Ireland Stamp 1G Graduate Visa 2026: Eligibility, Fee & How to Extend Into a Work Permit

If you’ve just finished a degree in Ireland on a Stamp 2 student permission, Stamp 1G is the bridge that lets you stay and look for skilled work without leaving the country. It doesn’t require a job offer to apply for, but it also doesn’t lead anywhere on its own — you still need to land a qualifying role and convert to an employment permit before it expires. Here’s exactly how the Third Level Graduate Programme works in 2026, and how to avoid the most common way graduates lose time on the clock.

What Stamp 1G actually is

Stamp 1G (officially the Third Level Graduate Programme) is an immigration permission — not a work permit — issued by Ireland’s Immigration Service Delivery (ISD) to non-EU/EEA/UK/Swiss graduates of Irish higher education institutions. It lets you remain in Ireland after your studies end specifically to look for employment, and it authorises full-time work (up to 40 hours a week) while you search, without restricting you to a particular occupation list or salary threshold the way a Critical Skills Employment Permit does.

Crucially, Stamp 1G is a holding permission. It gives you runway to find a job and get a proper employment permit (Critical Skills Employment Permit or General Employment Permit) — it does not convert into one automatically, and time spent on it does not count toward Irish citizenship residency requirements.

Who qualifies

To be eligible for Stamp 1G you generally need to:

Hold a current Stamp 2 student permission at the time of application, with an in-date Irish Residence Permit (IRP) card.
Have been awarded a Level 8 (honours bachelor’s) or higher qualification (Level 9 master’s or Level 10 doctorate) on the National Framework of Qualifications, from a recognised Irish awarding body.
Apply within six months of receiving your final exam results — you don’t need to wait for your formal conferring ceremony, and starting the application as soon as results issue is the single best way to avoid missing the window.
Not have already exceeded the overall 7-year limit non-EEA nationals can spend in Ireland on student permissions (this extends to 8 years for those who complete the graduate scheme).

Graduates who completed a Level 7 ordinary degree only qualify under a legacy rule tied to courses started before mid-2017, so most current applicants will be assessed at Level 8 or above.

How long you get

Duration depends on your qualification level, and this is the detail that trips people up most:

Level 8 (bachelor’s/honours degree): up to 12 months, issued as a single permission.
Level 9 or 10 (master’s/PhD): up to 24 months, typically granted as an initial 12 months with a renewal for a further 12 — you still need to apply for the extension, it isn’t automatic.

There is no way to extend Stamp 1G beyond these caps by reapplying on the same basis — the clock only resets if you convert to a different permission (an employment permit, or returning to Stamp 2 for further study at a higher NFQ level, within the overall limit).

Fee and how to apply

The Stamp 1G registration is processed at the standard Irish Residence Permit registration fee (€300), paid online as part of your application. Where you apply depends on your location:

Graduates registered in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Kildare, Meath or Wicklow typically apply and renew their registration online through the ISD’s registration system.
Graduates elsewhere register in person at their local Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) registration office.

You’ll need your final results confirmation (a transcript or official letter is usually accepted before the parchment is issued), your current IRP card, passport, and evidence you meet the financial and health-insurance conditions that carried over from your student permission.

Using Stamp 1G to find work — and what comes next

Stamp 1G removes the “no work above 20 hours a week” restriction that applies to Stamp 2, so you can work any job, any hours, while you search. But because it isn’t itself a route to long-term status, the real task during those 12–24 months is securing a role that qualifies for:

A Critical Skills Employment Permit — the faster route to Stamp 4 (unrestricted residency) if your job is on Ireland’s Critical Skills Occupations List and meets the relevant salary threshold.
A General Employment Permit — for roles outside the critical skills list, subject to a labour market needs test in most cases and a lower salary floor, but a longer path to Stamp 4.

If you’re weighing Ireland against other countries’ post-study work options, see our comparison of post-study work visas — Ireland’s model (a fixed search window with no automatic conversion) differs meaningfully from routes like the UK’s Graduate visa or Canada’s PGWP.

Apply for the employment permit before your Stamp 1G expires — you cannot legally continue working once it lapses, and a gap in permission can complicate future applications. Many graduates underestimate how long employer-sponsored permit processing takes (often several weeks once an employer commits), so start that conversation as soon as you have an offer in hand, not when your Stamp 1G is close to running out.

FAQ

Does time on Stamp 1G count toward Irish citizenship? No. Like Stamp 2 study time, Stamp 1G residence does not count toward the reckonable residence required for naturalisation — only time held under qualifying work/family permissions after you convert generally counts.

Can I bring dependants on Stamp 1G? Stamp 1G does not carry dependant/family reunification rights on its own. Family permission becomes available once you hold a qualifying employment permit and meet its own income and housing conditions.

What if I don’t find a job in time? If your Stamp 1G expires without a qualifying job offer, you no longer have permission to remain in Ireland on this basis and would need to leave, unless you qualify for another route (e.g. enrolling in further study at a higher NFQ level, within the overall time limit).

Can I switch employers while on Stamp 1G? Yes — because Stamp 1G isn’t tied to a specific employer, you can search freely and take any job that helps you build toward a qualifying employment permit application.

Getting this timeline right — results date, six-month application window, and the employer-permit handoff before Stamp 1G lapses — is exactly the kind of sequencing VisaMet’s AI assistant is built to track for you, alongside document checks and mock interview prep for whatever comes next. Join the waitlist to get early access.

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This guide is general preparation information, not legal advice. Immigration rules and fees change — always confirm current requirements with Ireland’s Immigration Service Delivery (irishimmigration.ie) before applying.