American Samoa (United States territory) vs Republic of Ireland
A neutral side-by-side of immigration systems, routes and regulators. Each row links to the underlying visa page with its primary government source.
Last reviewed:
Source basis
This comparison combines American Samoa (United States territory) and Republic of Ireland government portals with the primary sources for each side's dominant skilled route. Every detailed figure links through to the underlying route or data page.
Reviewed
Primary sources
- American Samoa Department of Legal Affairs - Visitor Permits
American Samoa Department of Legal Affairs - verified
- Immigration Service Delivery
Department of Justice (Ireland) - verified
- American Samoa Department of Legal Affairs - Residency Classification
American Samoa Department of Legal Affairs - verified
- DETE — Critical Skills Employment Permit
Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment (Ireland) - verified
American Samoa (United States territory)
American Samoa Visa Atlas coverage is based on Department of Legal Affairs visitor and residency guidance plus Title 41 of the American Samoa Code. The current packet covers U.S. citizen or national entry documents, Samoa and non-U.S. visitor-permit routes, employment and family residency petitions, permanent residence, foreign investor entry permits and guest worker permits; users should check American Samoa-specific immigration rules rather than assuming mainland U.S. visa, ESTA or admission rules automatically control the territory.
- Official portal
- American Samoa Department of Legal Affairs
- Languages
- English, Samoan
- Currency
- United States dollar
Republic of Ireland
Ireland operates an employment permits system administered by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE), with immigration permissions separately issued by Immigration Service Delivery (ISD). The Critical Skills Employment Permit is the headline route for high-skill migration.
- Official portal
- Department of Justice (Ireland)
- Languages
- Irish, English
- Currency
- Euro
How American Samoa (United States territory) and Republic of Ireland differ
| Dimension | American Samoa (United States territory) | Republic of Ireland |
|---|---|---|
| Total routes covered | 9 | 7 |
| Routes without employer sponsor | 3 | 4 |
| Routes leading to permanent residence | 1 | 6 |
| Typical full settlement timeline | — | Separate clocks: CSEP and other specified permissions may qualify for a Stamp 4 upgrade after 21 months of employment; ordinary GEP/ICT after 57 months. Long Term Residency has its own 60-month qualifying-residence test. Naturalisation normally requires five years of reckonable residence, including the final continuous year; neither Stamp 4 nor Long Term Residency guarantees citizenship or a decision date. |
| Dominant skilled visa | Employment-Based Residency Petition | Critical Skills Employment Permit |
| Skilled visa salary minimum | — | €40,904/year |
| Skilled visa processing time | — | DETE’s page, published as at 04 September 2026, listed Critical Skills Employment Permit applications received on 26 August 2026. That 9-day difference is a queue-position snapshot, not a decision-time estimate. |
| Skilled visa government fees | — | A Critical Skills Employment Permit to Ireland costs around €1,300 in government fees for a single applicant — the CSEP fee is typically employer-borne, so the worker's out-of-pocket cost is closer to €300. |
| Official languages | English, Samoan | Irish, English |
| Currency | United States dollar | Euro |
| Primary regulator | DLA | Law Society |
| Policy changes (last 12 months) | 0 | 1 |
Skilled-route head-to-head
Comparing each country’s most-used skilled-migration route side by side.
American Samoa (United States territory)
Employment-Based Residency Petition
- Salary minimum
- —
- Government fees
- —
- Processing time
- —
- Sponsor required
- Yes
- Leads to settlement
- No
Republic of Ireland
Critical Skills Employment Permit
- Salary minimum
- €40,904/year
- Government fees
- A Critical Skills Employment Permit to Ireland costs around €1,300 in government fees for a single applicant — the CSEP fee is typically employer-borne, so the worker's out-of-pocket cost is closer to €300.
- Processing time
- DETE’s page, published as at 04 September 2026, listed Critical Skills Employment Permit applications received on 26 August 2026. That 9-day difference is a queue-position snapshot, not a decision-time estimate.
- Sponsor required
- Yes
- Leads to settlement
- Yes
Recent policy activity
Last 6 months. Each entry links to its primary government source.
- 28 May 2026Republic of Ireland
Ireland announces employment-permit occupation list changes
The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment announced occupation-list changes to support housing, health and transport needs, including additions to the Critical Skills Occupation List and removals from the Ineligible Occupations List.
Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Ireland)
Routes unique to American Samoa (United States territory)
Routes unique to Republic of Ireland
Visa routes side by side
American Samoa (United States territory) (9)
U.S. Citizen or National Entry Documents
No sponsor · Non-settlement · Entry and stay as allowed by American Samoa border and immigration rules for the traveller status.
Samoa 10-Day Visitor Permit
No sponsor · Non-settlement · Up to 10 days under the Samoa visitor-permit treatment, subject to the permit granted and current entry rules.
U.S. Visa Waiver 30-Day Visitor Permit
No sponsor · Non-settlement · Up to 30 days as allowed by the visitor permit granted under current American Samoa rules.
Non-U.S. 30-Day Sponsored Visitor Permit
Sponsor · Non-settlement · Up to 30 days as granted under the sponsored visitor-permit process.
Employment-Based Residency Petition
Sponsor · Non-settlement · Residency or employment-authorised status as granted by the Immigration Board, Attorney General or current petition process.
Family-Based Residency Petition
Sponsor · Non-settlement · Residency status as granted under the current petition or registration process.
Permanent Resident Status
Sponsor · Leads to settlement · Permanent residence status if granted under American Samoa immigration law and current board procedures.
Foreign Investor Entry Permit
Sponsor · Non-settlement · Investor entry permission as granted under the statutory framework and current official process.
Guest Worker Permit
Sponsor · Non-settlement · Guest worker status as granted under the statutory chapter and current Immigration Board process.
Republic of Ireland (7)
Critical Skills Employment Permit
Sponsor · Leads to settlement · Two-year permit; eligible holders can seek Stamp 4 after 21 months of qualifying employment. Long-term residence is a separate application, not an automatic two-year outcome.
General Employment Permit
Sponsor · Leads to settlement · 2 years initially and renewable; later residence permissions depend on the qualifying permission history and separate ISD rules.
Start-up Entrepreneur Programme (STEP)
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Initial 2-year permission; renewable; leads to Stamp 4 after 5 years.
Stamp 4 permission
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Employment-based upgrades are renewable every 2 years for the qualifying 21-month group and every year for the 57-month group. Other Stamp 4 bases have their own duration and conditions.
Irish Student visa (Stamp 2)
Sponsor · Non-settlement · Up to 1 year at a time; renewable during studies.
Join Family (Irish national or EEA national)
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Variable — usually 1–3 years at a time; leads to Stamp 4.
Immigrant Investor Programme (IIP — closed)
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Closed to new applicants.
Frequently asked questions
Which country has an easier skilled-migration route, American Samoa (United States territory) or Republic of Ireland?+
American Samoa (United States territory)’s Employment-Based Residency Petition is the dominant skilled route; Republic of Ireland’s Critical Skills Employment Permit requires €40,904/year. “Easier” depends on your salary, sponsor situation, and nationality — see each visa’s eligibility detail.
Which immigration system has changed more recently, American Samoa (United States territory) or Republic of Ireland?+
In the last 6 months: 0 logged policy changes for American Samoa (United States territory), 1 for Republic of Ireland. See the recent-policy section above for the details, each linked to its primary source.
Does American Samoa (United States territory) or Republic of Ireland have more visa routes without an employer sponsor?+
Republic of Ireland has more: 4 of its covered routes can be pursued without an employer sponsor, against 3 for American Samoa (United States territory). No-sponsor routes — such as digital-nomad, self-employment, and points-based skilled migration — matter most if you do not yet have a job offer.
Cite or reuse this dataset
This comparison is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0. Cite the page for the compiled head-to-head table and use the country-comparisons JSON endpoint to retrieve the indexed pair, destination profiles and underlying source datasets.
Suggested citation
Visa Atlas, "American Samoa (United States territory) vs Republic of Ireland immigration comparison", https://visaatlas.org/compare/american-samoa/vs/ireland. Last verified 30 June 2026.
- JSON endpoint
- https://visaatlas.org/api/public/country-comparisons