Ireland family reunification in 2026

Ireland's Non-EEA Family Reunification Policy was revised in late 2025 and amended again with effect from 12 June 2026.

The sponsor's immigration category changes the waiting period, financial test and supporting evidence.

Category B sponsors

Category B includes, among others:

  • Critical Skills Employment Permit holders;
  • STEP entrepreneurs;
  • researchers on Hosting Agreements;
  • certain full-time doctors;
  • specified scholarship students and qualifying PhD students.

For nuclear family, an eligible Category B sponsor can generally apply without the one-year waiting period that applies to Category C sponsors. CSEP-family applications can in appropriate cases be processed in tandem with the principal applicant's move.

Category C sponsors

Category C includes:

  • General Employment Permit holders;
  • Reactivation Employment Permit holders; and
  • certain independent Stamp 4 holders not covered elsewhere.

For nuclear family, a Category C sponsor generally needs one year of eligible residence before applying. For dependent parents or dependent adult children the waiting period is substantially longer.

From 12 June 2026, Category C sponsors must also provide documentation showing suitable accommodation for joining family members.

Financial thresholds

The 2026 policy uses published financial thresholds that vary by sponsor/family situation. ISD updates the figures through its financial-threshold tables, so applicants should use the live table rather than a stale figure copied from an older guide.

The June 2026 changes increased several thresholds and also raised the three-year gross-income test for Irish citizens sponsoring spouses/children to €75,000 total (€25,000 per year).

Who is not normally eligible under this policy

The policy identifies several groups who are not ordinary sponsors under the Non-EEA policy, including:

  • ordinary students, except specified Category B exceptions;
  • graduates on the Third Level Graduate Programme/Stamp 1G;
  • some people covered by separate EU, UK or protection regimes.

International-protection family reunification also changed from 12 June 2026 and has a separate statutory route. Do not merge that regime into employment-permit family sponsorship.

Visa and residence sequence

Family approval, long-stay entry visa/preclearance where required, border entry and immigration registration are separate stages. A visa itself is not residence permission.

Related: Critical Skills, General Employment Permit, study and Stamp 1G, Ireland hub, and legal disclaimer.

Official and supporting sources

Related routes in Ireland