🇮🇪 Post-study work visa in Ireland

What is Stamp 1G and the Third Level Graduate Programme?

Ireland does not issue a separate "post-study work visa". Instead, a non-EEA graduate who holds a Level 8 or higher award from a recognised Irish awarding body can apply under the Third Level Graduate Programme to have their student permission (Stamp 2) converted to Stamp 1G, a permission that lets them stay after graduation to look for and take up graduate-level work. Immigration Service Delivery describes its purpose plainly: time to seek employment and to obtain a Critical Skills Employment Permit, a General Employment Permit or a research hosting agreement.

On Stamp 1G you may work full-time, 40 hours a week, for any employer without needing an employment permit, which is what makes it valuable: employers can hire you immediately, and once they are satisfied they sponsor the permit. You cannot be self-employed, run a business or claim social welfare on Stamp 1G, and you must hold private medical insurance throughout. The permission is recorded on your Irish Residence Permit card in the same way as Stamp 2.

Stamp 1G is also the stamp given to spouses of Critical Skills permit holders, which causes confusion in search results. This guide covers the graduate version only. The rules below come from ISD's programme page and its September 2023 notice on student permission, which remain the operative texts in 2026.

How long can you stay in Ireland after graduating? Stamp 1G duration by qualification

Duration depends on the level of your Irish award on the National Framework of Qualifications, and every year you have spent on student-pathway stamps counts toward an overall cap.

Stamp 1G eligibility: who qualifies for the graduate programme?

ISD lists the conditions on its programme page. You must meet all of them at the time you apply.

• You hold a Level 8 or higher award on the NFQ from a recognised Irish awarding body (a university, technological university, QQI or an institution with delegated authority), and you were notified of the award in writing.
• You currently hold a valid Stamp 2 student permission and an up-to-date IRP card; you cannot apply from outside Ireland or after your Stamp 2 has expired.
• You apply within 6 months of being notified by the awarding body that you achieved the award. Results letters and parchments are dated, so the clock is visible.
• You have not already used the programme up: it cannot be accessed on more than two separate occasions, and a Level 8 graduate can re-enter only once, on a higher award such as Level 9 or above.
• Your total time on student-pathway stamps will not exceed 7 years (Level 8) or 8 years (Level 9 and above) by the end of the Stamp 1G period.
• You hold private medical insurance covering hospital stays for the duration of the permission and can pay the €300 registration fee.

How to apply for Stamp 1G after graduating in Ireland

Stamp 1G is obtained by registering (and later renewing) with Immigration Service Delivery, not through the extension-of-student-permission application. Check the linked ISD pages for the current registration method before you travel to an office. The steps below assume you graduate in the autumn with a September-start master's.

1. 1

   Get written confirmation of your award

   Ask your university for the official results letter or transcript confirming the Level 8 or 9 award, dated. The 6-month application window starts from this notification, not from the graduation ceremony, which can be months later.

2. 2

   Check your Stamp 2 expiry and IRP card

   Your Stamp 2 must still be valid when you apply. If it expires before results, renew it as a student first (with the usual €300 fee and funds evidence) so there is no gap in permission.

3. 3

   Renew or buy private medical insurance

   Student group policies often end with the course. You need cover for accidents and hospital stays for the full Stamp 1G period; travel insurance is not accepted for renewals.

4. 4

   Register for Stamp 1G with ISD

   Follow the registration route on the ISD Third Level Graduate Programme page, bring or upload your passport, IRP card, award letter and insurance certificate, and pay the €300 registration fee. Confirm on the linked ISD page whether your registration office or the online system handles it.

5. 5

   Start working while you wait

   ISD guidance treats a submitted, in-time application as keeping you lawfully in the State. Keep the application receipt; employers can accept it with your IRP card while the new card is issued.

6. 6

   Level 9 graduates: renew at 12 months

   The second 12 months is not automatic. Before your first Stamp 1G expires, renew with another €300 and evidence that you have taken appropriate steps to find suitable graduate-level employment, such as job-interview records, sign-ups with graduate recruitment agencies, or letters from companies or recruiters. The renewal is also subject to the overall 8-year limit.

7. 7

   Secure an employment permit before the end

   Your employer (or you, for the Critical Skills permit) applies to the Department of Enterprise. Once granted, register the new permission as Stamp 1. If you have neither a permit nor another permission when Stamp 1G ends, you are expected to leave.

From Stamp 1G to a work permit: Critical Skills vs General Employment Permit thresholds

The Department of Enterprise publishes the salary floors. Note the graduate concessions: both permits accept lower salaries for people who obtained a qualifying degree within the previous 12 months, which is the position of most Stamp 1G holders.

What salary can Indian graduates expect on Stamp 1G?

The permit thresholds are also a useful reality check on what "graduate-level" means in Ireland. The national minimum wage is €14.15 an hour from 1 January 2026, about €29,400 a year for a 40-hour week (₹32 lakh), so entry-level retail, hospitality and warehouse roles will not reach the €34,009 or €36,848 permit floors. Graduate software, data, engineering, accounting and pharma-quality roles in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Limerick typically start in the range that clears the Critical Skills graduate threshold, which is why Indian students overwhelmingly cluster in those fields.

Use the 24 months deliberately. A common pattern is 3–6 months of applications while working a part-time or contract role, a first permanent role by month 9–12, and a permit application in the second year once the employer is confident. Employers unfamiliar with permits are often put off by the process; being able to say "I can work for you today without a permit, and a Critical Skills permit costs €1,000 and needs no labour market test" removes the objection.

Keep your paperwork straight: payslips, a PPS number, tax registered through Revenue myAccount, and a continuous address history all matter later for Stamp 4 and, eventually, for citizenship, which requires 5 years of reckonable residence in the previous 9. Time on Stamp 1G as a Graduate Student counts as reckonable residence, as does time on Stamp 1 and Stamp 4; time on Stamp 2 (student permission) does not.

Count your years before you enrol

Ireland Stamp 1G vs UK Graduate visa vs Canada PGWP vs Australia 485

• Ireland: 12 months (Level 8) or up to 24 months (Level 9+, with a conditional renewal), €300 per registration, no salary requirement, 40 hours a week; the exit is an employment permit with a €36,848 graduate salary floor for Critical Skills roles.
• United Kingdom: Graduate visa of 18 months for most master's graduates (3 years for PhDs), a fee plus the health surcharge, and an exit to the Skilled Worker visa at higher salary floors than Ireland's.
• Canada: Post-Graduation Work Permit of up to 3 years depending on programme length and field-of-study eligibility rules; permanent residence via Express Entry rather than an employer permit.
• Australia: Temporary Graduate (485) visa of 2 years for most master's by coursework, with an age limit and a higher application charge.
• Ireland's distinctive advantage is the shortest path to permit-free status among these: Stamp 4 after 21 months on a Critical Skills permit.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources used on this page

• Immigration Service Delivery — Third Level Graduate Programme — Department of Justice, Ireland · checked 26 September 2026
• Immigration Service Delivery — Student permission and the Student Pathway (September 2023 notice) — Department of Justice, Ireland · checked 26 September 2026
• Immigration Service Delivery — Frequently asked questions for students — Department of Justice, Ireland · checked 26 September 2026
• Immigration Service Delivery — Registration: required documents and fees (Stamp 1G, Stamp 4) — Department of Justice, Ireland · checked 26 September 2026
• Department of Enterprise — Critical Skills Employment Permit — Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment · checked 26 September 2026
• Department of Enterprise — General Employment Permit — Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment · checked 26 September 2026
• Citizens Information — Immigration rules for full-time non-EEA students — Citizens Information Board · checked 26 September 2026
• Citizens Information — Types of residence permission for non-EEA nationals — Citizens Information Board · checked 26 September 2026
• Citizens Information — National minimum wage — Citizens Information Board · checked 26 September 2026
• Wise — EUR to INR mid-market rate — Wise · checked 26 September 2026