Residence program Ireland

How do I know if I am eligible to apply for Long Term Residency in Ireland?

1. Applications from persons who have been legally resident in the State for a minimum of 5 years (i.e. 60 months) on work permit/work authorisation/working visa conditions:
   
   Applications for Long Term Residency in Ireland are currently processed as an administrative scheme. Persons who have been legally resident in the State for a minimum of five years (i.e. 60 months) on the basis of work permit/work authorisation/working visa conditions may apply to this office for a five year residency extension. In that context, they may also apply to be exempt from employment permit requirements.
   
   Long Term Residency is granted on the basis that a non EEA national has completed a minimum of five years (i.e. 60 months) legal residence in the State on work permit conditions which is reflected in the corresponding Stamp 1 or Stamp 4 endorsements on a person's passport (not by the dates of commencement and expiry of each work permit/work authorisation/working visa). Periods of time for which a person has not been legally resident in the state (i.e. does not have an up to date endorsement on their passport) cannot be counted towards an application for Long Term Residency.
   
   A successful applicant in this situation will be granted Permission to Remain on a Stamp 4 which is valid for 5 years.
   
   
2. Applications from Spouses/Dependants
   
   The spouse and/or dependant(s) of the applicant for Long Term Residency may also apply for Long Term Residency. In order to apply for Long Term Residency as a spouse/dependant, the applicant must be legally resident in the State as a spouse/dependant for the required 60 month period(i.e. minimum of 5 years).
   
   Successful applications from those who apply as a spouse/dependant will be granted Permission to Remain on a Stamp 3. This particular long term permission does not exempt the spouse/dependant(s) from employment permit requirements.
   
   It should be noted that, in order to submit an application for Long Term Residency as a Spouse/Dependant (Stamp 3) you must be the Spouse/Dependant of an applicant who has already been granted Long Term Residency on Stamp 4 conditions.

How do I know if I am ineligible to apply for Long Term Residency?

Applications for Long Term Residency cannot be accepted from persons listed in the following categories:

• The applicant is an EEA National (EU member states, Iceland, Liechtenstein & Norway).
• The applicant has permission to remain on the basis of his/her marriage to an Irish national (refer applicant to Spouse of Irish National Unit).
• The applicant has permission to remain on the basis of his/her marriage to an EEA national. (refer applicant to EU Treaty Rights Section)
• The applicant has permission to remain on Student Conditions (Stamp 2 & Stamp 2A)
• The applicant has been made redundant and has been lawfully resident and worked for 5 years with an employment permit issued by the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation or has been lawfully resident and has worked in accordance with an employment permit for less than 5 years and has been made redundant involuntarily. 
• The applicant has permission to remain under the old IBC and IBC-05 schemes or has had such permission renewed. 
• The applicant was granted permission to remain under the Turkish Agreement (Turkish Association – Stamp 4 for 1 year – renewable with local Immigration Officer)
• The applicant was granted permission to remain under humanitarian Permission to Remain (formerly Leave to Remain) or was granted Refugee Status or entered the State under the Family Reunification scheme.
• The applicant has permission to remain on the basis of an Intra-company Transfer.
• The applicant is working at a foreign embassy in the State.
• Permission to Remain issued under the Work Holiday Authorisation scheme (see www.dfa.ie) is not counted for the purposes of Long Term Residency.
• The applicant holds only Green Card (Employment) permits.
• The Applicant currently resident in the State under Business Permission.

How do I apply?

The following documents, together with a covering letter of application clearly indicating the passport endorsements relating to each work permit, should be submitted to:

What are the Eligibility Requirements I must meet in order to submit a valid Long Term Residency application?

Persons who have been legally resident in the State may apply for Long Term Residency subject to the conditions below:

• You must have a minimum of 60 months (5 years) reckonable residence on the date you submit your application.
• Only legal residence in the State on work permit, work authorisation or working visa conditions will be counted as reckonable residence for the purposes of your Long Term Residency application. This reckonable residence must be reflected by either a Stamp 1 or Stamp 4 endorsement on your passport - and not by the dates on your work permits, working authorisation or working visa. (Note: If you are applying for Long Term Residency as a spouse/dependant, your passport is usually endorsed with Stamp 3 or, in some cases, a combination of Stamps 1 and 3).
• Your permission to remain in the State must be up to date when you apply.
• You must be in gainful employment when you apply and during and after the application process.
• You must be of good character.

Any period of time for which you do not have permission to remain is not counted when we calculate your reckonable residence.

If you are applying for Long Term Residency as a Spouse/Dependant, please note that, should your application be successful, you will be granted Long Term Residency on Stamp 3 (Dependant stamp) conditions for 5 years. However you are not released from work permit conditions.

What happens to my application when I submit it?

Initially we check that you fully comply with the residency and work requirements for the scheme. If you don't we will let you know, usually within a week of submission of your application. If you do comply, your application will be placed in chronological order with other such applications and will subsequently progress to finality.

How long does it take to process an application?

An application generally takes between 6 and 8 months to process. However, for a variety of reasons, some applications may take longer

What if I do not have the required 60 months (5 years) Reckonable Residence when I apply?

Applications from non EEA nationals who do not have the required 60 months (5 years) reckonable residence at the date of application will not be accepted.

Once the prescribed fee has been paid, and all other criteria have been met, a letter will issue to the applicant or his/her solicitor/legal representative granting Long Term Residency on Stamp 4 for 5 years. A letter will also issue to GNIB informing them of the decision to grant Long Term Residency and of the appropriate stamp to be given to the applicant (Stamp 3 or Stamp 4).

Applications from Doctors registered with the Irish Medical Council

The Irish Medical Council has recently restructured their register into the following divisions:

• Trainee Specialist Division
• General Division
• Specialist Division.

It is understood that doctors may move from the General Division to the Trainee Specialist Division and/or Specialist Division. In such cases , the onus is on you the applicant to provide certification from the Irish Medical Council to confirm that you have the requisite 60 months reckonable residence.I have Business Permission to Remain in the State. 

Can I apply for Long Term Residency?

Procedures are currently being drafted in relation to applications from persons who hold Business Permission to Remain in the State.

I am a Green Card (Employment) Permit holder, but I also have work permits. Can I apply for Long Term Residency?

If you hold a combination of work permits and Green Card (Employment) Permits, then you can apply for Long Term Residency. However, you must also meet the Eligibility Criteria set out above.

I am currently working in the State under Hosting Agreement Conditions, but I also have work permits. Can I apply for Long Term Residency?

If you hold a combination of work permits and are currently working in the State under Hosting Agreement conditions, then you can apply for Long Term Residency. However, you must also meet the Eligibility Criteria set out above.

Please note: Persons who are made redundant should refer to www.inis.gov.ie "Policy for 5 year workers and redundant workers " with regard to keeping Permission to Remain up to date. 

Further information

For more information on how to obtain a residence permit in Ireland, please contact us.

Our outstanding team of professional consultants has been carefully selected and works towards our company ethos:

Focused on you - our Client.