Becoming a citizen of Ireland requires some amount of years. You can obtain Irish citizenship through naturalization if you have legal proof that you have used 5 out of the last 9 years as a resident of Ireland, plus the 1 year following the application.
If you entered Ireland as a student and planning to settle down as a citizen, you will find out that the immigration process is hassle-free and easy. But first, you need to understand the conditions needed to obtain permanent citizenship.
If you intend to become a permanent citizen in Ireland through your studentship, you can follow these roadmaps:
- Apply for exams i.e. IELTS, PTE & TOEFL, and get a valid passport.
- Get a student Visa. C type study visa is for programs for less than 3 months, while the D type study visa is for programs for more than 3 months.
- Apply for internships to earn extra cash and to improve your chance of getting full-employment.
- Get a residence permit at the local GNIB for a type D visa. This would allow you to stay for 12 months and must be renewed before it expires.
- Get a work permit. The Irish general work permit is for non-citizen given a job offer and it lasts for 2 years. Critical skills employment permit is issued to highly skilled professions i.e. tech industry. For this to happen, you must be earning at least €30,000. It also has a €500 permit fee for 6 months or less and a €1,000 permit fee for 6 months to 2 years.
- Extend your work visa. You will be granted a general employment permit for a duration of 6 months to 2 years with a further extension of 3 years on annual basis.
- Apply for Irish permanent residency. Once you have spent 5 legal years on Ireland soil, you can apply for a permanent residency with no need for a work permit.
Processes of applying for Irish permanent residency
Applying for Irish PR can take you 6-8 months, while some will take longer than that due to specific reasons. These are the steps you need to follow to be granted a permanent residency:
- Apply through mail
Submit your application for permanent residency by sending a mail to the Long Term Residency Division of the Irish Naturalization and Immigration Service (INIS)
- Submit necessary documents
After sending your mail, there are some required documents you must submit. The immigration officers will notify you within a week if you do not meet the requirement. If you do, they will take the next step by processing your application for Ireland's permanent residency.
- Wait on the outcome
Once your application has been approved, INIS will notify you with an approval letter. The letter contains the guidelines and the amount you must pay for the Ireland Permanent Residence Permit (€500) within 28 days.
Payment can be made via postal order to the Justice Department or through a bank draft. Once this is approved, you will receive a letter giving you Long Term Residency in Ireland from the INIS. You will be to Irish Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNBI).
On the course of approval, INIS would have notified GNBI of the type of stamp you would receive i.e. stamp 4 or stamp 3 for 5 years (subject to renewal). Once it is 5 years, all you need is to visit the office of your local Immigration and renew it for another five years.
Necessary conditions before applying for permanent residency
You should note that there are some statuses that do not count as a condition to apply for Irish citizenship, but these are the conditions you must fulfill:
- Must have been a foreign national/resident of Ireland for at least 5 years to be eligible for Ireland Permanent Residence Permit.
- Must have some type of work authorization i.e. stamp 1, stamp 3, and stamp 4.
- Must be found of good character and contributed to the welfare of the nation.
Apart from getting your Irish permanent residency through the Irish residency permit, you can also obtain it through the Irish Without Condition As To Time Endorsement.
This status enables you to apply for Irish permanent citizenship if you have lived in Ireland for at least 96 months (8 years). It doesn’t have a specific expiry date. Once you apply, a form of stamp 5 is placed on your passport until it expires. When your passport expired, you can have your stamp 5 renewed when you get another one.

If you want to begin your immigration processing, kindly visit our website https://www.mcfedututors.com/immigration-programs or chat with us on whatsapp 08132765285.