Irish Immigration Glossary.
The terms that come up in almost every conversation I have, each in one or two plain sentences. Follow the link under any entry for the full guide.
Stamp 1
Permission to work in Ireland for one named employer, in one named job, under an employment permit. Change the employer or the role and the permit has to change with it, so it is not a free right to work.
Stamp 1G
Permission that lets you work in Ireland without holding an employment permit of your own. Two groups hold it: graduates of an Irish third level course staying on to find work, and eligible spouses and partners of employment permit holders.
Stamp 1G Ireland: what it means for non-EEA spouses
Stamp 2
Student permission for a full time course on the approved programme list, with the right to work part time alongside your studies. Time held on Stamp 2 does not count toward citizenship.
Residence permissions, explained
Stamp 4
Permission to live and work in Ireland without needing an employment permit. You can change jobs freely or work for yourself, and several separate routes lead to it rather than one.
Stamp 4 Ireland: the complete guide
EUFAM
Short for EU family member. The route for the non-EEA spouse, partner or family member of an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen living and working in Ireland. It runs under EU Treaty Rights, a separate system from ordinary immigration permission with its own rules and its own application.
Stamp 4 EUFAM: why marrying an EU citizen is a different path
CSEP, Critical Skills Employment Permit
The employment permit for roles Ireland has decided it is short of. It skips the labour market needs test, brings easier family reunification, and reaches Stamp 4 faster than the general permit. Your role has to appear on the critical skills occupations list.
Critical skills list vs ineligible list
GEP, General Employment Permit
The employment permit for roles that are neither on the critical skills list nor on the ineligible list. The employer normally has to advertise the job first and show that nobody already in Ireland or the EEA could fill it.
Stamp 4 through the General Employment Permit
Reckonable residence
The time in Ireland that actually counts toward citizenship. Not every year you live here counts, student time does not, and that is why people are often years further from naturalisation than they expected.
Irish citizenship by naturalisation
These definitions are a starting point, not advice on your own case. Official source: Immigration Service Delivery (ISD), Immigration Permission/Stamps, accessed August 2026.