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Republic of Ireland · Processing time

Stamp 4 permission: how long does it take?

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Irish Immigration Service — Registration Office does not publish one fixed, route-wide end-to-end processing time that can be stated responsibly for this application route.

How long does the Stamp 4 permission take to process in Ireland?

Irish Immigration Service — Registration Office does not publish a central processing time for this route. Use the current Irish Immigration Service — Registration Office service for the responsible mission, service centre, authority or live processing-time tool before applying.

Source checked against Irish Immigration Service — Registration Office on 10 September 2026.

Typical wait

Not centrally published

from complete application

Government fees

The general registration fee is €300 where applicable; exemptions and fees for an underlying permission must be checked separately.

Last checked

10 September 2026

Reality vs official timing

Official clock
No central processing clock
Delay trigger
No fixed delay point - use route guidance
Source checked
10 September 2026

Irish Immigration Service — Registration Office does not publish a central processing time. Use the current Irish Immigration Service — Registration Office service for the responsible mission, service centre, authority or live processing-time tool before applying.

What is the Stamp 4 permission?

Time-limited Irish residence permission allowing employment without an employment permit and business activity, subject to the permission conditions. An employment-based Stamp 4 upgrade is separate from Long Term Residency and citizenship.

Stamp 4 is an immigration permission, not an entry visa or a single eligibility route. For employment-based upgrades, ISD uses 21 months of qualifying employment for CSEP, Hosting Agreement researchers and Multi-Site GEP Non-Consultant Hospital Doctors, or 57 months for ordinary GEP and Intra-Company Transfer employment. Family, protection and other permissions have different eligibility bases. Stamp 4 allows employment without an employment permit and business activity, but professional and permission conditions still apply. It does not automatically grant Long Term Residency or citizenship.

  • Sponsorship: No job offer or employer sponsor is required.
  • Settlement: This route can lead to permanent residence.
  • Typical permit length: 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.
  • Indicative government fees: The general registration fee is €300 where applicable; exemptions and fees for an underlying permission must be checked separately.

Priority and fast-track options

The earlier range was removed after an official-source review because it was an editorial estimate, depended on a live/local queue, or combined separate appointment and decision stages.

Official source

Irish Immigration Service — Registration Office

https://www.irishimmigration.ie/registering-your-immigration-permission/

Cite or reuse this dataset

This figure is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0. Cite the Visa Atlas page for the compiled, dated dataset, and cite the official source for the underlying government rule.

Suggested citation

Visa Atlas, "Stamp 4 permission processing time dataset", https://visaatlas.org/processing-times/ireland/stamp-4. Last checked 10 September 2026.

Page
https://visaatlas.org/processing-times/ireland/stamp-4
JSON endpoint
https://visaatlas.org/api/public/processing-times

Primary source (1)

Frequently asked questions

How long does the Stamp 4 permission take to process?+

Irish Immigration Service — Registration Office does not publish a central processing time for this route. Use the current Irish Immigration Service — Registration Office service for the responsible mission, service centre, authority or live processing-time tool before applying.

When does the Not centrally published clock start?+

Because no central processing time is published, there is no fixed start point. Contact the relevant authority once your application is submitted.

Is there a way to speed up the decision?+

The earlier range was removed after an official-source review because it was an editorial estimate, depended on a live/local queue, or combined separate appointment and decision stages.

What makes an application take longer than expected?+

The most common reasons for delays beyond the published window are: missing or incorrect documents, a request for more information (which pauses the clock until you reply), background or medical checks, and consular appointment backlogs in your country. Submitting a complete, well-organised application on day one is the single biggest thing you can do to stay inside the published window.

When should I treat my Stamp 4 permission application as delayed?+

Because no central processing time is published for this route, there is no fixed point at which it counts as late. If your wait runs well beyond comparable cases, a single polite status enquiry through the official channel is reasonable. Duplicate chasing tends to slow a case rather than speed it up.

Next steps

Reviewed by , Editor and lead researcher.