What is Ireland's 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. It lasts 2 years, after which you move to a residence permission rather than renewing the permit. Stamp 4 after 21 months of continuous employment — at which point you are no longer tied to an employer. Citizenship becomes possible after 5 years of reckonable residence.

What is Ireland's General Employment Permit?

Roles outside the Critical Skills list. The fallback route, and materially worse on every dimension that matters. It lasts up to 2 years initially, renewable for up to 3 more. Stamp 4 after 5 years of continuous residence on the permit — more than twice the Critical Skills wait.

What is Ireland's Stamp 0 — Person of Independent Means?

Retirees and people of independent means who want to live in Ireland without working. It lasts granted for 1 year at a time, renewable at the immigration authority's discretion. None. Stamp 0 is explicitly a low-permanence permission and time on it does not reckon toward citizenship.

What is Ireland's Student permission (Stamp 2)?

Students on a course from the Interim List of Eligible Programmes. It lasts up to 7 years total on student permission across all courses. 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.

GlobeQuest

Moving from Mozambique to Ireland

What your passport gets you at the border — and what it takes to actually stay.

Mozambique

IrelandShort stay

Visa required

Mozambique passport holders need a visa arranged in advance to enter Ireland, usually through an embassy, consulate or accredited visa centre.

This is short-stay visitor policy only. It does not let you work, study or settle in Ireland — that needs a residence permit.

Passport Index · updated 17 February 2026Ireland's official immigration service

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: Stamp 4 after 21 months of continuous employment — at which point you are no longer tied to an employer. 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.
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 Permits Immigration 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 €36,505, or €32,691 in designated lower-paid sectors such as meat processing, horticulture, healthcare assistance and home care — thresholds effective 1 March 2026
A Labour Market Needs Test in most cases: the vacancy must be advertised before the permit is sought
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, plus IRP registration.
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