In Ireland, an immigration stamp is a number which is endorsed on the passport of a non-EEA national by An Garda Síochána which indicates the form of residence permission granted permitting them to live in Ireland. It also indicates what a person can and cannot do whilst resident on the particular permission granted.
The stamp is also placed on a person’s Irish Residence Permit after registration with the immigration authorities.
The immigration stamps are 0, 1, 1A, 1G, 2, 2A, 3, 4, 4s, 5 and 6.
In practice, the most sought-after immigration stamp is a Stamp 4 permission to remain. A stamp 4 permission to remain is a temporary immigration permission which allows the holder to reside in Ireland to a certain date, and is renewable provided that they have complied with the terms of the permission and obeyed the laws of the state. It allows the holder to work for somebody else, to be self-employed, to set up a business, to study along with many other benefits. For many non-EEA nationals, a stamp 4 permission to remain is the holy grail of Irish immigration permissions.
How does a non-EEA-national obtain a Stamp 4 permission to reside in Ireland
There are many routes to obtaining a Stamp 4 permission to remain, the most common of which are as follows and are explained in other sections of the website:
There are other occasions where a person may be granted a Stamp 4 permission to remain, for example if the Minister for Justice decides to exercise ministerial discretion to grant a person a Stamp 4 permission to remain on a discretionary and exceptional basis.
Non-EEA national family members of EU nationals who are exercising EU Treaty Rights in the State are granted a temporary Stamp 4 permission to remain when they apply for a residence card. This permission covers the period during which their application is being processed (which by law should take no longer than six months). When the residence card is approved, the Non-EEA national family member is granted an EUFAM4 permission to remain. This is different to a regular Stamp 4 with greater rights and benefits.