Thoughts on stamp 1 vs 1G

I was sponsored for a CSEP back in my home country and around 6 months elapsed in between getting an entry visa, landing in Ireland, getting an immigration appointment and finally receiving my first Stamp 1 IRP.

Because of this, by the time my CSEP expires, a total of 18 and 20 months will have had elapsed since the date of first IRP issue and arrival on Ireland respectively. Even less time if you consider I'd have to apply 2-3 months before due to processing times.

Given my timeline, can I request a support letter to apply to stamp 4 directly or do I need a new CSEP to fill in the remaining time in Stamp 1?

One of the conditions of stamp 4 support letter is 21 month of employment in the state while on critical skills employment permit. If you haven't achieved this yet, you can't apply for the support letter.

I'd say go for another critical skills employment permit and complete at least 21 months in total and then apply for the stamp 4 support letter.

Theoretically, you can request letter at 20 months, but until 21 months have passed, they won't process it, so it won't help here.
As it's better to be safe than sorry, go for another CSEP so you have ample time to figure out Stamp 4 letter while your employment is secure.

Kalvo wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 23, 2023 5:56 pm

I was sponsored for a CSEP back in my home country and around 6 months elapsed in between getting an entry visa, landing in Ireland, getting an immigration appointment and finally receiving my first Stamp 1 IRP.

Because of this, by the time my CSEP expires, a total of 18 and 20 months will have had elapsed since the date of first IRP issue and arrival on Ireland respectively. Even less time if you consider I'd have to apply 2-3 months before due to processing times.

Given my timeline, can I request a support letter to apply to stamp 4 directly or do I need a new CSEP to fill in the remaining time in Stamp 1?

I had something similar that time (2018) it was 22 or so months for applying on support letter, but I had 20 only, and I had to apply(basically via support company) to renew the csep, after renew I got another one, was waiting two months (I did apply in advance) and then requested support letter and got it, no questions from any side to me for that

If you have less than 21 months, you would have to apply for a new permit. There will not be an exception for that.
The only exception is that a person can apply for Stamp 4 support letters when they have accumulated 20 months on CSEP, but you still need to have at least 21 or 22 months of CSEP before it expires (so basically the application can be sent to them earlier than usual but they wouldn’t start processing the application until 21 months have elapsed).

So my spouse is A CSEP holder with a stamp 1 and I'm working under a spousal stamp 1G, which has been a headache for me because of the following:

1-We applied for our first renewal last august (irp was valid til October, matching the CSEP issue date) and to my surprise, the new expiry dates don't match (my spouse was given full year til oct 23, while mine now expires 1 year from renewal application on Aug 23). I'm worried being out of sync in dates will cause me issues renewing, or will force me to renew twice in a span of 4 months. My spouse will get a new CSEP as the time to get stamp 4 support letter won't be met this year so I'd have the same issues next year as well.

2-The nightmare of applying for any visa just because of the "Residency card must be valid for at least 6 months upon arrival" requirement. This just leaves a small window to apply/travel to any visa required country (which for us is most of them). I know this won't change much with stamp 2, but I'd get a stamp 4 quicker which would be a big break.

3-Costs of anual (and potentially more frequently) renewals, which are currently not covered by my company unless they're sponsoring.

Lots of people have recommended to stay on 1G but I'm not sure if I'm judging the situation wrong or is it just in my case that doesn't seem to be worth it the job switching flexibility.

So is it you or your spouse being a CSEP holder?

The main disadvantage is being tied to a certain employer for 2 years. If you can go through with that, you should be better off with Stamp 1.

Kalvo wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 13, 2023 3:54 pm

3-Costs of anual (and potentially more frequently) renewals, which are currently not covered by my company unless they're sponsoring.

Would your company pay you 300 euro for stamp renewal if they were sponsoring you?
That's more or less a fixed cost I suppose, but yea, 1G will be given to you for a year maximum, so you'd have to renew it rather frequently.

2. Spouse/de facto partner of a Critical Skills Employment Permit holder or a Spouse/de facto partner of Researchers in the State on Hosting Agreements
[...]
Renewal of the Stamp 1G registration should be applied for annually, and after 5 years on a Stamp 1G, you may apply for a Stamp 4.

Sorry, I meant to create a new topic instead of posting to the old one, which is why the roles are inverted. For the purposes of the last post, I am the dependant.

And yes, if my company were sponsoring I could report the renewal fees as expenses and get them back. Otherwise I can't.

Kalvo wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 13, 2023 3:54 pm

1-We applied for our first renewal last august (irp was valid til October, matching the CSEP issue date) and to my surprise, the new expiry dates don't match (my spouse was given full year til oct 23, while mine now expires 1 year from renewal application on Aug 23). I'm worried being out of sync in dates will cause me issues renewing, or will force me to renew twice in a span of 4 months. My spouse will get a new CSEP as the time to get stamp 4 support letter won't be met this year so I'd have the same issues next year as well.

Dependent 1G is valid for 12 months and needs to be renewed annually. And yes you may need to renew twice in a span of 4 months.

Kalvo wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 13, 2023 3:54 pm

2-The nightmare of applying for any visa just because of the "Residency card must be valid for at least 6 months upon arrival" requirement. This just leaves a small window to apply/travel to any visa required country (which for us is most of them). I know this won't change much with stamp 2, but I'd get a stamp 4 quicker which would be a big break.

Which country has that requirement? I have not heard of any major country that has a requirement like that. It is very common for students to apply for a UK/US/Schengen visa while they are on summer breaks when their IRP has a validity of less than 6 months.

Kalvo wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 13, 2023 3:54 pm

3-Costs of anual (and potentially more frequently) renewals, which are currently not covered by my company unless they're sponsoring.

That has always been the case. Previously the main account holder would also have just 1 year IRP even if the work permit is valid for 2 years, so you are already saving money here compared to a few years ago.

Kalvo wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 13, 2023 3:54 pm

Lots of people have recommended to stay on 1G but I'm not sure if I'm judging the situation wrong or is it just in my case that doesn't seem to be worth it the job switching flexibility.

I don't think it's right to say that staying on 1G is a good thing. It's a dependent permission which simply allows you to find jobs, but it is almost always better to have permission to live on your own term. Unless you are just aiming for quick money and part-time jobs in the retail industry or doing admin stuff, finding a more permanent, skilled job should be your on the top of your list.