Stamp 1 (Ireland)

Ireland records each non-EEA resident's permission as a numbered stamp. Immigration Service Delivery (ISD) says Stamp 1 indicates permission to work or operate a business in Ireland, subject to conditions. To get it you must hold a valid employment permit, or a letter from ISD saying you can work without one.

The main condition is that you must not start a job unless you or your employer holds an employment permit for it. Stamp 1 time counts as reckonable residence if you later apply for citizenship by naturalisation.

• Stamp 1: work based on an employment permit, such as a Critical Skills or General Employment Permit.
• Stamp 1H: for doctors on a two-year Multi-Site General Employment Permit working as non-consultant hospital doctors in any public hospital or health care facility. The employer must tell DETE about any change of location or contract before it happens.
• Stamp 1G: for eligible spouses and partners of permit holders, and for graduates of Irish colleges.
• Stamp 4: work without a permit. ISD says you can apply after 21 months on Stamp 1 with a Critical Skills permit or on Stamp 1H, or 57 months with a General Employment Permit.

1. Get your employment permit from DETE.
2. If you are visa-required, apply for an employment visa and travel. The immigration officer at the border decides on entry.
3. Book an appointment with ISD's Registration Office at Burgh Quay, Dublin, after you arrive. You must register within 90 days.
4. Bring your passport, employment permit and other listed documents. Your photograph and fingerprints are taken and you pay the registration fee of up to €300.
5. Your Irish Residence Permit card arrives by post, which ISD says should be within 10 working days.

ISD says registration based on an employment permit is usually valid for 12 months and can then be renewed if you still qualify. You renew online up to 12 weeks before the card expires, and the new permission runs from your current expiry date, so applying early loses no time.

DETE advises renewing at least one month before expiry to avoid being in the State unlawfully, and warns that delays in registering can affect later applications for long-term residence or citizenship. If you are already in Ireland on another permission, such as Stamp 2 as a student, and are granted an employment permit, you must register the change to Stamp 1.

• Starting work early. Stamp 1 does not cover a job that has no employment permit, including a new job with another employer.
• Letting registration lapse. Gaps can affect later applications for long-term residence or citizenship, so renew before expiry.
• Professional registration. Stamp 1 lets you work; your regulator, such as NMBI or the Medical Council, decides whether you can practise.