The business permit (autorisation d'établissement) stands on three pillars: professional integrity, a real establishment in Luxembourg, and professional qualification. The third one is where most first-time applications stall, because founders assume their experience "obviously" counts, and the Ministry works from documents, not assumptions.

This is how the assessment works.

Commercial activities: the lower bar

For general commercial activities (trading, e-commerce, consulting-type services that are not regulated professions), the qualification requirement is the mildest of the three pillars. You demonstrate basic business competence; in many cases the review focuses more on integrity and establishment.

Do not relax too early though: if your activity touches a regulated field, the file changes completely.

Craft and industrial activities: documented skill

For craft trades (the artisanat list runs from construction to food to beauty) the Ministry expects proof of competence in the trade itself. Acceptable evidence, roughly in order of strength:

  • A relevant diploma or master craftsman qualification (brevet de maîtrise or equivalent recognised title).
  • A certificate of apprenticeship plus documented years in the trade.
  • Several years of professional experience, proven with employment certificates that name the role and the period.

The pattern in rejections is nearly always the same: real experience, no paper. If you worked five years in a trade but never collected employer attestations, the Ministry cannot see those five years. Start assembling certificates before you apply, not after a request for missing documents arrives.

Liberal professions: check the specific rules

Some liberal professions carry their own qualification regimes on top of the permit (think architects, chartered accountants, lawyers). If your activity is on a regulated list, the permit file must include the profession-specific recognition. This is worth checking before anything else, because recognition of foreign diplomas can take longer than the permit itself.

Who must hold the qualification

The qualification attaches to the permit holder, the person named as dirigeant. That person must run the business day to day. Naming a qualified friend with no real involvement is the classic shortcut, and it is one the Ministry knows well: the dirigeant must have a real link to the company (ownership, employment contract, actual management), and a permit built on a straw manager can be withdrawn.

If you personally lack the required qualification, you have three workable paths: hire a qualified dirigeant who really manages, acquire the qualification, or reshape the declared activity to what you are qualified for.

Foreign experience and diplomas

Experience earned in another EU country counts, with the same documentation logic: certificates naming role, employer and dates. Diplomas may need recognition depending on the activity. Non-resident permit holders, or residents of less than ten years, should also expect the notarised declaration of non-bankruptcy in the file; we cover the full document list in our business permit guide.

Timing

Once a complete file is submitted, the legal backstop is clear: if the Ministry has not answered within 3 months, authorisation is tacitly granted. In practice complete, well-documented files move much faster than incomplete ones, because every missing certificate resets the clock in the worst way: with a letter, a scan, and a wait.

Not sure whether your CV maps to your planned activity? We check qualification files before they go in, so the Ministry sees the strongest version of your case that the documents support.