Your stamp journey in Ireland
From the day you arrive as a student to the day you can hold an Irish passport - here's every immigration stamp that matters, and how you move from one to the next.
How many hours can you work?
A quick visual comparison of the weekly work limits on each stamp.
Bars are relative to a 40-hour full-time week.
How long does each permission last?
Typical maximum durations, in months.
Graduate-programme bars are to scale; residence bars are shown full to highlight the milestone.
Stamp 2 vs Stamp 1G
These are the two stamps every student deals with. The simplest way to think about it: Stamp 2 is for studying, Stamp 1G is for working after you graduate.
How to apply for Stamp 1G
Good news: you do NOT need to book an in-person appointment. Just like renewing Stamp 2, the whole thing is done online.
Create your account online
Everything is handled on the immigration portal - there is no appointment to book and no queue to stand in.
Submit your documents on the site
After making your account, you simply upload your documents on the portal. That's it - nothing to post or hand in.
Wait for your transcript / results
The main thing you're waiting on is your final transcript proving you completed your course. Once you have it, you're ready.
Get your new IRP
Once approved, your permission is updated to Stamp 1G and you can start working full-time with no employment permit.
Working 40 hours on Stamp 2
On Stamp 2 you can normally work 20 hours a week during term. But twice a year you're allowed to work full-time, up to 40 hours a week - during the official holiday periods highlighted below.
Summer
1 June – 30 September
Full-time, up to 40 hours/week. (September has 30 days - the period ends on the 30th, not the 31st.)
Winter
15 December – 15 January
Full-time, up to 40 hours/week over the Christmas / New Year break.
Outside those two windows you're limited to 20 hours per week. Going over the limit can put your permission - and any future Stamp 1G - at risk, so keep your hours documented.
Two more stamps worth knowing
Depending on your career path, you may meet these along the way.
Stamp 1A - Trainee accountants
Stamp 1A is a special permission given only to people doing full-time paid accountancy training under a training contract with an Irish firm (regulated by IAASA). It's not a general work stamp - it exists specifically for trainee accountants completing their professional qualification, usually over about 3–4 years.
Stamp 4 - Long-term residence
Stamp 4 is the big one: you can work for any employer with no employment permit, take up self-employment, and run a business. You usually reach it after 5 years on an employment permit (or just 2 years on a Critical Skills permit). Crucially, Stamp 4 time is reckonable toward citizenship.
Getting the Irish passport
Becoming an Irish citizen is done through naturalisation. The core rule:
- You need 5 years of reckonable residence out of the last 9 years.
- The final 12 months before you apply must be continuous residence in Ireland.
- Time spent on a student stamp (Stamp 2) and on the graduate scheme (Stamp 1G) does NOT count - the clock effectively starts on Stamp 1 / Stamp 4.
- Once you have the residence, you apply for naturalisation; if approved you become an Irish citizen and can get an Irish (EU) passport.
Tip: a spouse of an Irish citizen can apply after 3 years. You can check your exact total on the official Naturalisation Residency Calculator at irishimmigration.ie.
This is a friendly student guide, not legal advice. Rules and dates can change - always confirm the current details on irishimmigration.ie or with your college's international office before you apply.