Ireland Long Term Residency in 2026
Living in Ireland for five calendar years does not automatically qualify someone for Long Term Residency.
60 months of qualifying registered residence
Current Immigration Service Delivery guidance requires at least 60 months of qualifying legal residence based on employment-permit conditions.
The calculation is based on qualifying immigration stamps/Irish Residence Permit validity, not simply the dates printed on employment permits or the date someone first entered Ireland.
The applicant must also have held qualifying employment permits and meet the other scheme criteria.
Current employment matters
ISD says the applicant must be legally resident and in employment when applying and during/after the application process. The scheme does not accept an application from someone who is self-employed merely because they previously accumulated five years in Ireland.
Evidence includes past/current passports or IRP cards, employment permits, employment evidence and proof of continuous residence.
Permission after approval
If approved, Long Term Residency gives permission to work in Ireland for a further five years without a further employment permit.
The approval fee is €500, payable after approval within the specified period.
Stamp 4 is related but not the same scheme
A CSEP holder can become eligible for a Stamp 4 upgrade after 21 months of qualifying employment, and GEP holders after 57 months under current guidance. That Stamp 4 upgrade is not itself the same as approval under the Long Term Residency scheme.
A combination of qualifying permit-based Stamp 1 and Stamp 4 periods can be relevant to the 60-month calculation where the scheme conditions are satisfied.
Citizenship is separate
Irish naturalisation has its own reckonable-residence, continuous-residence, good-character and application rules. Long Term Residency does not equal citizenship, and eligibility for one does not prove eligibility for the other.
Likewise, EU long-term-resident concepts should not be treated as the same domestic permission.
Related: Critical Skills, General Employment Permit, Ireland hub, methodology, and legal disclaimer.
Official and supporting sources
- ISD — Long Term Residencygovernment · accessed 2026-09-20
- ISD — Stamp 4 upgrade eligibilitygovernment · accessed 2026-09-20