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Staying in Ireland for good – Stamp 4, long-term residency and Irish citizenship in 2026

Last updated 25 September 2026Rules checked every MondayOfficial sourcesSources & methodology →

After the first permits comes the question of staying: Stamp 4, Long Term Residency, Stamp 5 or Irish citizenship. Here are the routes, the fees and the 5-in-9 rule as they stand in 2026 – and what the new citizenship Bill would change if it becomes law.

Red-haired woman holding a small flag of Ireland in front of an old stone building
Photo: A Stock Studio/Adobe Stock

After two to five years most newcomers reach the same fork: renew a one-year permission again, or move to a status that no longer depends on an employer. In Ireland that ladder has four rungs – Stamp 4, Long Term Residency, Stamp 5 and Irish citizenship. Two changes frame 2026: since 8 December 2025 people granted international protection need 5 years' residence for citizenship, not 3, and on 21 September 2026 the Government published the General Scheme of a Bill that would raise the general requirement to 8 years – a proposal with no effective date.

What is Stamp 4 and how do you get it?

Stamp 4 lets you take up employment without an employment permit, establish and operate a business and access State funds and services. It counts as reckonable residence for naturalisation. Immigration Service Delivery (ISD) lists the routes.

Route to Stamp 4WhenRenewed
Critical Skills Employment Permit, or researcher on a hosting agreementAfter 21 months of employment, by online applicationEvery 2 years
General Employment Permit or intra-company transferAfter 57 monthsEvery year
Spouse or partner on Stamp 1G of a Critical Skills holder or researcherAfter 5 years on Stamp 1GAs Stamp 4
Spouse or civil partner of an Irish citizenOn registration, usually valid 3 years, no feeBefore expiry
Refugee, parent of an Irish citizen child, investor or entrepreneur, Long Term ResidencyOn grantBefore expiry

Source: Immigration Service Delivery and Citizens Information, read 24 September 2026.

Since 30 November 2023 no support letter from the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment is needed; ISD checks your start date in the Employment Detail Summary from Revenue myAccount. Renewals are online only and no reminders are sent. Take Anna, who arrived on a Critical Skills permit. At 21 months she applies for Stamp 4 and can then change employer or start a business; her partner on Stamp 1G can apply for Stamp 4 after 5 years. With 5 years of reckonable residence – Stamp 1 and Stamp 4 both count – and no more than 70 days abroad in the final year, she can apply for citizenship.

Long Term Residency and Stamp 5: the settled statuses short of citizenship

Long Term Residency is a Stamp 4 for 5 years for someone legally resident for 60 months on employment permits – Stamp 1, or Stamp 1 followed by a Stamp 4 based on a Critical Skills permit – who is in employment (not self-employment) and of good character. The fee is €500 within 28 days of approval plus the registration fee; there is no appeal. Stamp 5 can be applied for through the ISD Customer Service Portal after 8 years (96 months) on Stamps 1, 1H, 1G, 3, 4, 4D or 4S; it is valid until your passport expires.

StatusResidence requiredFeeGood to know
Stamp 4 from a Critical Skills permit21 months of employment€300 registrationRenewable every 2 years
Long Term Residency60 months on employment permits€500 plus registrationNo appeal; absences under 90 days a year
Stamp 596 months on qualifying stamps€300 registrationAt least 6 months to process
Naturalisation5 of the last 9 years, 1 continuous year before applying€175 to apply, €950 on approval12 months (ISD) or 19 months (Citizens Information) for most

Source: Immigration Service Delivery and Citizens Information, read 24 September 2026.

EU, EEA, UK and Swiss citizens: permanent residence without a card

Citizens of the EU, EEA, UK and Switzerland do not register with ISD. After 5 years of continuous legal residence as a worker, self-employed person, self-sufficient person or student, an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen acquires a permanent right of residence automatically; a Permanent Residence Certificate (form EUTR2, valid 10 years) is optional. Their non-EEA family members hold a residence card of up to 5 years with Stamp 4EUFAM and after 5 continuous years can apply for a Permanent Residence Card (form EUTR3), valid 10 years – online from 10 September 2026, with the paper form accepted only until 15 October 2026. UK citizens need no permission under the Common Travel Area.

Irish citizenship by naturalisation: the 5-in-9 rule

An adult needs 1 year of continuous reckonable residence immediately before applying plus 4 years in the previous 8 – 5 of the last 9 – and must be of good character and intend to stay. In the final year you may spend at most 70 days outside Ireland, with up to 30 more for exceptional circumstances; more than 100 days makes the application ineligible and the fee is lost.

Time spentCounts towards naturalisation?
On Stamps 1, 1G, 1H, 3, 4 or 5Yes
On Stamp 2 or 2A as a studentNo, except under the young-adult route for 18- to 23-year-olds who came with their family
Awaiting an international protection decision, or undocumentedNo
After a grant of international protectionYes; 5 years for applications received from 8 December 2025
Any residence as an EEA, Swiss or UK citizenYes, all of it

Source: Citizens Information and Immigration Service Delivery, read 24 September 2026.

Spouses and civil partners of Irish citizens qualify after 3 years of marriage and 3 years' residence on the island of Ireland in the previous 5, living together, with 12 months' continuous residence before applying. Children born in Ireland on or after 1 January 2005 are citizens at birth only if a parent was Irish or British, had 3 years of reckonable residence in the previous 4, or had a right to reside without time limit.

How do you apply, what does it cost and how long does it take?

Applications go through the ISD Online Form Portal, open to adults since 16 October 2023; paper forms remain on request. Identity and residence are scored: 150 points for identity – a certified colour copy of your passport's biometric page is enough – and 150 points for each year of residence.

FeeAmount
Application, not refunded if refused or incomplete€175
Certificate, adult€950
Certificate, minor, or widow, widower or surviving civil partner of an Irish citizen€200
Certificate, refugee, stateless person or programme refugeeNo charge

Source: Citizens Information and Immigration Service Delivery, read 24 September 2026.

On timing the sources differ: ISD's guide says most applications are processed within 12 months, Citizens Information says most within 19 months. A refusal cannot be appealed, but you may apply again. You become a citizen only when you make the declaration of fidelity to the nation and loyalty to the State at a ceremony presided over by a judge, and every naturalisation is published in Iris Oifigiúil. Irish law lets you keep your other citizenship, though your home country's law may not.

The 2026 Bill: what is proposed, and what is not yet law

The General Scheme of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2026 was published on 21 September 2026. The scheme would raise the residence requirement from 5 to 8 years for most applicants – 2 years' continuous residence immediately before applying plus 6 in the preceding 10 – introduce tests in English, Irish or Irish Sign Language and a civics test, and require self-sufficiency, including no prescribed welfare or housing support in the 2 years before applying. The spouse route would move to 5 years of marriage. None of this is in force: the scheme goes to the Joint Committee on Justice for pre-legislative scrutiny, and enactment is a matter for the Oireachtas.

What to do now

StepWhatWhen
1Count your months on each stamp from your Irish Residence Permit (IRP) cards and the Revenue Employment Detail SummaryNow
2Critical Skills holders and researchers: apply online for Stamp 4At 21 months, within the 12-week renewal window
3Keep absences under 90 days a year, and under 70 in the year before a citizenship applicationEvery year
4Apply on the ISD Online Form Portal with a certified passport copy and 150 points of residence proof per yearOnce you have 5 of the last 9 years

Source: Immigration Service Delivery, read 24 September 2026.

Official sources

The official pages this guide is based on, read 24 September 2026. Links open the authority’s own website.

Relocate in Europe provides general information, not legal or financial advice for your individual situation. Check with the authority named above before you act – rules change, and your case may differ.