GlobeQuest

Ireland visas and residency

Who can visit Ireland without a visa, and the 4 long-stay routes that let you actually live there.

Short stay

Visiting Ireland, by passport

How the 198 passports we track get in. A visitor entry is never permission to work, study or settle — that is what the routes further down are for.

United StatesVisa-free · 90 daysUnited KingdomFree movementIndiaVisa requiredCanadaVisa-free · 90 daysAustraliaVisa-free · 90 daysGermanyFree movementFranceFree movementNetherlandsFree movementSpainFree movementItalyFree movementPortugalFree movementPolandFree movementSwedenFree movementSwitzerlandFree movementSouth AfricaVisa required
No visa at all

Who can simply move to Ireland

EU/EEA and Swiss free movement

Citizens covered by EU/EEA and Swiss free movement need none of the routes below

Citizens of EU and EEA countries and Switzerland can live, work and study in each other's countries without a visa or a work permit.

For the first three months a valid passport or national ID card is all you need. Beyond that you may have to register as a resident, and if you are not working or studying you need enough money to live on and health cover. Switzerland issues an EU/EFTA residence permit on the same terms.

Verified November 2026:Your Europe — residence rights when living abroad in the EUState Secretariat for Migration — free movement of persons Switzerland–EU/EFTA
Common Travel Area

Citizens covered by Common Travel Area need none of the routes below

British and Irish citizens can live, work and study in each other's country, and use its public services, without any immigration permission.

There is nothing to apply for. It covers citizens only: a resident of the UK or Ireland who holds another nationality needs that country's own immigration permission.

Verified November 2026:GOV.UK — Common Travel Area: rights of UK and Irish citizens
Long stay

How you actually move to Ireland

Work / sponsoredHigh confidenceVerified July 2026

Critical Skills Employment Permit

People hired into occupations Ireland has decided it is short of — heavily weighted to tech, engineering, healthcare and finance. The best work route by a wide margin.

What you need
  • Job offer of at least 2 years from an Irish employer
  • Salary of at least €40,904 with a relevant degree, or €68,911 without one — thresholds effective 1 March 2026, assessed on **basic annual salary only**
  • Recent graduates of Irish third-level institutions qualify at a reduced €36,848 if they finished within the previous 12 months
  • Occupation on the Critical Skills list, or above the higher salary threshold
  • No labour-market needs test
How long it lasts
2 years, after which you move to a residence permission rather than renewing the permit.
Path to permanent residence
You may apply for Stamp 4 after 21 months of employment on the permit, at which point you are no longer tied to an employer — in practice the new permission takes effect around the two-year mark, as the permit runs out. Since 30 November 2023 no DETE support letter is needed; the Department of Justice handles it end to end. Citizenship becomes possible after 5 years of reckonable residence.
Cost
€1,000 permit fee for a 2-year permit, plus the Irish Residence Permit registration fee. If the application is refused, 90% of the €1,000 is refunded — and it is refunded to the applicant, even where the employer paid it. Employers may not deduct permit costs from your pay (Employment Permits Act 2024, s.55).
Processing time
Permit decisions have historically run a few weeks to a couple of months depending on backlog.
Worth knowing
  • Only basic salary counts. Bonuses, overtime, commission, allowances and benefits in kind are all excluded, so an offer comfortably over the line on total comp can fall under it on basic pay — the most common way this application fails.
  • The 21-month Stamp 4 route is the standout feature — it is far faster than the equivalent in most of Western Europe.
  • Critical Skills holders may bring spouses and partners, who get immediate access to the labour market without their own permit.
  • There is no Irish digital nomad visa. Remote work for a foreign employer is not a basis for residence.
Sources:DETE — Employment PermitsImmigration Service Delivery
Work / sponsoredHigh confidenceVerified July 2026

General Employment Permit

Roles outside the Critical Skills list. The fallback route, and materially worse on every dimension that matters.

What you need
  • Job offer from an Irish employer
  • Salary of at least €36,605, or €32,691 (€16.12/hour) in designated lower-paid sectors — horticulture, meat processing, health care assistants and home support workers — thresholds effective 1 March 2026
  • A reduced €34,009 applies where the applicant obtained an Irish third-level qualification in the 12 months before applying
  • A Labour Market Needs Test in most cases: the vacancy must be advertised on DSP/EURES and on a second online platform before the permit is sought. It is waived above €68,911, for Enterprise Ireland and IDA-backed roles, and in a handful of other cases
  • The employer must maintain a 50:50 EEA-to-non-EEA staffing ratio
How long it lasts
Up to 2 years initially, renewable for up to 3 more.
Path to permanent residence
Stamp 4 after 5 years of continuous residence on the permit — more than twice the Critical Skills wait.
Cost
€1,000 for a permit over 6 months (€500 for 6 months or less), plus IRP registration. Renewals are dearer: €1,500 for up to 36 months. 90% of the fee is refunded if the application is unsuccessful.
Processing time
Similar to Critical Skills, with the Labour Market Needs Test adding four weeks up front.
Worth knowing
  • The 50:50 ratio rule blocks small employers with few or no EEA staff from sponsoring at all.
  • If your occupation later joins the Critical Skills list, switching is worth doing purely for the 21-month Stamp 4 clock.
Sources:DETE — Employment Permits
RetirementMedium confidenceVerified July 2026

Stamp 0 — Person of Independent Means

Retirees and people of independent means who want to live in Ireland without working.

What you need
  • Annual income commonly stated at €50,000 per person, from a source outside Ireland
  • Access to a lump sum sufficient to cover unforeseen major expenses
  • Private medical insurance
  • No recourse to public funds and no employment
How long it lasts
Granted for 1 year at a time, renewable at the immigration authority's discretion.
Path to permanent residence
None. Stamp 0 is explicitly a low-permanence permission and time on it does not reckon toward citizenship.
Cost
IRP registration fee per renewal.
Processing time
Several weeks to a few months.
Worth knowing
  • Stamp 0 is the weakest permission Ireland grants — annual renewal, no work, no path to settlement. It suits people with means and no need for either.
  • The income figure is administrative policy rather than statute, so confirm the current expectation with ISD before relying on it.
Sources:Immigration Service Delivery
StudentMedium confidenceVerified July 2026

Student permission (Stamp 2)

Students on a course from the Interim List of Eligible Programmes.

What you need
  • Acceptance onto an eligible programme
  • Proof of funds (commonly €10,000 for the year, plus fees paid)
  • Private medical insurance
How long it lasts
Up to 7 years total on student permission across all courses.
Path to permanent residence
Student time does not reckon toward citizenship. Graduates of Irish degrees can use the Third Level Graduate Scheme to stay and look for work, then switch to a Critical Skills permit at the reduced graduate threshold.
Cost
IRP registration plus tuition.
Processing time
Visa applications from outside the EEA commonly take 4–8 weeks.
Worth knowing
  • Stamp 2 allows 20 hours of work per week during term and 40 in holidays — but it cannot be the funds you evidence.
  • The graduate route into a reduced-threshold Critical Skills permit is the single most useful thing about studying in Ireland from an immigration standpoint.
Sources:Immigration Service Delivery
On the ground

Where you'd land in Ireland

Dublin

English-speaking EU with every US tech firm's European headquarters — if you can survive the rental market.

Full Dublin guide
Cork

Ireland's second city and its pharma capital — cheaper than Dublin, though the registration office is still 260 km away.

Full Cork guide

Ireland at a glance

Capital
Dublin
Population
5.5M
Languages
English, Irish
Currency
EUR