Where it is now Confirmed
- 9 September 2026: the Government approved priority drafting of the Bill.
- 21 September 2026: the General Scheme, an outline of the Bill, was published.
- Still to come: an Oireachtas committee reviews the outline, then the full Bill is published, debated and passed by the Dáil and Seanad, and signed into law. After that the Minister decides when it starts, and can start different parts at different times. There is no Bill number or start date yet.
What would change
Based on the General Scheme. The details can still change before the Bill is passed.
- Years living here
- Now 5 years in the last 9, including the last year without a break.
- Proposed 8 years: the last 2 without a break, plus 6 of the 10 years before that.
- Spouse or civil partner of an Irish citizen
- Now Married or partnered for 3 years. 3 years living on the island of Ireland in the last 5, including the last year without a break.
- Proposed Married or partnered for 5 years. The last 2 years without a break, plus 3 of the 5 years before that, on the island of Ireland.
- Language
- Now No test.
- Proposed Show your English, Irish or Irish Sign Language. The level isn’t set yet.
- Knowledge of Irish society
- Now No test.
- Proposed Show knowledge of Irish society and civic life. The standard isn’t set yet.
- Income and welfare
- Now No set requirement.
- Proposed A minimum income (amount not set yet). No specified welfare or housing support when you apply or in the 2 years before; up to 6 months in total may be accepted case by case. Applies to the standard route.
- Debts and fines
- Now No set requirement.
- Proposed No unpaid debts to Revenue or the Department of Social Protection, and no unpaid court fines.
- Good character
- Now Required.
- Proposed Still required, with no exemptions. The language and civics tests could be waived for some groups.
- Time that doesn’t count
- Now Student stamps, time without a valid permission, and time waiting for an asylum decision.
- Proposed Also temporary protection (for example from Ukraine), time waiting on an EU Treaty Rights application that was refused, permission obtained by fraud, and other temporary permissions the Minister names.
Not decided yet Not decided
- When the new rules would start.
- Whether the 8-year requirement would apply to applications made before the law starts. The outline only says that the new list of time that doesn’t count won’t apply to them.
- How days abroad would be counted over the 2 years without a break. Our calculator assumes 70 days per year.
- The language level, the civics test and the minimum income amount.
What this means for you now
Today’s rules still apply. Applications made before a new law starts are expected to be assessed under today’s rules, but this hasn’t been confirmed. If you are close to qualifying, it helps to know both dates.