Hiring International Students in Ireland: Stamp 2 Work Rules for Employers

What is Stamp 2?

Stamp 2 is the immigration permission granted to non-EEA nationals studying in Ireland. If someone has come to Ireland to attend a language school, a further education college, or an English-language programme, their Irish Residence Permit (IRP card) will show Stamp 2.

It is one of the most common immigration stamps you will encounter in hospitality, retail, care, and cleaning — sectors where student workers have long filled part-time and evening roles.

Stamp 2 comes with conditions. Hire a student and roster them incorrectly, and you are in breach of Irish employment law — regardless of whether the student told you the hours were fine.

Can Stamp 2 Holders Work in Ireland?

Yes, but within strict limits.

Stamp 2 grants conditional permission to work. The conditions are set by the Department of Justice and administered through the Irish immigration system. They apply uniformly — the same rules cover a student studying English in Cork and someone doing a full-time degree in Dublin.

The key point for employers: no employment permit is required. Stamp 2 holders do not need a DETE General Employment Permit or any other permit. They already have the right to work in Ireland, subject to their hours conditions. Your job is to stay within those conditions.

One distinction matters before you hire: Stamp 2 is not Stamp 2A. Stamp 2 is granted to a student on a full-time course listed on the official Interim List of Eligible Programmes (ILEP). Those are the students who may work — 20 hours during term and 40 during the holiday periods. Stamp 2A is a separate permission, granted for full-time study on a course that is not on the ILEP, such as a semester abroad or study at a private secondary school. A Stamp 2A holder has no permission to work at all. If an IRP card shows Stamp 2A rather than Stamp 2, you cannot employ that person in any capacity.

The 20-Hour Rule During Term Time

During term time, a Stamp 2 holder may work a maximum of 20 hours per week.

This limit runs Monday to Sunday and is cumulative. If your employee works 12 hours across three days early in the week, they have 8 hours left. Unused hours cannot be carried forward to the following week.

The 20-hour rule exists to protect the primary purpose of the student's visa — they are in Ireland to study. An employer who consistently rosters a Stamp 2 student for 30 or 35 hours during term time is putting the student's immigration permission at risk and creating a WRC liability for the business.

Practical steps to stay compliant during term time:

• Keep weekly rota records and flag when a Stamp 2 employee's hours approach 18
• Do not rely on the student to police their own hours — the legal obligation sits with you as the employer
• If your operation needs more than 20 hours, you need a different solution: a Stamp 4 holder, an EEA national, or a worker hired through a DETE employment permit

Holiday Periods: When 40 Hours Is Permitted

During two designated holiday periods, Stamp 2 holders may work up to 40 hours per week. The periods are:

• Summer: 1 June to 30 September (inclusive)
• Christmas: 15 December to 15 January (inclusive)

Outside these windows, the 20-hour limit is back in force. The transition is immediate — on 1 October, a student who was working 40 hours must drop back to 20.

These periods were standardised by the Department of Justice in 2016. They do not flex to match an employee's academic calendar. A student whose college breaks up on 15 May cannot work 40 hours from mid-May — the summer window does not open until 1 June.

Plan your rosters around these dates. For hospitality and retail businesses running summer and Christmas peaks, Stamp 2 workers can provide useful additional capacity — but only within the window.

What Employers Must Check Before Hiring

Before you schedule a Stamp 2 student for their first shift, do three things:

1. Check their IRP card. Ask to see the Irish Residence Permit. The stamp number is printed on the front. Confirm it reads Stamp 2 and not Stamp 2A — a Stamp 2A holder cannot work at all. Confirm the card has not expired. If it has expired, the student needs to renew before they can work — an expired IRP card means the permission has lapsed.

2. Confirm they are enrolled in an approved course. Stamp 2 is granted on the basis that the person is in full-time education at a recognised institution. If a student drops out or fails to enrol in a subsequent course, their Stamp 2 permission no longer applies and they are not authorised to work. You are not expected to verify attendance records, but if someone tells you they have just finished a course and are waiting to start another, check before rostering them.

3. Record and track hours. Maintain a clear record of hours worked each week. This protects you in the event of a WRC inspection and allows you to demonstrate you stayed within the permitted limits.

You do not need to copy the IRP card under GDPR — checking and noting that you have seen it is sufficient. Keep a record of when you checked it and when it expires.

No Employment Permit Required — But Limits Are Enforced

Irish employers sometimes assume that because a Stamp 2 student does not need a work permit, there are no compliance obligations. That is not correct.

The absence of a permit requirement does not mean the absence of rules. The WRC has the same enforcement powers over Stamp 2 employment as it does over any other category of worker. The WRC has stated explicitly that employing a student beyond the permitted hours, or beyond the expiry date of their student permission, is an offence under employment permits legislation — since 2 September 2024, that is the Employment Permits Act 2024. Employers who breach the hours limits or fail to carry out basic right-to-work checks can face:

• WRC compliance notices
• Fixed payment notices
• Prosecution in serious or repeated cases

The rules are straightforward. The documentation check takes five minutes. There is no good reason to skip it.

After Graduation: Stamp 1G and the Route to Full-Time Employment

Stamp 2 is a study permission — it ends when the course ends. If you have a Stamp 2 employee who is about to graduate and you want to retain them, the process depends on what they do next.

Stamp 1G — graduate permission. Non-EEA graduates of Irish universities and qualifying higher education institutions may be eligible for Stamp 1G. This allows them to remain in Ireland and work full hours without any weekly limit while they seek employment in their field. They can work for you without an employment permit during this period.

The duration depends on their qualification level:

• Level 8 (honours bachelor degree): 12 months
• Level 9 or above (master's, PhD): up to 24 months, issued in two 12-month blocks, with the second block subject to evidence of job-seeking activity

Stamp 1G is granted by the Department of Justice — the graduate applies directly; the employer does not initiate the application.

Employment permit route. If you want to hire a former Stamp 2 student on a permanent, full-time basis and they are not eligible for or have exhausted their Stamp 1G, a DETE employment permit is the path. Provided their role and annual salary meet the relevant permit criteria — and your workforce meets the 50:50 rule, under which at least half your employees must be EEA, Swiss or UK citizens — you can apply for a General Employment Permit.

The €34,009 graduate salary threshold

This is where a graduate hire differs from any other permit application, and most employers never find out.

The standard General Employment Permit minimum annual remuneration is €36,605. Where the applicant holds a relevant Level 8 or higher degree on the Irish Register of Qualifications, awarded in the previous 12 months, the floor drops to €34,009 — €2,596 lower, or €16.77 an hour on a 39-hour week. For a role you have been unable to price at €36,605, that gap is often the whole decision.

The reduced rate is conditional, and each condition is a hard gate:

• Level 8 or above, on the Irish Register of Qualifications. A Level 7 or lower award does not qualify — that role sits on the full €36,605.
• Issued by an Irish third-level college. An overseas degree does not qualify, however relevant it is to the job.
• Relevant to the employment. The qualification has to connect to the role you are offering, not just exist.
• Awarded in the previous 12 months. This is a window, not a permanent status attached to the person.

The 12-month window is the one that catches people, and it is measured against the date you apply for the permit — not the date you offer them the job. A graduate who finished eighteen months ago has passed out of it, and an application filed at €34,009 for them will be refused. Check the conferring date before you build the offer around the lower figure — not the course end date, the date the award was issued. If a graduate is close to the edge of the window, the application date is the thing to move.

One more thing, and it cuts the other way from what most people assume: the graduate band is not being withdrawn. DETE's roadmap keeps it and moves it by indexation each year, the same way the standard threshold moves. The floors due to be phased out by 2030 are the sectoral ones — care assistants, meat processor operatives and horticulture workers, currently €32,691 — not this one. What it does mean is that €34,009 will not stay €34,009. Confirm the figure at the point you apply rather than working from a rate you were quoted last year.

The timeline is different too. A graduate hire is already living in Ireland. There is no relocation, no Overseas Employment Certificate, and no flight to arrange — so the permit decision is effectively the whole wait, rather than the first stage of a three-to-six-month placement.

CA Recruitment manages this process end-to-end for Irish employers. If you have a Stamp 1G or Stamp 2 worker you want to transition to a permit, we can assess eligibility, confirm which threshold applies to the role, and handle the DETE application.

Where CA Recruitment Fits In

CA Recruitment is a Filipino-Irish owned recruitment agency based in Tipperary. We place non-EEA workers with Irish employers and manage the full DETE employment permit process — from Labour Market Needs Test to permit approval.

Most of the workers we place come from the Philippines as new hires, with the permit applied for before they travel. But Stamp 2 comes up regularly in conversations with Irish employers, particularly in hospitality, care, and retail, where students form part of the existing workforce.

If you are managing a mix of Stamp 2 workers and workers who need permits, or if you want to know which category applies to a specific hire, Monette can walk you through it on a free call. No obligation, no fee until we place a worker.

Message Monette on WhatsApp: +353 89 416 6124

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