Staying in Ireland After You Graduate: Your Options

What is Stamp 1G?

Stamp 1G is a post-study immigration permission issued by Ireland’s Immigration Service Delivery (ISD) under the Third Level Graduate Programme. It lets you remain in Ireland to look for graduate-level work — and to work without the 20-hours-per-week restriction that applied during your studies on Stamp 2.

To qualify, you must have:

• Completed a full-time programme listed on the ILEP (Interim List of Eligible Programmes) at NFQ level 6 or above.
• Held a valid Stamp 2 student permission throughout your studies.
• Applied before your current Stamp 2 expires.

If your programme was not on the ILEP (for example, you held Stamp 2A), you do not qualify for Stamp 1G.

How long does Stamp 1G last?

The duration depends on the level of your Irish qualification (as of June 2026, confirmed via Citizens Information):

A Bachelor’s graduate gets one block of 12 months, which is not renewable. A Master’s or PhD graduate gets two blocks of 12 months — effectively two years to secure a qualifying role. This 24-month allowance is one of Ireland’s stronger selling points compared with, for example, Poland (9 months) or the UK Graduate Route, which is being reduced to 18 months from January 2027.

What can you do on Stamp 1G?

During your Stamp 1G period you may:

• Work for any employer, any sector, any number of hours per week — the 20 hrs/wk cap you had under Stamp 2 no longer applies.
• Look for a job at a qualifying salary level (see below).
• Travel in and out of Ireland, subject to your passport validity and any re-entry visa requirements for your nationality.

Stamp 1G itself does not make you eligible for a General Employment Permit or Critical Skills Employment Permit automatically — those require a qualifying job offer and a separate permit application.

From Stamp 1G to a work permit

Once you receive a qualifying job offer, you apply for one of two employment permits administered by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE).

Critical Skills Employment Permit (CSEP)

The CSEP is the faster route to long-term residence. Thresholds (from 1 March 2026, confirmed by DETE):

A “relevant degree” means a third-level qualification that the employer considers relevant to the role. The lower threshold for recent graduates gives you a small window immediately after you graduate before the standard threshold kicks in.

CSEP holders receive Stamp 1 immigration permission. After approximately two years on a CSEP, holders may apply for Stamp 4, which allows you to work without an employment permit in most sectors.

General Employment Permit (GEP)

The GEP is available for roles not on the CSEP-eligible occupation list but not on the excluded list. The process is more complex, the permit is tied to a specific employer, and it does not lead to Stamp 4 as directly as the CSEP. If you have a choice between the two permits for a qualifying role, the CSEP is the more useful long-term instrument.

Both permits are applied for in Ireland — you do not need to leave the country.

The route to Stamp 4 and long-term residence

Once you hold a CSEP, the general pathway looks like this:

• Year 1–2 on CSEP (Stamp 1): work in your qualifying role.
• After ~2 years: apply for Stamp 4. Stamp 4 holders can work without a permit, change employers freely, and access most public services.
• 5 years of qualifying residence: become eligible for long-term EU resident status (also known as permanent residence in Ireland’s terms), subject to conditions. This requires five years of uninterrupted legal residence.

The key word is qualifying residence. This brings us to the most important catch.

The citizenship catch: student time does not count

Time spent on Stamp 2 (student permission) is excluded from the “reckonable residence” needed to apply for Irish citizenship by naturalisation.

Naturalisation in Ireland generally requires five years of continuous reckonable residence. If you studied for four years on Stamp 2 and then spent five years on work permits (Stamp 1 → Stamp 4), your reckonable clock starts when you leave Stamp 2 — not when you arrived in Ireland. You would need roughly five additional years of work-based residence before applying for naturalisation.

This differs from some other EU states and catches many graduates off guard. Verify the current rules on irishimmigration.ie before planning long-term.

Does your degree level affect anything else?

Yes, in two ways beyond Stamp 1G duration:

Accommodation strategy. If you plan to stay after a Bachelor’s, you have 12 months to find a qualifying role. Ireland’s rental market is tight, particularly in Dublin. Most graduates who plan to job-seek stay in shared accommodation immediately after graduation rather than returning home and reapplying.

Salary expectations. A €40,904 salary is achievable in ICT, finance, pharma and engineering in Dublin. It is harder to find in hospitality, retail or lower-skilled roles — which is by design, as the permit system is intended to retain graduate-level talent. If your degree field does not map clearly to high-paying roles, discuss realistic salary expectations before choosing Ireland primarily for post-study work.

What you earn while job-seeking

On Stamp 1G you have no work-hours restriction. Ireland’s national minimum wage is €14.15 per hour for adults aged 20 and over (from 1 January 2026; sub-minimum rates apply under 20). At 40 hours per week, that is approximately €2,830 gross per month. Many graduate roles pay considerably more, particularly in Dublin’s ICT, financial services and pharmaceutical sectors.

Scholarships that can change the post-study picture

Two awards are worth knowing before you start, because they affect how well-placed you are after graduation:

Government of Ireland – International Education Scholarships (GOI-IES): covers €10,000 stipend plus full tuition fee waiver for one year at Master’s or PhD level (NFQ 9/10). Approximately 60 awards per cycle. A GOI-IES-funded Master’s gives you a 24-month Stamp 1G rather than 12 months, and you graduate debt-free for that year.

Ireland Fellows Programme – Africa: fully funded one-year Master’s, including fees, flights, accommodation, stipend, and visa costs, for eligible African countries including Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Zambia, and Zimbabwe (South Africa is not on the eligible list; many strands are by invitation only). Fellows also benefit from the 24-month Stamp 1G on graduation.

Both scholarships are described in more detail on the main Ireland visa page.

How World Study helps

We advise on Irish university selection, programme-ILEP eligibility verification, visa preparation, and post-study planning — all part of the core service at no fee to you. Immigration permit applications (CSEP/GEP) sit with a licensed Irish immigration adviser once you have a job offer; we can point you toward the right resource at that stage.

Run your profile through our eligibility check to see whether an Irish degree fits your study plan and your longer-term goals. If you have questions about the two-year post-study window versus your career field, speak to an adviser via WhatsApp.

For the full Irish study-visa picture — proof of funds, IELTS requirements, and fees — see the Ireland visa guide.