← Back to all posts

Third Level Graduate Programme in Ireland: Who Qualifies for Stamp 1G, How Long You Can Stay, and What Comes After

NewsOtherGeneral

By iStart Editorial Team·Published October 20, 2026

Third Level Graduate Programme in Ireland: Who Qualifies for Stamp 1G, How Long You Can Stay, and What Comes After

Your results are on the way, your Stamp 2 card's date is getting closer, and one question sits under both: can this degree become a first job here?

Ireland's Third Level Graduate Programme lets eligible non-EEA graduates stay on Stamp 1G to look for graduate-level work. It is time to search, not a job and not a work visa. Every immigration rule below is as Immigration Service Delivery (ISD) publishes it on 12 October 2026.

What the Third Level Graduate Programme is, and what Stamp 1G is not

ISD describes the programme as allowing legally resident, Irish-educated non-EEA graduates who hold a Level 8 award or above from a recognised Irish awarding body to remain in Ireland after their studies, to seek graduate-level employment and apply for an employment permit or a research hosting agreement. It is registered as Stamp 1G, and ISD's policy also calls it the Third Level Graduate Scheme.

"Third level" is Ireland's word for higher education. ISD's Interim List of Eligible Programmes runs from Level 6 to 10 on the National Framework of Qualifications, and shows honours bachelor's degrees at Level 8 and master's degrees at Level 9, for example. Your permission while you study is Stamp 2; Stamp 1G follows it, and it is not a visa.

Who qualifies for Stamp 1G

You must meet every one of ISD's conditions:

  • Your awarding body or college told you in writing, on or after 1 January 2017, that you achieved the award you enrolled for.
  • It is a Level 8 award or above from a recognised Irish awarding body, for a programme on the Interim List; if yours is on the newer TrustEd Ireland list, confirm with ISD. An overseas-accredited award does not qualify.
  • You hold a current Stamp 2 student immigration permission and an up-to-date registration card.
  • You apply within six months of being notified that you achieved the award.
  • You have not already exceeded the seven-year limit on your permission as a student in the State.
  • You can show the award (the parchment, or the awarding body's official letter if you have not graduated yet) and meet the good-character condition.

ISD's policy adds a hard stop: an application from someone whose permission has already lapsed is not accepted. Whichever comes first, the six-month clock or your card's expiry, is your deadline.

Card: apply for Stamp 1G within 6 months of being notified that you achieved the award, or by your Stamp 2 card's expiry, whichever comes first. An application from someone whose permission has already lapsed is not accepted. As Immigration Service Delivery publishes it on 12 October 2026.

How long you can stay: 12 months, or 12 plus 12

Level 8 graduates get 12 months; Level 9 and above, up to 24, granted 12 at a time.

Your award What you are granted The overall limit
Level 8 12 months Seven years in the State, study and graduate time combined
Level 9 or above 12 months, renewable for a further 12 Eight years overall
A higher award after a first graduate year One more 12-month period Eight years; two occasions at most

The second year is not automatic. It is renewed where you satisfy ISD that you have "taken appropriate steps to access suitable graduate level employment", for example attending job interviews and signing up with graduate employment agencies.

What the scheme allows you to do

You can work full time, in line with employment law, without an employment permit. You may not run a business or be self-employed. On Stamp 2, casual work was capped at 20 hours a week in term and 40 in the holidays.

Your other student conditions stay, including private medical insurance and no use of publicly funded services unless you are entitled through other means.

How to apply, what it costs, and when

  1. Apply online, from inside Ireland. ISD says the move from a Stamp 2 degree course to the Stamp 1G Graduate Scheme can be sought online.
  2. Upload a copy of your award, your passport, both sides of your current registration card and proof of medical insurance.
  3. Pay the €300 registration fee (ISD's figure on 12 October 2026).
  4. Time it: ISD's renewal rules open an application 12 weeks before your card expires and refuse an earlier one, and no reminder comes.

Processing times move, so check the live processing date ISD posts for each category every Monday.

Using the months well: the job search is the first rung

The way we read it, the second year is earned in the first. ISD says it has regard to the Department of Enterprise's occupation lists when it judges the effort. So treat the search as your first professional record, not a waiting room. Log every application, interview and agency registration, dated, from day one. Your degree already shows what you can do; these months are for showing an employer.

A young Filipina graduate seated at a small desk in the evening, writing a dated entry in the notebook where she logs every job application, interview and agency registration.

Check what employers abroad expect a CV to look like, practise preparing for an interview abroad, and start building a network when you know nobody.

What comes after Stamp 1G: the employment permit

To keep working after the scheme, ISD says you need a job that requires an employment permit from the Department of Enterprise. The Critical Skills Employment Permit covers occupations on the Critical Skills Occupations List, or others off the ineligible list above a higher salary threshold, and is issued only for a job offer of at least two years. The General Employment Permit treats every occupation as eligible unless it is on the ineligible list, and either you or the employer can apply.

The Department says that, in certain circumstances, a permit can be issued to someone already living lawfully in Ireland on another permission who has been offered a job in an eligible occupation; they then register the change of status. Our Ireland guide covers the permit that comes before the work visa.

Four steps from study to work in Ireland: Stamp 2 while you study, Stamp 1G as time to search, a job that requires an employment permit, then a Critical Skills or General Employment Permit from the Department of Enterprise.

Before your Stamp 2 runs out: a checklist

  • The date you were notified of your award, and six months on
  • The expiry date on your Stamp 2 card
  • Your parchment or the awarding body's letter
  • Passport and medical insurance in date
  • €300 and the online application ready from 12 weeks before expiry
  • A dated job-search log: applications, interviews, agencies

The Questions Filipinos Ask Us Most

Can I get PR in Ireland after 2 years on Stamp 1G? No. It is permission to look for work, not permanent residence. ISD does count time on Stamp 1G as reckonable residence for a citizenship application, which Stamp 2 is not. ISD also says Stamp 4, a permission with greater benefits, may be given after two years on a valid Critical Skills permit.

Is Stamp 1G a work visa? No. It is an immigration permission; ISD never calls it a visa.

Sources