Stamp 4 upgrades and changes to the immigration permission registration and renewal process

Update to eligibility requirements for Stamp 4 upgrades

What has changed?

From 3 April 2024, CSEP holders possessing Stamp 1 residence permission may now apply for Stamp 4 permission after completing 21 months’ employment in the State under their CSEP. This change will reduce the likelihood that a prospective Stamp 4 applicant will require a new employment permit where there was a delay in receiving Stamp 1 residence permission following the granting of their CSEP.

Background

In November 2023, we discussed the significant change in the process for Critical Skills Employment Permit (CSEP) holders upgrading to Stamp 4 permission. After Immigration Service Delivery (ISD) took over responsibility for processing these applications on 1 December 2023, CSEP holders must have completed 21 months’ Stamp 1 permission before becoming eligible to apply to upgrade to Stamp 4 permission. ISD has now introduced an important change to the eligibility criteria and confirmed that CSEP holders may now apply to upgrade to Stamp 4 permission upon completing 21 months’ employment in the State under their CSEP.

This is a welcome development as it represents a relaxation of the 21-month eligibility period requirement and aligns with the eligibility rules previously operated by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE) whereby CSEP holders applied to the DETE for a Stamp 4 support letter before then making an application to ISD to upgrade their residence permission from Stamp 1 to Stamp 4. Any delays in a CSEP holder initially obtaining their Stamp 1 permission should no longer prejudice their ability to apply for Stamp 4 permission once they have completed 21 months’ service with their employer under their CSEP. This change will reduce the likelihood that a prospective Stamp 4 applicant will require a new employment permit to bridge what is often a short gap between the expiry of their CSEP and reaching 21 months’ Stamp 1 residence permission in the State.

More information can be found here.

Transfer of registration responsibility for Meath, Kildare and Wicklow

On 28 March 2024, Immigration Service Delivery (ISD) announced important changes to both the first-time registration and the renewal process of Irish Immigration residence permissions for residents of Meath, Kildare, and Wicklow.

With effect from 8 April 2024:

  • the registration of immigration permissions for residents of these counties will no longer be carried out by the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) but will be administered by ISD.
  • in addition to Dublin, the first-time registration of Irish residence permissions for customers based in counties Meath, Kildare and Wicklow will be carried out at the Registration Office, 13-14 Burgh Quay, Dublin 2. Appointments for first time registration can be booked using the Freephone number (1800 800 630). Operators are available between 9am and 5pm Monday-Friday to arrange appointments, and customers will be required to provide operators with passport details and an email address to arrange appointments.
  • applications for renewals of permissions from customers living in Meath, Kildare, and Wicklow will be processed online using the IISD online renewal portal. Applicants will no loner need to attend the Burgh Quay Registration Office or their local GNIB office in person.
  • the GNIB will continue to undertake fist registrations and renewal responsibilities for applicants living outside of counties Dublin, Meath, Kildare, and Wicklow. These applicants will need to check the An Garda Síochána website to find their nearest GNIB office.
  • the documents that must be provided for both first-time registrations and renewal applications can be found here. For all first-time registrations, original documents will need to be provided. For renewal applications, residents of Dublin, Kildare, Meath, or Wicklow will be allowed to provide scanned copies of the required documents with their online application. Residents living outside of these counties will need to provide original documents with their renewal applications.

It should be noted that all applications State-wide for renewal of residence permission, including when changing Stamp category, are accepted by ISD and GNIB up to 12 weeks prior to expiry to allow sufficient time for processing.

More information can be found here and here.

ALG’s Corporate Immigration team advises clients on all aspects of Irish immigration law. The team manages and assists clients with their corporate immigration and global mobility requirements. For further information please contact Noeleen Meehan, Partner or Colm Byrne, Associate .

Date published: 10 April 2024