Vivre ensemble: course or exam? How to choose

Vivre ensemble course or exam: two ways to the same certificate

To meet the « Vivre ensemble au Grand-Duché de Luxembourg » requirement for naturalisation, you have a choice. You can attend a 24-hour course and receive a certificate for attendance, or you can sit an exam without the course. Both lead to the same result for your citizenship file.

Both are organised by the Service de la formation des adultes (SFA) of the Ministry of Education, Children and Youth, and registration for either is free. The right choice depends on your schedule, how you learn and how confident you are with exams. This page sets out the differences and helps you decide.

24 h

course, certificate for attendance

18 h

course for CAI certificate holders

40

exam questions, split 10/20/10

Free

registration for course or exam

Course versus exam: side-by-side comparison

The content is the same in both cases. The course modules mirror the exam weighting: 6 hours on fundamental rights, 12 hours on State and communal institutions, and 6 hours on history and European integration.

The Vivre ensemble 24-hour course

The course is taught in three modules. The first, on fundamental rights, covers the sources of rights, the Constitution and how rights are protected. The second, the longest, covers the State, the Grand Duke, the Chamber of Deputies, the Government, the courts and the communes. The third covers the history of the Grand Duchy and European integration.

The certificate is issued for attendance. That is the main attraction: there is no exam to pass at the end. The trade-off is time. Twenty-four hours of fixed sessions is a real commitment if you work full time or have young children.

The online course in English

Online courses are offered in English. For many international residents this is the most practical form of the course, since it avoids travel. Check the session dates and times on the official portal, and make sure you can attend every session before you register.

In-person courses

In-person courses are held in Luxembourg-Hollerich, Esch-Belval and Diekirch, with a northern site planned for late 2026. The language of each session is shown when you register.

The 18-hour course for CAI certificate holders

If you signed the reception and integration contract (CAI) and hold its citizenship-training certificate, you can take an 18-hour version of the course instead of 24 hours. The history module can also be waived for holders of a civic instruction certificate from the CAI, or for people who completed the 6-hour module of the citizens' pact (pacte citoyen). The pacte citoyen was created by the Law of 23 August 2023 and replaced the CAI.

So if you already hold one of these certificates, the course becomes noticeably shorter, and that can tip the balance in its favour.

The Vivre ensemble exam at Belval

The exam is a computer-based multiple-choice test held in Esch-Belval. It has 40 questions: 10 on fundamental rights, 20 on State and communal institutions and 10 on history and European integration. Questions may be standard multiple choice or binary, such as yes/no or true/false.

The official pages do not publish a pass mark; the SFA confirms results. Because you do not know in advance exactly how many mistakes you can afford, aim to know the material well rather than just enough.

The exam's advantage is flexibility. You prepare when it suits you, at home, on the train or in a lunch break, and you only need to be present once. The disadvantage is that you have to pass. If tests make you anxious, or you have little time to study, the course may be the calmer route. Our guide to the Vivre ensemble exam explains the content and gives a study plan.

How much preparation the exam takes

Most residents need two to four weeks of regular study. Two weeks can be enough if you already follow Luxembourg news and know the European Union well. Four weeks is more realistic if the courts, the communes and the country's history are new to you.

Spend your time in proportion to the exam: about half on institutions, and a quarter each on rights and on history and Europe. Read the official English brochures first, then practise with questions in the exam's format, and keep a list of every question you get wrong. The study guide follows the same three areas.

Compare that with the course. Twenty-four hours of sessions is roughly the same total time, but it is fixed in the calendar. With the exam, you decide when those hours happen.

Vivre ensemble exam languages

The course and the exam are organised in Luxembourg's administrative languages, Luxembourgish, French and German, and in English. This is set by the règlement grand-ducal of 7 April 2017. Not every session runs in every language, so check what is offered for the date you want.

The official study material is available in English too, so you can prepare entirely in English. See our study materials page for the full list.

Which option suits you?

Busy professionals

If you work long or unpredictable hours, the exam is usually easier to fit in. You can study in short sessions over two to four weeks and need only one fixed appointment. If you prefer the course, the online English course removes travel time, but you still need to be free for every session.

Shift workers

Shift patterns make a 24-hour course hard to schedule, since a single missed session can matter when the certificate is based on attendance. The exam gives you control: you choose one date and prepare around your shifts.

People who learn by doing

If you learn best by asking questions and talking things through, the course suits you. A trainer explains how the institutions work and you can ask about anything that is unclear. If you learn best by testing yourself, practice questions in the exam's format will feel natural, and the exam may suit you better.

People with limited French

Language is not a reason to choose one over the other, since both are offered in English. What matters is how you prefer to meet French terms. On the course a trainer can explain them. For the exam, you learn them yourself from the English brochures, which use them alongside the English terms.

People who already hold a CAI or pacte citoyen certificate

The shorter 18-hour course, and the possible waiver of the history module, make the course much lighter for you. Weigh that against the exam, where no reduction applies.

Four questions to ask yourself

• Can I commit to every session? If not, the exam is the safer choice, because the course certificate depends on attendance.
• Do tests make me anxious? If they do, the course removes the exam entirely.
• Do I study well on my own? If you can keep a short daily routine, the exam is very manageable.
• How soon do I need the certificate? Look at the sessions on the portal for both options and compare which one ends sooner for you.

If you answer "no" to the first question and "yes" to the third, the exam is likely the better fit. If you answer "yes" to the second, the course probably is.

Vivre ensemble registration on the ve-portal

The same registration process applies to the course and the exam.

1. Decide: course or exam

   Make your choice first. Registration is final, so you cannot switch from one to the other on the same booking.

2. Go to the official portal from Luxembourg

   Open ssl.education.lu/ve-portal. Registration on the portal is only possible from within Luxembourg. If that is a problem, you can register by email to sfa@men.lu instead.

3. Choose a session and a language

   Sessions are listed on the portal with their dates, places and languages. Pick one that gives you enough time to prepare and that is offered in the language you want.

4. Complete your registration

   Registration is free. Once you have registered, the date is fixed.

5. Follow the SFA's instructions

   Use the information you receive from the SFA for practical details about your session. Keep your certificate once you have it, as it goes into your naturalisation file.

What happens if you fail the exam

If you do not pass, you can register again. The official rule on re-registration is that a new registration is only possible once the previous date has passed. In practice, that means you register for a later session after your exam date.

Use the time between attempts well. Look at which areas felt weakest, especially institutions, which carry 20 of the 40 questions. Our most-missed questions page shows where CivicLearn learners lose the most points, such as the difference between the judicial and administrative courts, or between the Treaties of Amsterdam and Lisbon. For structured revision, the CivicLearn course offers timed simulations with the official 10/20/10 split and a review list of your own mistakes.

You can also reconsider your choice. Nothing stops you from registering for the course after a failed exam, once the earlier date has passed. If the exam felt stressful, or you found it hard to study alone, the course may be the more comfortable second attempt. If you simply ran short of time, a few more weeks of practice in the exam's format is often enough.

Next steps

If you have chosen the exam, start with the study guide and test yourself with the practice questions. If you have chosen the course, a quick look at the study guide before your first session will help you follow it.

To see how Vivre ensemble fits with the Sproochentest, residence and the other conditions, read Luxembourg citizenship requirements.

Official sources

• lifelong-learning.lu – Vivre ensemble course and exam
• men.public.lu – Ministry of Education, Children and Youth
• guichet.lu – citizenship procedures and exemptions
• legilux.public.lu – règlement grand-ducal of 7 April 2017