law provides for penalties for voters who have not taken part in the vote or whose reasons for abstention have not been admitted. A first unjustified abstention is punishable by a fine of 100 to 250 euros.
What happens if I leave Luxembourg permanently?
You will automatically be removed from the electoral roll and will not have to take any steps.
How does the vote work on election day?
A few days before the elections, the municipal administration will send you a letter of convocation containing the voting hours, the address of the polling station, the voting instructions and the list of candidates.
On election day, the polling stations are open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Do not forget your identity document (identity card, passport, residence permit, etc.)
For the commune of Luxembourg City, 27 local councillors will be elected on 11 June 2023. You will therefore have 27 votes to distribute. There are 3 ways to distribute them:
List vote
Intra-list vote (several candidates on the same list)
Inter-list vote (candidates from different lists, panachage)
