Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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562. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the options available to residents on a stamp 1G visa to legally remain in Ireland when their graduate work contracts fall short of the minimum two-year period to apply for a stamp 4. [6110/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I can inform the Deputy that where a non-EEA student has completed their studies in Ireland and gained an award at level 8 on the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ) or above, that person may qualify for a Stamp 1G for 12 months under the Third Level Graduate Programme. Where an individual receives an award at level 9 NFQ, they may qualify for a Stamp 1G for up to 24 months under the same programme, subject to the overall limit of 8 years on student conditions that applies.

This period on the Stamp 1G immigration permission is to provide the graduate and any prospective employer a longer opportunity to make an application for an employment permit. Matters relating to employment permits do not fall within the remit of the Immigration Service and is a matter for the Employment Permits Division of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. Further information relating to employment permits can be found at .

If that application is successful, the graduate can register on a Stamp 1 immigration permission.

It is open to any person to apply for a change of immigration status if they meet the criteria for doing so. Detailed information on how to change immigration permission is available on the Immigration Service website at:

Employees residing in the State on a Stamp 1 or 1H permission are eligible for a Stamp 4 upgrade upon completion of 21 months from commencement of employment in the State on the basis of:

• A Critical Skills Employment Permit
• A Hosting Agreement as a Researcher
• A Multi-Site General Employment Permit as a Non-Consultant Hospital Doctor