The Annual Report on Migration and Asylum presents the statistical trends and developments in migration, asylum and integration, changes in legislation or policies, and it traces significant national debates, which occurred in Luxembourg during the year 2021.
Several of the most notable changes and debates in Luxembourg during the year of 2021 were of legislative nature:
The Law of 16 June 2021 amending the Immigration Law entered into force on 5 July 2021. This law changes the legislation on immigration, by lightening the administrative burden for third-country nationals, and by altering certain provisions relating to intra-corporate transferees, trainees and family reunification.
The Law of 16 June 2021 amending the Asylum Law entered into force on 5 July 2021. This law modifies the remedies available to applicants for international protection (AIPs). It increases their effectiveness and guarantees maximum legal certainty in the context of transfers under the Dublin Regulation, as well as in the case of final decisions to close proceedings on an application for international protection and of decisions to withdraw international protection.
Bill 7844 was introduced to Parliament on 15 June 2021 to amend the amended Law of 8 March 2017 on Luxembourgish Nationality (hereinafter Nationality Law) and entered into force on 22 August as the Law of 30 July 2021. According to the Nationality Law, a candidate (a direct line descendant of a Luxembourg ancestor) for the recovery of Luxembourgish nationality must start to (re)claim her/his Luxembourg nationality before the registrar before 31 December 2022.
In 2021, three noteworthy bills were introduced to parliament with their legislative procedure still ongoing at the time of writing.On 2 September 2021, the government introduced to Parliament Bill 7877, intending to amend the amended Electoral Law of 18 February 2003, hereinafter the Electoral Law. This bill intends to support political participation of the steadily growing number of non-Luxembourgish residents and it foresees the abolishment of the 5-year residency clause on active and passive voting rights for EU- and non-EU citizens residing in Luxembourg. Further, the date of closure for the registration on the electoral list before the elections for non-Luxembourg citizens to register on the municipal electoral rolls would be reduced from 87 days to 55 days.
On 26 November 2021, the Government Council approved a bill proposing to amend the Immigration Law. This bill aims to ensure a more effective management of the removal of third-country nationals illegally residing on the territory by structuring the different categories of removal measures (mesures d’éloignement) in a clear and coherent way. On 19 January 2022 this bill was introduced to Parliament as Bill 7954.
Bill 7881 on the exchange of information relating to nationals of countries outside the European Union as well as the European Criminal Records Information System (ECRIS) was introduced to Parliament on 10 September 2021. This system will make it possible to search for entries in the criminal records of third-country nationals against which court decisions have been issued by the criminal courts of other EU Member States.
Several developments occurred with respect to integration in 2021.
As already noted in the 2020 Annual Report on Migration and Asylum of the EMN Luxembourg, the Government plans to reform the amended Law of 16 December 2008 on the reception and integration of foreigners. Initial accompanying consultations have already been solicited in 2020 and this process continued in 2021. Multiple consultations with stakeholders from civil society, social partners and the municipalities took place and, in this context, the OECD-study “Towards a successful integration process: The functioning of the integration system and its actors in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg” was published on 25 November 2021.
At the beginning of 2021, the Pact of Living Together (Pakt vum Zesummeliewen – PvZ) replaced the Communal Integration Plan (PCI) to create a more dynamic and multi-year integration process for a stronger inclusion of Luxembourg’s municipalities.
Continuing education for Luxembourg residents has been made more accessible and additional courses, which are tailored to AIPs and beneficiaries of international protection (BIPs), have been included into the training portfolio of the Adult Education Service (SFA).
Luxembourg has initiated the planning process of extending its current public health care system. It is foreseen to offer vulnerable population groups, who have not been covered to date, low-threshold easy access to health care.
Further, Luxembourg has been reacting on the changing situation in Afghanistan since the takeover of power by the Taliban in August 2021. Luxembourg has halted decisions on applications for international protection by Afghans until sufficient reliable information will be available. Between the takeover of power through the Taliban in August until the end of 2021, 71 Afghan nationals have been granted international protection. This includes 45 Afghan nationals evacuated from Afghanistan. Luxembourg has further committed to resettle additional people.
While the year 2021 continued to be marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, several important developments, such as the availability of vaccines and rapid tests, did redirect pandemic activity on to different paths than in 2020. The focus lay on testing as well as on getting everyone in Luxembourg, including AIPs and persons in a situation of irregular stay, vaccinated. Yet, Luxembourg’s only external border, that is Luxembourg’s international airport, remained closed for third-country nationals. Luxembourg’s entry regulations, which were adjusted multiple times and in a dynamic fashion in line with the evolution of the pandemic, however, created several exemptions that allowed for the entry of certain third-country nationals. As of 22 December 2021, this border closure was extended from 31 December 2021 to 31 March 2022 by means of Grand Ducal Regulation.
For more information, please consult the report in English and French.