Right of residence: registration as a resident in Luxembourg

A Latvian employee wanted to register as a resident in a Luxembourg municipality. In addition to an employment contract and an identity document, the municipality required sworn translations of a birth certificate. Because of the high cost of the required sworn translation, the Latvian citizen turned to SOLVIT.

According to the municipality, this document was necessary to verify the authenticity of the personal data for the purpose of maintaining the municipal register. The municipality also invoked the principle of municipal autonomy. SOLVIT Luxembourg informed the municipality that Directive 2004/38/EC on the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States does not allow a birth certificate to be requested when registering a citizen of the Union as an employee.

More precisely, point 3 of Article 8 of the above-mentioned Directive states that: “For the  registration certificate to be issued, Member States may only require: Union citizens to whom point (a) of Article 7(1) applies present a valid identity card or passport, a confirmation of engagement from the employer ora certificate of employment, or proof that they are self-employed persons”. Moreover, these elements are transposed into national law by the law of 29 August 2008 on the free movement of persons and immigration (Articles 5, 6 and 8) as well as by the Grand-Ducal regulation of 5 September 2008 (Chapter 2, Article 2).

The family situation of the applicant is a simple information that the citizen provides to the municipality and certifies with his signature.

The Latvian national was quickly registered with the municipality after SOLVIT's intervention.