Counting the number of people living in Luxembourg without valid residency status is, by its very nature, an impossible task, according to a recent government reply to a parliamentary question from Luxembourg Socialist Workers’ Party (LSAP) MP Mars Di Bartolomeo.
The government explains that it is fundamentally not possible to identify how many people are currently living in Luxembourg irregularly, since "by definition, individuals not identified by the authorities do not appear in administrative records", and irregular residency specifically refers to individuals who are not registered by state administrations."
Officials stress that there is currently "no reliable or responsible method" for estimating the number of undocumented residents in the country.
Visual impressions or informal estimates, the government notes, are not only unreliable but risk unfairly targeting people based on appearance or background, which is a particularly problematic approach in a country as diverse as Luxembourg.
As the government points out, the very nature of irregular residency makes a comprehensive census impossible.
Even at the Directorate of Immigration, only people undertaking official procedures appear in the system. Those avoiding contact with authorities, by definition, remain invisible to official records.
While it is impossible to determine the total number of people living in Luxembourg irregularly, certain indicators can be gleaned from workplace inspections.
The Labour and Mines Inspectorate (Inspection du travail et des mines, ITM) conducts regular inspections of employers and occasionally uncovers individuals either without residency status or working without proper authorisation.
In 2025, ITM conducted more than 17,000 workplace inspections in Luxembourg, including over 8,300 in the construction sector and 2,760 in manufacturing.
These checks uncovered 106 foreign nationals in an irregular situation, with 69 found working in the hospitality sector (hotels, restaurants, cafés).
Between 2021 and 2025, this sector accounted for more than half of all irregular workers detected by ITM. Typical violations include lack of work contracts, no social security registration, excessive working hours, and unpaid wages.
The government also highlights that it is not possible to identify pupils in the school system based on their parents’ residency status.
Furthermore, it insists that "no child can be denied the right to education because of their family’s administrative situation", and all policies are designed to avoid distinctions or stigmatisation on this basis.
According to the government, no dedicated study on the phenomenon of irregular migration in Luxembourg has ever been commissioned.
