Travelling to Ireland for education, work, holiday or have business plans? Well, you are at the right place as this blog will guide you through the different stamps required to stay in Ireland depending on requirements.
If you are a non-EU/EEA/Swiss national you need to receive a permission for travelling to Ireland in which a passport and a stamp is required. The stamps in Ireland are differently numbered which serve as indicators that allow people to stay for particular days, weeks or months. The stamps are issued from the INIS office in Burgh Quay, City Centre, Dublin.
The stamps in Ireland come with different rules and regulations which you must abide by. For settlement in Ireland one must look up to the procedures for stamps carefully and meet the reckonable residence requirements.
Here are the different types of stamps issued in Ireland mentioned below:
Stamp 0
Stamp 0 allows a temporary stay in the country.
Conditions:
- You must be well funded and must be self-sufficient in any means. If you have a sponsor then he/she must have funds to support your stay and be independent.
- The person must have medical insurance to be able to manage any health risk during a crisis. This stamp does not allow individuals to get any treatment in public hospitals.
- Individuals are not allowed to work or get engaged in any business unless it is specified in a permission letter from INIS.
To receive stamp 0 individuals are required to have the following permissions:
- A visitor to an Irish institute, school, or college.
- A person who wants to live or retire in Ireland with independent means.
- To work in any international company to carry out a specific task for a specific time.
- Extension of short term visit due to exceptional humanitarian circumstances.
Stamp 1
Stamp 1 gives permission to work or start a business in Ireland to individuals. If you are applying for citizenship by naturalisation then the individual is reckonable as residence. This is the stamp that most students apply for after completing their Masters in Ireland and landing a job where the employer is ready to sponsor them for their work permit application from their job search visa. This is the Stamp that most international students get as a path towards their eventual settlement in Ireland.
Conditions:
- The individuals are required to obtain an employment permit through their employer before they engage in any business activity or start a job.
- A letter of permission from INIS is required if you do not have an employment permit if you want to engage in any business, trade, or profession.
- If you want to stay past the expiry date of your immigration permission in Ireland then you must renew your permission before the expiry.
Stamp 1A
The stamp 1A provides permission for full-time paid accountancy training (in compliance with the immigration rules or regulated by the IAASA and with a training contract with a company based in Ireland) for a limited time.
Conditions:
- This stamp should not be used for any other purposes such as engagement in any business, trade, or profession. If you wish to do so then it should be specified in a letter of permission from INIS.
- If you want to stay longer than you stamp expiry then you must renew your permission and registration on time.
Stamp 1G
This stamp allows students who have completed their studies in Ireland (currently holding Irish student visa and Stamp 2/2A) and want to work in the country under the third Level graduate program. On this stamp international students are allowed to work full time and look for jobs, it’s also called a Job Search visa.
Conditions:
- If you have completed your studies from an Irish school, college, or institution.
- You have a full-time job that consists of 40 hours per week or are looking for full time job in the state
- Stamp 1G is valid for 1 year and needs to be renewed for another year 2 months before expiry of the current stamp.
In case if you are the spouse/de facto partner/civil partner of a critical skills employment permit or of a researcher on a hosting agreement.
- You are not allowed to start your business or become self-employed
- Work without employment permit in ireland
- You can register or renew your Stamp 1G annually. If you are on stamp 1G for five years then you can apply for stamp 4.
Stamp 2
The Stamp 2 is given to the international students who are on an Irish student visa in Ireland and have taken admission and paid full/ partial fee in a full-time course included in the Interim List of Eligible Programmes (ILEP).
Conditions:
- During your academic year you are only allowed to work for 20 hours per week.
- During your semester break you can work for 40 hours per week. Institutions have to provide a letter to all students regarding the same.
- Students are not allowed to access publicly funded services in Ireland and are therefore required to have their private medical insurance.
Stamp 2A
The stamp 2A is for the students who have the permission to study full-time courses which are not in the interim list of eligible programmes (ILEP). This stamp is not reckonable as residence when applying for permanent residence.
Conditions:
- No benefits shall be taken or use publicly funded services.
- Students are not allowed to engage in any kind of business, trade, or profession in the state.
- If you want to stay for a longer period in the country then you must apply for the renewal or registration before the expiry date of your immigration permission.
- You must have your private medical insurance.
Stamp 3
The stamp 3 indicates the stay for individuals for a specific period in the country. This stamp is subject to residence when applying for permanent residence or citizenship by naturalisation.
Conditions:
- Individuals are not allowed to work or engage in any business, trade, or profession in the state.
- If you want to stay in Ireland for a longer term then you must apply for renewal or registration before the expiry of your immigration permission.
Stamp 4
This stamp indicates the stay in Ireland for a specific time, subject to conditions. This stamp allows individuals to apply for citizenship by naturalisation.This stamp is received by Stamp 1 holders after a successful completion of staying on the stamp for two years.
Conditions:
- You are allowed to work full time in any public or private organisation
- You can start your own business in the country
- You are allowed to access state funds and services which are determined by the Government department and agencies.
- You must renew your immigration permission if it is near to expiry
Stamp 5
This stamp is given to the people who have lived in Ireland for 8 years and have received a “without conditions as to Time” endorsement. This stamp does not come with a validity and is valid till your passport is.
Stamp 6
Stamp 6 indicates Irish citizenship on your passport. This stamp indicates that you have dual citizenship based on your country’s immigration rules. For most applicants who look forward to naturalisation and if their country doesn’t allow dual citizenship can choose to get the Irish passport.
Choose Visawebs for your work permit applications and visa extensions
Visawebs team has experts in the field of immigration. From Stamp 1G to Stamp 1, Stamp 4 and more, we can help you with all kinds of work permit applications. Over the course of the past 3 years we have helped many Non-EU nationals, students and working professionals from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and many more European countries achieve their naturalisation in Ireland. Be it Stamp 1G extension appeals, General or Critical skills work permit applications, we’re always happy to help.
About Visawebs
Visawebs is an education startup founded in 2018, which provides a one-stop solution for students planning to study abroad. We promote sensible education choices which help students be placed at the best-fit career abroad for their profile and in settling in the destination country in the best way. Having registered over 5000 students, tied up with 50+ international universities (USA, Canada, UK, Ireland and more), the company aims to provide services to the students right from IELTS to finding the right mix(country, course and institution) to VISA applications to a soft landing. It also includes help with education loans, forex, airport transfers, part time and accommodation. Visawebs is a community-driven team for international education and learning.
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