Ireland study and Third Level Graduate Programme in 2026
Ireland separates student immigration permission from post-study graduate permission.
Stamp 2 while studying
Eligible non-EEA students on approved programmes are normally registered on Stamp 2 conditions.
Current ISD guidance permits work for up to:
- 20 hours per week during term time; and
- 40 hours per week during specified vacation periods, including June through September and 15 December through 15 January.
These are student-work concessions, not an unrestricted employment permit.
Third Level Graduate Programme
The Third Level Graduate Programme gives eligible Irish graduates a Stamp 1G permission to seek graduate-level employment and transition to an employment-permit or research route.
Current duration rules are:
- NFQ Level 8: up to 12 months.
- NFQ Level 9 or above: an initial 12 months, with a possible further 12 months where the graduate shows appropriate steps toward suitable graduate employment, for up to 24 months total.
Programme-wide student-pathway time limits also apply.
Work rights on Stamp 1G
A graduate on Stamp 1G can work full time in accordance with employment law without holding an employment permit during the valid graduate permission.
However, the graduate Stamp 1G does not permit operating a business or being self-employed under the ordinary graduate conditions.
Before Stamp 1G expires, a graduate who wants to keep working usually needs to move to a qualifying employment-permit, hosting-agreement or other immigration route.
Stamp 1G is not a family-sponsorship shortcut
The revised Non-EEA Family Reunification Policy lists graduates under the Third Level Graduate Programme among sponsors who are generally not eligible to sponsor under that policy. PhD students and certain scholarship students have separate Category B treatment.
Immigration and tax separation
Student/graduate stamps do not determine tax residence or tax liability. Working hours, tax residence, employment permit eligibility and immigration permission are separate questions.
Related: Critical Skills permit, General Employment Permit, family reunification, and Ireland hub.
Official and supporting sources
- ISD — Student Permissiongovernment · accessed 2026-09-20
- ISD — Third Level Graduate Programmegovernment · accessed 2026-09-20
- ISD — Immigration permission stampsgovernment · accessed 2026-09-20