International Protection Rights

Following an application for asylum under the International Protection Act 2015 (so before June 12th 2026), you may be granted one of the following:

• Refugee Status
• Subsidiary Protection
• Permission to Remain

If you apply for asylum under the International Protection Act 2026 (so after June 12th 2026), you may be granted refugee status or subsidiary protection only.

There are some unique advantages for those granted an International Protection status. These include family reunification rights, eligibility to access a travel document as well as naturalisation as an Irish citizen.

Mainstream Rights

With Refugee Status, Subsidiary Protection, and Permission to Remain, you will be granted Stamp 4 permission and have access to the following:

Citizenship

Current rule: If you are granted status through the asylum process, you will have to wait 5 years from the date you received your Ministerial letter granting status before you can apply for naturalisation. This is the same for refugees as well as people who hold subsidiary protection and permission to remain.

Old rule for refugees: Previously, for refugees, it was 3 years from the date of applying for asylum but this changed on December 8 2025. If you applied for citizenship before December 8th, the Government stated that the 3 year rule would be applied, it is not yet clear if discretion will be applied to those applications. Full update here)

Proposed rule: The Government is proposing to extend the wait from 5 years to 8 years for all applicants, including refugees. They are also proposing that income and language skills will be considered. We expect the changes to be implemented before the end of 2026 so if you are eligible to apply now, do so as soon as possible. Please read more about these proposed changes here

Employment

People who are granted status after applying for International Protection can access the Irish labour market. You are required to register your immigration permission with the Immigration Service Delivery to obtain your Irish Residence Permit, and are required to notify your employer in respect of your changed circumstances.

Please note that if you were granted a labour market access permission whilst in the International Protection Process, this will no longer be valid. If you face difficulties with your employer in respect of delays in registering your permission, please contact our Information and Advocacy Service for advice.

Social Welfare:

If you require social welfare support, you should apply for a relevant payment as soon as you receive your Ministerial grant letter. If you are told you need to wait for your Irish Residence Permit to be issued before you can access a payment, we advise you contact your local citizen's information centre for advice and support.* For information on you social welfare entitlements and the relevant payments please see the citizens information webpage here.

Please note, you are no longer entitled to the daily expenses allowance and this might be stopped suddenly.

*In the Irish Supreme Court Sulaimon judgement (Sulaimon v Minister for Justice Equality and Law Reform [2012] IESC 63) it was ruled that it is the letter of grant that establishes residency status and not the possession of a IRP card.

Social Housing Support:

If you need housing support, you may be eligible for Social Housing Support. You can apply for Social Housing Support through your Local Authority (or Council).

If your application for Social Housing Support is approved, you should become eligible for the Housing assistance payment (HAP).

To avail of HAP you will need to find somewhere to rent. Once you find somewhere, you should notify your Local Authority to arrange the HAP paperwork. This will include the details of your new home. Your new landlord will need to sign your HAP form.

You will need to work out how much your HAP rate is. This will depend on your family size and what part of the country you live in. Send an email to housing@irishrefugeecouncil.ie if you are unsure.

Please read our Social Housing page here for more information

Travel document

Refugees can apply for a travel document. They are not permitted to travel with their national passports.

People who hold subsidiary protection may apply for a travel document, if it is safe for them to contact their national authority. However, they would have to show the travel document unit that it is not possible for them to obtain a new national passport via an Embassy or Travelling consulate. Often this would involve contacting your Embassy in Ireland (and if there is none in Ireland, then the closest Embassy to Ireland) and receiving a reply in writing which shows it would not be possible.

Travel documents can take around 6 months to process. If you need to travel for an emergency, you may be able to get a quicker processing time but you would need to provide evidence of the emergency.

Applications are made online and cost 55 euro.

Please see more information here on how to apply.