After my master's, when can I bring my family to Ireland? Is it allowed during the master's or only after getting a work visa?
You cannot bring your family to live with you during your master's, since Stamp 2 visa holders are not eligible to sponsor dependents. After graduating, you can bring family immediately with a Critical Skills Employment Permit, or after 1 year of continuous employment on a General Employment Permit.
If reuniting with your family is part of your Ireland plan, you need to know that your student visa status blocks this entirely during your master's. The timeline only opens up once you transition into a qualifying work permission after graduation.
Bringing Family To Ireland By Visa Stage
| Visa Stage | Can You Bring Family |
|---|---|
| During master's (Stamp 2) | Not allowed, only short tourist visits are possible |
| Critical Skills Employment Permit | Allowed immediately, no waiting period |
| General Employment Permit | Allowed only after 1 year of continuous employment |
What Your Family Gets With A Critical Skills Permit
If you secure a Critical Skills Employment Permit, your spouse or de facto partner is granted Stamp 1G permission, which gives them the unrestricted right to work for any employer in Ireland without needing a separate employment permit. Many master's graduates in fields like ICT, engineering, and science aim for this permit through the Third Level Graduate Scheme, which gives you up to 2 years to find a qualifying job.
My Advice
Target roles that qualify for the Critical Skills Employment Permit if reuniting with your family quickly matters to you, since the General Employment Permit route forces a full year of waiting and also requires you to prove a minimum income threshold to support them.
Can your spouse come with you to Ireland?
Which Irish courses still allow dependents, and what you will need to show.
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More Ireland questions
- Do I need to show living expenses in my bank account for visa purposes, and can I withdraw it after reaching Ireland?
- Can you tell me which colleges provide good scholarships, especially need-based rather than merit-based scholarships in Ireland/France for a Master's?
- After completing my studies, can I stay back in Ireland and apply for permanent residency for a Master's/Bachelor's?
- Will there be any problems if I do my studies offline abroad given the education structure is different from India in Ireland/Canada?
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- Is it possible to pursue a master's in artificial intelligence and machine learning abroad in Ireland/Singapore?
- Which courses have good hiring prospects for the next ten years, especially compared to AI in Ireland/Germany?
- What other steps do I need to follow to get admission to those universities in UK/Ireland for a Master's?