Vivre Ensemble exam format: 40 questions, 60 minutes, 28/40 to pass
Everything you need to know about the paper: number of questions, duration, pass mark, split by subject, question type and registration rules.
Contents
The "Vivre ensemble au Grand-Duché de Luxembourg" exam is one of the two routes to the certificate required in an application for Luxembourg nationality by naturalisation or by option. The other route is the full 24-hour course.
This article describes precisely what awaits you on the day.
The essential numbers
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Number of questions | 40 |
| Total duration | 60 minutes |
| Type | Multiple-choice questions |
| Correct answers per question | Exactly one |
| Pass mark | 28 out of 40, or 70 % |
| Mistakes tolerated | 12 at most |
Note the time-per-question ratio: one minute thirty per question on average. That is enough when you know the answer, insufficient if you have to reason your way there at length. Preparation should therefore aim at immediate recognition, not laborious reconstruction.
The split by subject
This is the most strategic piece of information in the whole exam, and the one most candidates discover too late.
| Subject | Questions | Share of marks |
|---|---|---|
| Fundamental rights of citizens | 10 | 25 % |
| State and municipal institutions | 20 | 50 % |
| History of Luxembourg and European integration | 10 | 25 % |
| Total | 40 | 100 % |
Institutions are worth as much as the other two subjects combined. An even split of revision across the three blocks is therefore, mathematically, an uneven split relative to what is at stake.
Practical consequence: if your time is limited, sacrifice depth in history before sacrificing it on institutions. Twenty well-prepared institution questions already put you halfway to the threshold.
The question type
These are multiple-choice questions with one correct answer. Concretely:
- no open questions and no writing;
- no oral component — that belongs to the Sproochentest, an entirely separate exam;
- no multiple-response questions where several boxes must be ticked.
The difficulty therefore does not come from written expression, which is good news for candidates whose French, German or English is not their first language. It comes from precision. The incorrect options are rarely absurd: they are generally neighbouring institutions, nearby dates or organisations that are easy to confuse.
A typical construction: asking which court oversees compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights, and offering the Court of Justice of the European Union among the options. Both exist, both sit in Europe, one of them even sits in Luxembourg — but only one is correct.
Is there negative marking?
The official documents we consulted mention no negative marking system, but they do not explicitly rule it out either. In the absence of certainty, the prudent approach is to assume nothing and, if this point is decisive for your strategy, to ask the Service de la formation des adultes directly.
One thing is certain in every scenario: a question left unanswered never earns a point. If you have to choose between two options at the last minute, choose.
Registration
Registration is online only, through the ministry's official "Vivre ensemble" portal. A few rules to know before confirming:
- Registration is final. It cannot be modified after confirmation. Check the date, time, location and language before you click.
- A new registration is only accepted one month after the exam date previously chosen. This applies after a failure as well as after an absence.
- The portal displays all available sessions. Leaving the location filter empty shows every location; selecting one narrows the list.
Dates, locations, languages and available places change constantly. Always check the official portal before planning anything.
On the day
Two documents are required:
- the identity document whose number you provided when registering;
- your social security card.
Turning up without either exposes you to being unable to sit, with a one-month wait before you can register again. Prepare them the night before.
Cheating results in immediate failure and may be reported to the competent authorities. In the context of a nationality application, the calculation is straightforward.
Candidates who need the reasonable accommodations provided for by the nationality law must send a reasoned request, with supporting documents, to the Director of the Service de la formation des adultes — and do so well ahead of registering.
Our article on exam day sets out how it unfolds and offers a checklist.
After the exam
If you pass, the certificate is sent by post, normally within about three weeks. Notify the Service de la formation des adultes of any change of address: it is the most common cause of a certificate that never arrives.
If you fail, nothing is lost. You can register for a later session, respecting the one-month rule, or switch to the other route and take the full course — both lead to the same certificate. A month of revision targeted on your weak subjects usually changes the result.
What the exam is not
Three clarifications, because these confusions come up constantly:
- It is not a language test. Your level of Luxembourgish is assessed separately by the Sproochentest, with A2 expected in speaking and B1 in listening comprehension.
- It is not the whole nationality procedure. The "Vivre ensemble" certificate is one document in the file. The other conditions are set out on guichet.public.lu.
- It is not an exam whose questions circulate. No official question bank is published. Any resource claiming to provide "the official questions" is misleading you.
How to practise in this format
Knowing the format is not enough: you need to have lived it. Three complete 40-question papers timed at 60 minutes are usually enough to remove the surprise factor.
To start without installing anything, the free simulator on this site offers twenty sample questions with a timer and explanations. The app then offers the full paper in the official format, with the exact 10/20/10 split and the 28/40 threshold applied to the result.
See also: how to prepare for the exam and course or exam: which route to choose.