Summary: Long Term Residency permits non-EEA nationals who have been in the State on the basis of Work Permits, with corresponding permission to reside on Stamp 1 or Stamp 4 permission, to apply for a more secure status.

If the application is successful, a grant of permission to remain on Stamp 4 conditions for five years will be granted.

Long Term Residency is granted on the basis that a non EEA national has completed a minimum of five years (i.e. 60 months) legal residence in the State on work permit conditions which is reflected in the corresponding Stamp 1 or Stamp 4 endorsements on a person’s passport (not by the dates of commencement and expiry of each work permit/work authorisation/working visa). Periods of time for which a person has not been legally resident in the State (i.e. does not have an up to date endorsement on their passport) cannot be counted towards an application for Long Term Residency. A successful applicant in this situation will be granted Permission to Remain on a Stamp 4 which is valid for 5 years.

In order to qualify for Long Term Residency, an applicant must fulfil the following criteria:

• The applicant must have a minimum of 60 months (5 years) reckonable residence on the date the application is submitted;
• Only legal residence in the State on work permit, work authorisation or working visa conditions will be counted as reckonable residence for the purposes of any Long Term Residency application;
• The applicant must have up to date Permission to Remain in the State when they apply;
• The applicant must be in gainful employment when they apply and during and after the application process;
• The applicant must be of good character.
• Any period of time for which the applicant did not have permission to remain is not counted when reckonable residence is calculated.

The applicant must provide the following supporting documentation with the application:

• Copy of applicant’s work permits;
• Copy of applicant’s GNIB Card;
• Copies of the applicant’s passport(s) including all endorsements.

The spouse and/or dependant(s) of a holder of Long Term Residency on Stamp 4 conditions may also apply for Long Term Residency. In order to apply for Long Term Residency as a spouse/dependant, the applicant must be legally resident in the State as a spouse/dependant for the required 60 month period (i.e. minimum of 5 years). Successful applications from those who apply as a spouse/dependant will only be granted Permission to Remain on a Stamp 3.

Full details of the policy on Long Term Residency and the application procedure please see:
www.inis.gov.ie/en/INIS/Pages/Long_Term_Residency

TIP! It is worth bearing in mind that the ‘good character’ requirement also applies to Long Term Residency applications. Applicants may therefore consider providing letters of support that help establish their good character. These can be from friends, family, members of the community, church representatives, employers, and they should include details of how long the person has known you, their assessment of your character and their own details. If you have a criminal record, it will be necessary to make supporting submissions on the issue of good character to ensure that the application does not fail on this criteria which is often stringently applied by the Department.