Can someone on Stamp 1G apply for a Critical Skills Employment Permit?

The Third Level Graduate Programme states its purpose as seeking graduate level employment and applying for a general employment permit, a critical skills employment permit or a research hosting agreement. Whether an application succeeds turns on the occupation, the qualification, the salary and the employer, and it is decided by the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment.

How long does Stamp 1G last?

Twelve months for a Level 8 award. A Level 9 award or above is granted 12 months initially, renewed for a further 12 months where the graduate satisfies the immigration authorities that appropriate steps were taken to access suitable graduate level employment. Time on Stamp 2 and Stamp 1G together cannot exceed seven years, or eight where the Programme is re-entered on a higher award.

Does Stamp 1G have a salary threshold?

No threshold attaches to the permission itself. The holder can work full time in accordance with employment law but cannot operate a business or be self-employed. Salary thresholds arrive with the permit application that follows, and they are set by permit route.

Is Stamp 1G the same as the Stamp 1G held by a spouse of a permit holder?

The stamp code is the same and the conditions differ. Spouses and de facto partners of Critical Skills Employment Permit holders and of researchers on a Hosting Agreement may be granted Stamp 1G that allows employment without a permit, renewed annually, and after five years on that Stamp 1G they may apply for Stamp 4. The graduate permission is the one granted under the Third Level Graduate Programme.

What happens when Stamp 1G expires?

Immigration Service Delivery states that a person who wishes to continue working must find a job that requires an employment permit and then follow the usual application process with the Department. The permission cannot be extended beyond the published limits.

CSEP vs Stamp 1G

Critical Skills Employment Permit vs Stamp 1G

One is a permission that runs out on a fixed clock, the other is a permit route. They are not alternatives so much as consecutive steps.

The two routes, row by row

Every row below is a published rule rather than an assessment of a specific case. Checked against official guidance on 18 August 2026.

The table scrolls sideways to keep both routes side by side.

Critical Skills Employment Permit and Stamp 1G compared across 7 published criteria.
What the rules say	Critical Skills Employment PermitAn employment permit granted by the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment for a named employer and a named job.	Stamp 1GAn immigration permission granted by the Department of Justice under the Third Level Graduate Programme, allowing an Irish educated graduate to look for and take up work without a permit for a fixed period.
Who it is for	A non-EEA national with a job offer in an occupation on the Critical Skills Occupations List, or in an occupation that is not ineligible where annual remuneration is above the higher salary line.	A legally resident, Irish educated non-EEA graduate holding a Level 8 or Level 9 award from a recognised Irish awarding body, who holds a current Stamp 2 and applies within six months of being notified of the award.
	Stamp 1G is granted on the qualification and the current student permission. It does not depend on having a job offer, and it is not applied for by an employer.
Labour Market Needs Test	Not required on this route.	Not applicable. Stamp 1G is not an employment permit, so no permit test attaches to taking up a job during the permission.
Minimum annual remuneration	€40,904 for occupations on the Critical Skills Occupations List, or €36,848 where the qualification was obtained in the 12 months before the application. €68,911 and above for occupations not on that list.	None attaches to the permission. The holder can work full time in accordance with employment law, but cannot operate a business or be self-employed.
	A job taken on Stamp 1G carries no permit threshold. The threshold arrives when the permission ends and a permit application is made for the role.
Family reunification	Holders can apply for immediate family reunification from Immigration Service Delivery. Once resident, dependants, partners and spouses may seek any employment and apply for a Dependant, Partner or Spouse Employment Permit, currently issued free of charge.	No family reunification route attaches to graduate Stamp 1G. While on Stamp 1G the holder's other permissions and conditions remain the same as they were on Stamp 2.
	Stamp 1G is also granted to the spouse or de facto partner of a Critical Skills Employment Permit holder, which is the other direction of the same relationship rather than a competing route.
How long it lasts, and what comes next	The job offer must run for at least two years. At the end of that period the holder may apply directly to the Department of Justice for Stamp 4 rather than renewing the permit.	Twelve months for a Level 8 award. For a Level 9 award or above, 12 months initially and a further 12 months on showing steps taken to access graduate level employment. Aggregate student and graduate time is capped at seven years, and eight years where the Programme is re-entered on a higher award.
	Stamp 1G is a window, not a status that renews indefinitely. To keep working after it expires the holder needs a job that requires an employment permit and then the normal application process.
Where the queue stood	Critical Skills applications received on 7 August 2026.	Immigration Service Delivery publishes no equivalent queue date for graduate permissions. Registration carries a fee of €300 per person.
	Permit queue position as published by the Employment Permits Section on 17 August 2026. It is the date the Department was working through, not a processing time it commits to.
Changing employer	Nine months with the initial employer before a permit for a different employer can be considered, under section 18 of the Employment Permits Regulations 2024.	No permit ties the holder to an employer, so employment can change during the permission without a new application.
	This is the practical trade in the pair: Stamp 1G is more mobile and strictly time limited, the permit is less mobile and leads somewhere.

See the sources every row came from.

How the rules divide the two

These are two different instruments granted by two different departments. Stamp 1G is an immigration permission from the Department of Justice, granted on an Irish award. A Critical Skills Employment Permit is granted by the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment on an occupation and a job offer. A person can hold one and then the other, and the Programme's own stated purpose is seeking graduate level employment and applying for a general employment permit, a critical skills employment permit or a research hosting agreement.

The rules therefore divide by time rather than by preference. Stamp 1G runs on a fixed clock that cannot be extended past the published limits, and permit applications are decided against the rules in force when they are made. The queue position published by the Employment Permits Section is what tells a graduate how much of that clock an application is likely to consume.

The row that changes most on moving from one to the other is family reunification. Nothing attaches to graduate Stamp 1G, while Critical Skills Employment Permit holders can apply for immediate family reunification from Immigration Service Delivery. Whether a specific person qualifies for either is decided by the relevant department on the facts.

Common questions

Can someone on Stamp 1G apply for a Critical Skills Employment Permit?: The Third Level Graduate Programme states its purpose as seeking graduate level employment and applying for a general employment permit, a critical skills employment permit or a research hosting agreement. Whether an application succeeds turns on the occupation, the qualification, the salary and the employer, and it is decided by the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment.
How long does Stamp 1G last?: Twelve months for a Level 8 award. A Level 9 award or above is granted 12 months initially, renewed for a further 12 months where the graduate satisfies the immigration authorities that appropriate steps were taken to access suitable graduate level employment. Time on Stamp 2 and Stamp 1G together cannot exceed seven years, or eight where the Programme is re-entered on a higher award.
Does Stamp 1G have a salary threshold?: No threshold attaches to the permission itself. The holder can work full time in accordance with employment law but cannot operate a business or be self-employed. Salary thresholds arrive with the permit application that follows, and they are set by permit route.
Is Stamp 1G the same as the Stamp 1G held by a spouse of a permit holder?: The stamp code is the same and the conditions differ. Spouses and de facto partners of Critical Skills Employment Permit holders and of researchers on a Hosting Agreement may be granted Stamp 1G that allows employment without a permit, renewed annually, and after five years on that Stamp 1G they may apply for Stamp 4. The graduate permission is the one granted under the Third Level Graduate Programme.
What happens when Stamp 1G expires?: Immigration Service Delivery states that a person who wishes to continue working must find a job that requires an employment permit and then follow the usual application process with the Department. The permission cannot be extended beyond the published limits.

Official sources

Figures and rules on this page were read from these pages on 18 August 2026. Salary thresholds, fees and the occupation lists are revised, so confirm the current figure on the official page before relying on it.

Check the actual occupation

A comparison describes the routes. Which one is even in scope depends on the occupation code, and that is published. The occupation permit check looks a code up against the current lists.

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More route comparisons

The same table, applied to the other pairs people mistake for each other.

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Important

IrishTalents is not a licensed employment agency and does not select or submit candidates. Any agency information reflects the wording found on agency websites only, not vacancies, sponsorship, or suitability.

An occupation (SOC) code classifies the kind of work. It does not by itself determine permit eligibility, Critical Skills status, or sponsorship. Job duties, salary, employer and permit route also matter.

This is general information, not legal or immigration advice. IrishTalents is not affiliated with the Irish government.