The short answer
- Both let you work for any employer without an employment permit.
- Only Stamp 4 lets you be self-employed or run a business.
- Stamp 1G is tied to something: the graduate programme, or your partner’s permit. You renew it every year.
- Partners on Stamp 1G can usually move to Stamp 4 after 5 years. Graduates get there through an employment permit: 21 months on a Critical Skills permit, or 57 on a General Employment permit.
Find your path to Stamp 4
Tell us how you’re on Stamp 1G and when it started. You’ll see when Stamp 4 becomes possible, and what changes when it does.
1G to 4 path finder
When you could move from Stamp 1G to Stamp 4, and what changes when you do.
What changes on Stamp 4
Worked out in your browser: nothing you enter is sent to us or saved. Based on ISD’s stamps and Stamp 4 upgrades pages and its family reunification policy; ISD decides each application.
Side by side
| Stamp 1G | Stamp 4 | |
|---|---|---|
| Work for an employer | Yes, without a permit | Yes, without a permit |
| Self-employed or run a business | No | Yes |
| Tied to | The graduate programme, or your partner’s permit | Its own basis, such as your years on a permit or an Irish partner |
| How long | 12 months (graduates, up to 24 at level 9); renewed yearly (partners) | A set period, then renewed |
| Counts for citizenship | Yes, for graduates and partners of Critical Skills holders and researchers | Yes |
| Counts for Stamp 5 | Yes, except partners of Intra-Company Transfer permit holders | Yes |
Compare these with every other stamp in the stamp cheat-sheet.
From Stamp 1G to Stamp 4 as a partner
Spouses, civil partners, de facto partners and children of Critical Skills, General Employment and Intra-Company Transfer permit holders, researchers and full-time hospital doctors get Stamp 1G. As a partner you can also study. ISD’s family reunification policy says you can apply for Stamp 4 at your next online renewal once you have:
- at least 5 years’ residence in Ireland as a dependant, or
- a sponsor who has become an Irish citizen while you live here as their dependant.
If your sponsor becomes Irish before you’ve spent 3 years here, your Stamp 4 still depends on their residence and status.
From Stamp 1G to Stamp 4 as a graduate
Stamp 1G under the Third Level Graduate Programme doesn’t lead straight to Stamp 4. ISD’s route:
- Within your Stamp 1G (12 months, or up to 24 with a level 9 award), find a job with an employment permit. You move to Stamp 1.
- After 21 months of employment on a Critical Skills permit (or a hosting agreement as a researcher), or 57 months on a General Employment or Intra-Company Transfer permit, you can renew on Stamp 4 conditions.
- The two counts can’t be added together, and the months run from the start of your permit job: Revenue’s Employment Detail Summary shows the date.
ISD renews Stamp 4 on this basis every 2 years after a Critical Skills permit, and every year after a General Employment permit.
Partners of other Stamp 4 holders
If your partner is on Stamp 4 or 5 on another basis, ISD’s policy usually gives family members Stamp 3, which doesn’t allow work. Families of investors and entrepreneurs, and of Irish citizens, get Stamp 4.
Common mix-ups
Common questions
What's the difference between Stamp 1G and Stamp 4?
Both let you work for any employer without an employment permit, and both count for citizenship in most cases. On Stamp 4 you can also be self-employed and run a business. Stamp 1G is tied to the graduate programme or to your partner's permit, and is renewed every year.
When can I move from Stamp 1G to Stamp 4 as a partner?
ISD's family reunification policy says partners and children of permit holders can apply for Stamp 4 at their next online renewal once they have at least 5 years' residence as a dependant, or sooner if the sponsor becomes an Irish citizen.
My partner has moved to Stamp 4. Do I get Stamp 4 too?
Not automatically. ISD's policy says that when a sponsor moves to Stamp 4 or 5, the type of permission their family members get stays as it was. You'd still need 5 years as a dependant.
Can I go from Stamp 1G as a graduate to Stamp 4?
Not directly. After the graduate programme you need a job with an employment permit (Stamp 1). You can apply for Stamp 4 after 21 months of employment on a Critical Skills permit, or 57 months on a General Employment permit.
Can I be self-employed on Stamp 1G?
No. ISD's stamps page says you can't be self-employed or operate a business on Stamp 1G, as a graduate or as a partner.
Does Stamp 1G count for citizenship?
ISD says time on Stamp 1G as a graduate, or as the partner of a Critical Skills permit holder or researcher, counts as reckonable residence. For partners of other permit holders, ISD's citizenship guidance doesn't say. Stamp 4 counts.
Sources
All sources checked on 3 Oct 2026.
- Immigration permission/stamps (Stamp 1G and Stamp 4 conditions)Immigration Service Delivery
- Information on Stamp 4 upgradesImmigration Service Delivery
- Non-EEA Family Reunification Policy, 12 June 2026 (section 6.6 and Appendix C)Immigration Service Delivery
- Third Level Graduate ProgrammeImmigration Service Delivery
- Without Condition As To Time (Stamp 5)Immigration Service Delivery