Moving from Stamp 2 to Stamp 1G after graduating

The short answer

• Who: graduates of an Irish college with a level 8 award or higher, studied in Ireland on an ILEP programme.
• What you get: Stamp 1G for 12 months, or up to 24 with a level 9 award or above. You can work full time without an employment permit while you look for a permit job.
• When: once your final award is confirmed in writing, and within 6 months of that, while your Stamp 2 is still valid.
• How: online, as a change of stamp, with your award, IRP card, passport and private medical insurance, and the €300 fee.

Plan your Stamp 1G

Enter when you got your final result and when your Stamp 2 expires. Add when your first Stamp 2 started to check the 7-year limit.

Who qualifies

ISD’s rules for the Third Level Graduate Programme say you must:

• have studied in Ireland on a programme on the ILEP list and got a level 8 award or higher from a recognised Irish awarding body: the universities, the Royal College of Surgeons, institutes of technology or QQI;
• have been told in writing, on or after 1 January 2017, that you’ve achieved the award you enrolled for;
• hold a current Stamp 2 and an up-to-date IRP card;
• apply within 6 months of being told your result;
• not have gone past the 7-year limit on student permissions;
• be of good character and obey the law.

Provisional results don’t count. ISD says you don’t qualify until your college has issued final results and you can show you’ve achieved the award.

How long it lasts

• Level 8: 12 months, or less if that would take your total time on Stamp 2 and Stamp 1G past 7 years.
• Level 9 or above: 12 months, then 12 more if you show you’ve taken steps to find graduate-level work, up to 8 years in total.

For the second year, ISD asks for evidence of your job search, such as letters from companies or recruitment agencies, job interviews or signing up with graduate agencies. It also looks at DETE’s lists of highly skilled and ineligible jobs and permit salary thresholds when it judges your efforts.

You can use the programme a second time with a higher award, such as a level 9 after a level 8, within the 8-year limit. ISD says no more than two separate times.

How to apply

Apply online on ISD’s renewals portal, as a change of stamp to Stamp 1G under the graduate programme. ISD’s required documents:

• the biometric page of your passport;
• the front and back of your current IRP card;
• proof you completed your course: your parchment, or an official letter from your college confirming the award;
• private medical insurance covering hospital stays: travel insurance isn’t enough when you renew;
• the €300 registration fee.

ISD’s renewal page shows which submission dates it’s currently processing for each stamp, updated weekly.

While you wait, and once you have it

• While you wait: if your Stamp 2 card expires before a decision, ISD’s notice to employers lets you stay on its existing conditions for up to 12 weeks, with proof you applied in time. So the Stamp 2 work limits still apply until Stamp 1G is granted.
• On Stamp 1G: you can work full time without an employment permit, but you can’t be self-employed or run a business. Your other conditions stay as on Stamp 2. Time on Stamp 1G as a graduate counts towards citizenship.

After Stamp 1G

The programme is for finding graduate-level work and moving onto an employment permit: a Critical Skills or General Employment permit, or a research hosting agreement. With a permit job you move to Stamp 1, and later you can apply for Stamp 4.

Common mix-ups

Common questions

Sources