Family Reunification

It depends on your status. Spouses of Critical Skills and General Employment Permit holders receive Stamp 1G, which allows work without an employment permit but not self-employment. The spouse of an Irish citizen receives Stamp 4 with full work rights. Family of an independent Stamp 4 holder generally receive Stamp 3, which does not allow work without a permit of their own.

It varies by category. Irish citizens sponsoring a spouse or child need €75,000 gross over the previous 3 years, roughly €25,000 a year, a threshold raised from €40,000 on 12 June 2026. Category B sponsors have no fixed euro threshold. Category C sponsors need above €30,000 gross in the previous year for a couple, rising to about €50,200 gross with one child and higher for each additional child. Only one sponsor's income counts.

Only your unmarried children under 18 count as immediate family, whether biological, step or legally adopted. If you are an Irish citizen (Category A) they receive Stamp 4 and are covered by your €75,000 three-year income, with no waiting period. Category B children can travel with you from day one with no fixed income threshold, on the same stamp as you. Category C sponsors apply after 12 months and must show income above the Working Family Payment level, about €50,200 gross a year for one child, €60,200 for two and €70,100 for three, rising with each additional child. In shared-custody cases you provide sworn consent from the other parent, and your accommodation must be suitable for your family size.

Not through this family reunification policy, which only accepts applications for family members who are outside the State. Someone already here on a work, study, visitor or other permission uses the separate change-of-permission route with ISD, usually at their next online renewal, and each case is decided on its own facts. Our team checks whether an in-country switch is open to you and prepares it.

Yes, but unmarried partners apply under the separate de facto partner route rather than this policy. It needs a durable relationship with at least two years living together immediately before applying, and the partner applies from outside Ireland before travelling. We cover it in full on our dedicated De Facto Partner page.

It is possible but genuinely hard. Parents apply for Stamp 0 from outside the State using the TPER form, and you must show gross income earned in Ireland above €96,929 in each of the previous 3 years for one parent, or €130,985 for two. You must also arrange private medical insurance with full private hospital cover and sign an undertaking to repay any State funds. Stamp 0 gives no access to public services and is renewed annually.

Under the policy revised on 26 November 2025, children aged 18 to 23 in full-time education are no longer part of the nuclear family. An adult child can now only qualify where a serious medical or psychological condition makes independent life unsustainable, backed by verifiable medical evidence and the much higher dependent adult relative income thresholds.

You receive written reasons and can appeal free of charge within 2 calendar months. The appeal goes in writing to the ISD decision-making centre, is decided by a different officer, and must answer each stated refusal reason with new documentary evidence. You get one appeal per application, but a fresh application is always possible, and we advise honestly on which route is stronger.

Spouses, partners and children can apply for Stamp 4 after 5 years on a family reunification permission, or when you naturalise as an Irish citizen. If the relationship breaks down after at least 3 years, with the most recent 2 spent in Ireland, an independent permission can be sought, and ISD must be told of a divorce, separation or death within 21 working days. Domestic abuse victims can apply for status in their own right.