(IRELAND) — Ireland announced a new Stamp 4 Residence Permit for Ukrainians on May 26, 2026, opening a national pathway from temporary protection to longer-term residence and, eventually, citizenship.

Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration Jim O’Callaghan and Minister of State for Migration Colm Brophy secured Cabinet approval for the measure, called the Temporary Protection Transition Scheme. The government said the application portal is scheduled to open in September 2026.

The permission will be granted for up to two years and can be renewed. Time spent on the permit will count toward the five-year reckonable residence period used for naturalization and an Irish passport.

O’Callaghan said the move was intended to give Ukrainians more certainty after more than four years of war-driven displacement. “Government has today agreed to the introduction of a number of measures relating to Ukrainian citizens who are beneficiaries of temporary protection. Ireland is now taking proactive measures to provide more certainty to people currently displaced by the war in Ukraine.”

Applicants must meet several conditions at the time they apply. They must have lived in Ireland for at least one year as a beneficiary of Temporary Protection, and they must have been employed or self-employed for at least six months.

The scheme also sets an income floor. Applicants must earn a minimum annual salary of €29,432, and they must not be living in state-supported or state-contracted commercial accommodation when they submit an application.

Permission under the scheme is designed to cover the full family unit already resident in Ireland under temporary protection. That means the policy reaches beyond an individual worker and extends to relatives who entered and remained together under the same protection framework.

The Irish government presented the measure as a transition route ahead of the expiry of the European Union’s Temporary Protection Directive on March 4, 2027. In that respect, the Irish plan marks the first EU nation-level transition pathway announced before the bloc-wide protection system ends.

The scheme affects a large population. The government said about 70,000 Ukrainians would gain a route toward permanent residency and possible citizenship if they meet the conditions.

Officials also tied the new permit to labour and housing policy. The government said the plan is meant to “incentivize labor market participation, upskilling, and progression to independent living.”

Housing changes will unfold on a separate timeline. Ireland will begin a phased withdrawal of state-contracted commercial accommodation in August 2026, while the Accommodation Recognition Payment for hosts will be adjusted to €400 a month from October 2026.

Those deadlines matter because one of the scheme’s clearest filters is housing independence. A person still living in a hotel or other state-contracted commercial accommodation at the time of application will not qualify, even if the residency, work and income conditions are met.

The permit itself sits in Ireland’s existing immigration system rather than outside it. A Stamp 4 residence permission generally carries broader residence rights than emergency temporary protection, and the government’s decision places eligible Ukrainians onto a track that can be renewed and counted for naturalization.

That marks a break from the short-term logic that governed the first phase of Europe’s response after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Temporary protection gave fast access to residence and basic services; this scheme adds a longer horizon for those already working and living independently in Ireland.

The Irish announcement came as U.S. immigration agencies issued their own Ukraine-related updates on May 28, 2026. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services resumed processing several immigration benefits for Ukrainian parolees after a federal court order.

A task force update said, “USCIS has resumed processing applications from parolees for work permits, TPS, asylum, green cards, and other immigration benefits. This follows the federal District Court’s May 28th order directing DHS to lift the suspension that had been in effect since February 14.”

In the United States, Temporary Protected Status for Ukraine remains in effect, and the Department of Homeland Security continues to process re-registrations through October 19, 2026. The U.S. move did not change the Irish plan, but both developments addressed the legal position of Ukrainians already displaced by the war.

Ireland’s criteria set a high threshold for some beneficiaries of temporary protection. A person who has not yet completed six months of employment, or whose earnings fall below €29,432, will remain outside the scheme even if that person has lived in the country for more than a year.

The same applies to housing. Families who still depend on state-supported or state-contracted commercial accommodation will need to move into independent arrangements before they can qualify, a condition that links immigration status directly to Ireland’s wider effort to reduce state-supported placements.

The family-unit provision, however, gives the scheme broader reach inside households where one adult meets the employment and income rules. That design reduces the risk that relatives living together under temporary protection would be split into separate legal categories.

Officials published the Irish announcement through the Department of Justice on May 26, 2026, and additional guidance for Ukrainians in Ireland is available through the Immigration Service Delivery FAQ page on the Irish immigration website. The Department of Justice also posted the government’s Temporary Protection Transition Scheme announcement.

U.S. information on Ukraine-related status remains available through USCIS guidance on Temporary Protected Status for Ukraine. In Ireland, the next practical step is the portal opening in September 2026, when Ukrainians who satisfy the residence, work, income and housing rules will be able to seek a Stamp 4 Residence Permit under the Temporary Protection Transition Scheme.