Ireland: Welcome Changes to the Immigration Permissions of Employment Permits

In Ireland, the system in place for recognising permission to stay in the country and determining how long an individual can stay and what an individual can do is through the use of immigration stamps. A stamp 4 permission entitles a person to live and work in Ireland without an employment permit for 2 years and may be renewed subject to conditions.

Since 2 April 2024, holders of the Critical Skills Employment Permits, Researchers on a Hosting Agreement, and Non-Consultant Hospital Doctors with a Multi-Site General Employment Permit can now change from a stamp 1 permission to a stamp 4 permission based on 21 months of employment rather than 21 months of stamp 1 permissions. It had previously been the case that delays in issuing stamp 1 permissions would prejudice an employee’s ability to apply for stamp 4 permission, as employees were required to apply for a new permit to bridge the gap between the expiry of their permit and reaching 21-month permission.

In addition, holders of a General Employment Permit or an Intra-Company Transfer who have completed 57 months of employment on the basis of a permit can now also apply for stamp 4 permission. The previous position had been that holders of a General Employment Permit were only eligible for stamp 4 permission after five years of employment, and Intra-Company Transfer Permit holders were not eligible for stamp 4 permission.