Can I work in Ireland on my current immigration stamp?

It depends on the stamp and the conditions attached to your permission.

Stamp 1, Stamp 1G and Stamp 4 can allow employment, but they do not all work in the same way. Stamp 2 allows limited student work. Stamp 2A and most Stamp 3 permissions do not allow employment.

Your Irish Residence Permit is important, but do not rely on the stamp label alone. Read the permission letter or decision that explains why the permission was granted and whether any additional conditions apply.

Work rights by stamp

This is a summary of the common work conditions. Your own permission and its expiry date remain the deciding evidence.

Stamp 1

Stamp 1 indicates permission to work or operate a business subject to stated conditions.

Most employees on Stamp 1 hold an employment permit. Some people receive a letter from Immigration Service Delivery allowing them to work without one. Do not start a new job merely because your card says Stamp 1. Check the permit or permission letter to confirm the employer and work you are allowed to undertake.

Stamp 1G

Stamp 1G generally allows you to work as an employee without an employment permit. It does not normally allow self-employment or running a business.

There are two common Stamp 1G situations.

Graduate Stamp 1G

Eligible graduates of Irish higher education can use Stamp 1G to seek graduate-level employment and work full time while the permission remains valid.

The permission is time-limited. If you want to continue working after it expires, you must qualify for another permission. For many graduates, this means finding a job that qualifies for an employment permit before the Stamp 1G ends.

Family-reunification Stamp 1G

Eligible spouses and partners of certain employment-permit holders and researchers may receive Stamp 1G. This permits employment without obtaining a separate employment permit, but the holder must continue to meet the conditions of the family permission.

Stamp 2

Stamp 2 is a student permission, not an unrestricted work permission.

A student with a valid Stamp 2 can normally work for up to:

• 20 hours per week during term time; and
• 40 hours per week during June, July, August and September, and from 15 December to 15 January.

The permission does not allow self-employment. Working beyond the permitted hours can breach the conditions of the student's immigration permission.

Stamp 2A does not carry the same concession. A person on Stamp 2A is not permitted to work.

Stamp 3

Stamp 3 normally allows residence but not employment, business, trade or professional activity.

There are limited cases where the conditions attached to an existing Stamp 3 have been varied separately. For example, certain eligible dependant children of employment-permit holders may temporarily still hold a Stamp 3 card while having Stamp 1G-equivalent work rights during the transition ending on 26 November 2026.

If you have been given a letter changing the conditions of your permission, keep it with your current Irish Residence Permit and follow the instructions issued by Immigration Service Delivery.

Stamp 4

Stamp 4 allows you to take up employment without an employment permit. It can also allow you to establish and operate a business, subject to any professional or regulatory requirements.

Stamp 4 is still a time-limited immigration registration unless you hold a different permission that says otherwise. Check the expiry date and renew it when required.

A job offer does not change your current work rights

Receiving a job offer does not automatically vary your immigration permission. If your current stamp does not allow the proposed work, you must obtain the appropriate employment permit or a new immigration permission before starting.

The same applies while an application is being processed. Submitting an employment-permit or change-of-permission application does not itself give you the right to begin the job.

Check these four things before accepting work

1. The stamp shown on your current Irish Residence Permit.
2. The reason the permission was granted.
3. Any conditions in your permission letter.
4. The expiry date of the permission.

If the card and the permission letter appear inconsistent, confirm your position with Immigration Service Delivery before starting work.

This guide provides general information, not legal advice. Immigration conditions can change and individual permissions may contain additional requirements, so check the official sources in this guide and your own permission documents.