Irish immigration stamps explained

The short answer

When you get permission to live in Ireland, it comes as a stamp: a number such as Stamp 1, 1G, 2 or 4. It’s on your IRP card, and sometimes in your passport. ISD says it tells you:

• the activities you can and can’t do: work, study, run a business;
• the time you’re allowed to stay.

It also decides whether your time here counts towards citizenship and towards Stamp 5. Your permission letter can add conditions of its own.

Compare stamps

Pick up to three stamps to see them side by side.

All stamps at a glance

Not sure which stamp fits your situation? Answer a few questions in which stamp will I get?

The stamps, one by one

Stamp 0

For people who retire or live on their own means, visiting academics and elderly dependent relatives. You apply for the permission first and register it once it’s granted. No work or business unless ISD’s letter allows it, no benefits or publicly funded services, and you need private medical insurance.

Stamp 1, 1A and 1H

Stamp 1 is for work on an employment permit, or with an ISD letter saying you don’t need one. You can only work in the job your permit is for. It’s also used for a working holiday, which can’t be renewed. Stamp 1A is for trainee accountants, who must finish within 4 years. Stamp 1H is for hospital doctors on a two-year multi-site permit.

Stamp 1G

Two groups get Stamp 1G, and both can work without an employment permit, but not run a business:

• Graduates of an Irish level 8 or 9 award, on the Third Level Graduate Programme: 12 months, and a further 12 for a level 9 award or above. Other conditions stay as on Stamp 2.
• Spouses and partners of Critical Skills permit holders and researchers: renewed every year, with Stamp 4 possible after 5 years. ISD’s family reunification policy also gives it to partners of General Employment and some other permit holders.

Stamp 2 and 2A

For students. Stamp 2 is for full-time courses on the ILEP list, with casual work of up to 20 hours a week in term and 40 in the holidays, and a limit of 7 years of study. Stamp 2A is for other full-time study, such as a semester abroad or a private secondary school, with no work at all. Neither counts towards citizenship.

Stamp 3

For volunteers, ministers of religion and some family members. No paid work or business, apart from the role your permission is for, such as a minister of religion. The time counts for citizenship.

Stamp 4

The widest permission: work without a permit, run a business, and use State services as each department decides. You can get it after time on an employment permit (21 months on a Critical Skills permit, 57 on a General Employment permit, by ISD’s Stamp 4 upgrades page), as the partner of an Irish citizen, as a refugee or their family, as the parent of an Irish child, and on other routes. It’s for a specified period and you renew it.

Stamp 4 EU FAM and 4D

For family members of EU, EEA or Swiss citizens living in Ireland (under EU Treaty Rights), and of UK citizens arriving after 1 January 2021 (4D). Different rules apply: after 5 continuous years, EU family members can apply for a Permanent Residence Card, valid for ten years.

Stamp 5

Permission without condition as to time. You can apply after 8 years (96 months) of legal residence on the stamps that count. It’s valid until your passport expires.

Stamp 6

For dual citizens: Irish citizens who also hold another nationality. It goes in the non-Irish passport, and you don’t register.

Rules for every stamp

• Register your permission within 90 days.
• Obey the law and stay out of trouble with the Gardaí: ISD says breaking this can mean your permission isn’t renewed or is revoked.
• Renew before it expires if you’re staying on.
• Check your permission letter: extra conditions can apply to you.

Common mix-ups

Common questions

Sources