Ireland digital nomad visa: requirements (2026)

Legal framework

Immigration Act 2004 and related permissions administered by Immigration Service Delivery (ISD, formerly INIS) under the Department of Justice; no dedicated digital-nomad visa exists.

Key points: digital nomad & residency in Ireland

1. 01No dedicated digital-nomad visa

   Ireland has not enacted a specific remote-work or digital-nomad visa, and none of the ISD long-stay permission types are designed to let non-EEA nationals reside long-term while working remotely for a foreign employer.

   irishimmigration.ie abbeybluelegal.ie

2. 02Stamp 0 – persons of independent means

   Stamp 0 is a temporary, renewable permission for financially self-sufficient persons (typically retirees, dependent relatives, visiting academics). Holders must have private medical insurance, may not access public services, and generally may not work or trade unless explicitly authorised in their permission letter.

   irishimmigration.ie citizensinformation.ie

3. 03Long-stay 'D' visa requires a qualifying purpose

   Stays over 90 days require a long-stay 'D' visa granted only for defined purposes — employment (with a Department of Enterprise permit), study, family reunification, minister of religion, or approved programmes — not for freelance/remote work per se.

   irishimmigration.ie ie.usembassy.gov

4. 04Start-up Entrepreneur Programme (STEP)

   Non-EEA founders with an innovative High Potential Start-Up proposal and at least €50,000 in funding can obtain 2-year residence, renewable for 3 more, with a path to long-term residence after 5 years. Not applicable to ordinary salaried remote workers.

   irishimmigration.ie

5. 05Immigrant Investor Programme (IIP) closed

   Ireland's golden-visa route, the Immigrant Investor Programme, closed to new applications at close of business 15 February 2023; only applications lodged before that date continue to be processed. No replacement residence-by-investment scheme has been introduced.

   irishimmigration.ie fragomen.com

6. 06EU/EEA/Swiss free movement

   EU, EEA and Swiss nationals may live and work remotely in Ireland with no visa or registration; this is the most common route to remote-work residency in practice but is not a nomad-specific programme.

   citizensinformation.ie

Timeline of decisions

1. 1 Mar 2026Decision · official
   New minimum salary thresholds take effect for all employment permits

   Minimum Annual Remuneration rises for every permit category (General Employment Permit €34,000→€36,605; Critical Skills €38,000→€40,904), the first step in a phased roadmap raising the bar for skilled-worker residency through 2030.

   Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment

2. 2 Dec 2025Guidance · official
   Government unveils roadmap for gradual rise in employment permit salary thresholds

   DETE published a phased plan to lift permit salary floors (which had stagnated since 2014) gradually to 2030, softening earlier steeper increases and reshaping who qualifies to relocate and reside in Ireland for work.

   gov.ie

3. 7 Aug 2025Guidance · official
   Stamp 0 confirmed as de-facto route for self-sufficient remote workers and retirees

   Ireland has no dedicated digital nomad visa; non-EEA remote workers and persons of independent means rely on Stamp 0, which permits residence (income ~€50,000/yr plus reserves and private health insurance) while working for an overseas employer but bars working in Ireland.

   Immigration Service Delivery

4. 2 Sept 2024Law · official
   Employment Permits Act 2024 comes into force

   Commencement of the modernised permit regime (enacted 25 June 2024): nine permit types, a new Seasonal Employment Permit, ability to change employer after nine months, and scrapping of newspaper advertising in favour of online job posting.

   Irish Statute Book

5. 7 Mar 2024Guidance · official
   WRC Code of Practice on Right to Request Flexible and Remote Working

   S.I. No. 92/2024 brought into operation the Workplace Relations Commission code activating the statutory right of employees to request remote work, setting the process employers must follow for in-country remote arrangements.

   Irish Statute Book

6. 4 Apr 2023Law · official
   Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023 signed into law

   Act No. 8 of 2023 introduced a statutory right for employees to request remote working, the first legislative framework in Ireland addressing remote work arrangements (though it grants a right to request, not a right to work remotely).

   Irish Statute Book

7. 15 Feb 2023Decision · official
   Closure of the Immigrant Investor Programme (golden visa)

   The Minister for Justice closed Ireland's residency-by-investment programme to new applicants, citing concerns raised by the EU Commission, Council of Europe and OECD over money laundering and security, removing a major residency route for non-EEA nationals.

   gov.ie

8. 1 Oct 2014Law · official
   Critical Skills Employment Permit replaces the Green Card permit

   Ireland introduced the CSEP to attract highly skilled workers (ICT, engineering, etc.) with no labour market needs test and a fast track to permanent residence, becoming the principal skilled-migration pathway still in use today.

   Citizens Information

9. 1 Jan 2012Law · official
   Immigrant Investor Programme and Start-up Entrepreneur Programme launched

   Ireland created two residency routes for non-EEA nationals: the IIP (investment-based) and STEP (innovative business with €50,000 funding), establishing the investor/entrepreneur residency framework, STEP remains open after the IIP's 2023 closure.

   Citizens Information

10. 23 Jun 2006Law · official
    Employment Permits Act 2006 enacted

    Established the modern statutory employment-permit system (including the Green Card scheme) that governs how non-EEA nationals obtain the right to work and reside in Ireland, the foundation later reformed by the 2014 amendments and 2024 Act.

    Irish Statute Book

Sources

1. 1.irishimmigration.ie/registering-your-immigration-permission/information-on-registering/im
2. 2.irishimmigration.ie/coming-to-work-in-ireland/what-are-my-options-for-working-in-ireland/
3. 3.irishimmigration.ie/faqs-closure-of-the-immigrant-investor-programme-iip/
4. 4.citizensinformation.ie/en/moving-country/moving-to-ireland/rights-of-residence-in-ireland/ty
5. 5.fragomen.com/insights/ireland-immigrant-investor-program-closed-for-new-applicatio
6. 6.ie.usembassy.gov/working-retiring-in-ireland/
7. 7.abbeybluelegal.ie/remote-work-and-irish-visas-how-digital-nomads-fit-into-immigration-r
8. 8.irishimmigration.ie/coming-to-live-in-ireland/i-want-to-apply-for-a-long-stay-visa/
9. 9.citizensinformation.ie/en/moving-country/moving-to-ireland/rights-of-residence-in-ireland/re