Start-up Entrepreneur Programme (STEP)
Route status
Active as of 2025-11-27[1][3]
The programme remains open to applications; the gov.ie press release closing the Immigrant Investor Programme in February 2023 expressly recorded that STEP 'will continue'.
Open to new applications under the rules recorded below.
| Nationality restrictions |
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Residency route facts
Identity
| Official name (local) | Start-up Entrepreneur Programme (STEP) as of 2025-10-14[3][4] English is an official language of Ireland; no Irish-language official name appears in the sources read. |
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| Official name (English) | Start-up Entrepreneur Programme (STEP) as of 2025-10-14[3][4] |
| Legal basis | Not established from a qualifying source |
| Instrument type | residence permit as of 2023-09-01[4] The guidelines grant 'permission to reside and work in Ireland', registered as an immigration permission; visa-required applicants additionally receive a multiple-entry visa for the same period. Which stamp category is issued is not stated by the sources read. |
Who can apply
| Nationals not served by this route | EEA as of 2025-11-27[1][4] The programme is stated to be for non-EEA nationals. The position of Swiss and United Kingdom nationals is not stated by the sources read and is not asserted here. |
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| Criminal-record condition | Yes as of 2025-10-14[3][4] Applicants must be of good character and must not have been convicted of criminal offences in any jurisdiction. Evidence is a statement of character from the police authorities of each country of residence of more than six months in the preceding 10 years; on approval, a sworn affidavit of good character produced by a legal practitioner registered in Ireland is required before permission issues, and a similar affidavit is required from every family member aged 16 or over. |
Permit terms
| Initial duration | 2 years as of 2025-11-27[1][4] "Permission to reside and work in Ireland for two years." Citizens Information records the same initial two-year grant. |
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| How the initial term is set | fixed |
| Renewable | Yes as of 2023-09-01[4] Renewal is subject to the start-up remaining in place, an evaluation-committee assessment of the success or viability of the investment, continued good character, and maintenance of private medical insurance without recourse to publicly funded welfare. |
| Renewal duration | 3 years as of 2023-09-01[4] |
| Work rights | own activity only as of 2025-10-14[3][4] Permission is to reside and work on the applicant's own start-up: the holder must establish the business as set out in the application and work on it full time, and is not permitted to be employed in any other capacity. |
Permanent residence and citizenship
Requirements
| Minimum capital | EUR 50,000 as of 2025-11-27[1][3][4] |
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| Business plan required | Yes as of 2023-09-01[4] A comprehensive business plan for the innovation start-up proposal is required in all cases, on the sample template, indicating all locations for the proposal and headcount in each country. |
| Endorsement required | Yes as of 2025-10-14[3][4] An independent evaluation committee of senior public and civil servants assesses the proposal and recommends to the Minister for Justice; the committee must be satisfied that the proposal is genuinely innovative and has significant export potential. Its decision on an application is final and is not subject to review or appeal. |
| Innovation criterion | Yes as of 2025-10-14[3][4] The proposal must be for a High Potential Start-Up: introducing a new or innovative product or service to international markets, in manufacturing or internationally traded services, led by an experienced management team, headquartered and controlled in Ireland, and less than five years old from registration. Retail, personal services, catering and similar domestically oriented businesses are excluded. |
| Jobs to be created | Not applicable as of 2023-09-01[4] |
Process
| Where to apply from | Not established from a qualifying source |
|---|---|
| Statutory processing time | Not established from a qualifying source No statutory decision period is stated. The evaluation committee considers proposals on a quarterly basis. |
| Observed processing time | Not established from a qualifying source |
| Fees |
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Physical presence
| none stated | to keep the permit as of 2025-10-14[3][4] No minimum-presence day count and no maximum-absence rule is stated by either source. The conditions of permission are to establish the business as applied for, to work on it full time, not to be employed in any other capacity, to hold private medical insurance, not to become a financial burden on the State and not to be convicted of an offence. This records the absence of a stated rule, not a sourced statement that no rule exists. |
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Family inclusion
| Family members may be included | Yes as of 2023-09-01[4] Residency status on similar terms to the principal applicant is available for spouses/partners and minor children; where family members are granted residency, that status applies automatically for as long as the principal continues to meet the programme criteria. |
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| Eligible relations | spouse, registered partner, unmarried partner, minor child as of 2023-09-01[4] Spouses and civil partners (evidence that the marriage or civil partnership is legal); de facto or common-law partners after two years' prior cohabitation; and children under 18 in the applicant's legal custody or guardianship who are unmarried and not in a de facto relationship. |
| Family may apply at the same time | Yes as of 2023-09-01[4] A non-EEA national may apply for residency status for themselves and their spouse/partner and children under 18 in the same application; the single EUR 350 fee covers the principal and all nominated family members. |
| Family members' work rights | Not established from a qualifying source |
Your next step
Read the requirements above considering your own situation: the income multiple, the absence limits, who you can bring. Check the country record for the reference figure those amounts are calculated from, and for anything that has changed recently.
The next step is your own case. That assessment is legal work. Create profile for our assistance in this.
Profile benefits
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Verification
| Sources cited | 4 |
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| of which official (tier 1) | 4 |
| Oldest as-of date | 2023-09-01 |
| Newest as-of date | 2025-11-27 |
| Reviewed on | 2026-08-17 |
| Schema version | 1.1 |
Sources
- [1] Types of residence permission for non-EEA nationals
Citizens Information Board · official guidance · Tier 1 · Published 2025-11-27 · Accessed 2026-08-11 - [2] Long Term Residency — conditions and eligibility
Immigration Service Delivery, Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2025-02-06 · Accessed 2026-08-11 - [3] Start-up Entrepreneur Programme (STEP) — conditions, application, fee
Immigration Service Delivery, Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2025-10-14 · Accessed 2026-08-11 - [4] Start-up Entrepreneur Programme — Guidelines, September 2023
Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service / Department of Justice · official guidance · Tier 1 · Published 2023-09-01 · Accessed 2026-08-11