At a glance
If you are a non-EU manager, specialist, or trainee working for a company abroad, you may be able to transfer temporarily to a related business in Luxembourg. This is called an intra-corporate transfer, or ICT. The overseas employer and Luxembourg business must belong to the same company or group.
- Role
- Manager, specialist, or trainee
- Requirements
- Same company group and qualifying assignment
- Prior employment
- At least three uninterrupted months with the company or group before applying
Summary
A company-group transfer lets an eligible employee work temporarily at a related business in Luxembourg while remaining linked to the employer outside the EU. The worker must already have at least three uninterrupted months with that company or group and qualify as a manager, specialist or trainee. Role, pay, qualifications and a plan to return are part of the evidence.
The Luxembourg host seeks authorization before the worker travels, followed by local arrival and residence-card formalities. This is different from a new local hire or a service posting between unrelated businesses. The transfer has a time cap and should not be presented as a direct permanent-settlement route.
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Confirm the group and role Document the overseas employer, Luxembourg host, and qualifying manager, specialist, or trainee assignment.
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Prepare the employment history Show the required uninterrupted prior employment and the temporary assignment and return plan.
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Host requests authorization Submit the detailed application before entry.
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Complete arrival and residence required steps If approved Follow commune, medical, and card requirements.
The worker remains tied to the overseas undertaking. A permanent local hire is a different employment route.
Eligibility
The worker must:
- have an employment contract with the undertaking outside the EU before and throughout the transfer;
- have worked uninterruptedly for that undertaking or group for at least 3 months immediately before the transfer application;
- transfer to a Luxembourg host belonging to the same undertaking or group;
- qualify as a manager, specialist or trainee employee; and
- have the qualifications, pay and assignment documents required for that role, including a plan to return to an entity outside the EU after the transfer.
The Luxembourg host submits the detailed temporary-authorization application before the worker enters Luxembourg. Evidence should establish the group relationship, overseas employment, 3-month history, transfer role and duration, work and pay conditions, qualifications, social-security position, passport and background record.
After entry, the worker declares arrival within 3 days, completes the medical check and applies for the ICT residence card within 90 days. Guichet.lu lists an €80 card fee.
More about this route
The employee remains tied to the overseas undertaking and a defined temporary assignment. This is different from a permanent Luxembourg hire.
What This Route Allows
For a manager or specialist, the card is normally valid for at least one year, or for the shorter assignment, and total ICT residence cannot exceed 3 years. For a trainee, it covers the transfer but cannot exceed a total of one year. Renewal is possible only within those overall caps.
A spouse or partner and unmarried minor children may seek family reunification. A person holding an ICT permit from another EU Member State may also have short- or long-term mobility rights for work at a Luxembourg entity in the same group; notification or a Luxembourg mobility application is still required.
What This Route Is Not
This is not a route for a new local hire, an independent consultant, a transfer between unrelated companies or an open-ended assignment. It is also different from ordinary posted-worker rules, which concern a time-limited service contract rather than the EU ICT framework.
The Luxembourg long-term resident rules exclude a person while admitted as an intra-corporate transferee, so the route should not be presented as a direct settlement path. Reaching the time cap requires departure or a separately available status; conversion is not automatic.
Next Steps
- Confirm that the overseas employer and Luxembourg host are in the same company or group.
- Classify the role as manager, specialist or trainee and check its maximum duration.
- Assemble proof of the uninterrupted 3-month employment history, group relationship, qualifications and assignment terms.
- Have the Luxembourg host file the authorization before travel.
- Complete the commune, medical and residence-card steps after arrival.
- If the assignment spans several EU countries, map which country is the principal stay before choosing the ICT mobility procedure.
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