Long Term Residence is an immigration permission that allows people who have lived and worked in Ireland legally for several years to stay in Ireland long term.
Long Term Residency on the basis of Employment Permit/Work Authorisation/Working Visa
Non-EU/EEA/Swiss citizens who have legally resided in Ireland on the basis of an Employment Permit/Work Authorisation/Working for at least 5 years (or 60 months) can apply for Long Term Residency. The eligibility is calculated on the basis of endorsements stamped in the passport and not by the dates on your Employment Permits. If successful, the applicant will receive a five-year Stamp 4 permission which removes the Employment Permit requirement. This permission can be renewed every five years without additional formalities.
The Application Process
The application should be sent to the Long Term Residency Division:
Long Term Residency Division
P.O. Box 12079
Dublin 1
Your application should include:
- A cover letter with a timeline of Employment Permits corresponding to passport endorsements.
- Copies of Employment Permits.
- Copy of applicant's Irish Residence Permit (IRP).
- Copy of passport that includes pages with endorsement stamps. If you have an expired passport with relevant endorsement stamps, you will have to include that as well.
The first stage of the application review is a quick screening process that checks your application for completeness. In the case that your application does not meet any of the mandatory criteria, you should receive a reply within a week. Otherwise it may take for up to 6 - 8 months to finalize your application. The cost of the application processing is €500 payable after your application is approved.