Eligibility for Stamp 4 Support Letter after Job Loss and Unemployment: Questions on Dates and Criteria

[mmssaa]

Hello everyone,

I am a non-EU citizen who came to Ireland using a Critical Skills Employment Permit and I have some questions about my eligibility for a Stamp 4 Support Letter. Here is some relevant information about my employment history:

• I started working on 9th September 2021 with a Critical Skills Employment Permit.

• I lost my job due to redundancy (company liquidated) on 26th September 2022.

• I was unemployed for a period of 60 days between 26th September 2022 and 24th November 2022.

• I started working with a new employer on 24th November 2022.

My questions about Stamp 4 Support Letter eligibility are as follows:
Question 1:
Does a period of unemployment of 60 days affect the eligibility criteria for a Stamp 4 Support Letter?

Question 2:
What is the eligibility criteria for a Stamp 4 Support Letter in my situation, considering that I lost my job due to redundancy on 26th September 2022, was unemployed for 60 days, and started a new job on 24th November 2022? Specifically:

• When can I apply for a Stamp 4 Support Letter?

• Is the eligibility period based on 20 months from my first day of work, which was 9th September 2021? If so, does that mean I can apply on 21st May 2023?

• Or should I exclude the 60 days of unemployment between 26th September 2022 and 24th November 2022? If so, would the eligibility period be 20 months from my first day of work, excluding those 60 days, and I could apply on 20th July 2023?

• Or should I exclude the period of work from 9th September 2021 to 26th September 2022, and start counting 20 months from my new job on 24th November 2022?

I would appreciate any advice or guidance on my situation. Thank you for your time and assistance.

[littlerr]

What type of employment permit do you have with your new employer? Or are you using your old permit while working for your new employer? Have you received a permission to continue working using your old permit?

INIS do allow people whose companies are acquired by a different company to continue working, but they must be notified and sometimes they will require a new permit. If you are working for a completely different employer, you must apply for a new permit or receive temporary permission from INIS. Time spent on temporary permission will not be counted when considering Stamp 4 support letter.

[mmssaa]

Thank you for your response. To answer your questions, I have a new Critical Skills Employment Permit from my new employer. I did not work during the temporary permission period, and I started working only after I received the new employment permit. Therefore, I am using my new permit to work for my current employer. I hope this clarifies the situation. As for my original questions, they are:

1. How does the 60-day unemployment period affect my eligibility criteria?
2. When am I eligible to apply for a Stamp 4 Support Letter? Is the eligibility period for a Stamp 4 Support Letter based on 20 months from my first day of work, which was 9th September 2021 or should I exclude the 60 days of unemployment Or should I exclude the period of work from 9th September 2021 to 26th September 2022?


Thank you for your assistance.

[avta]

Hey,

You're situation is looks uncommon.
I know the people who was refused stamp 4 support letter only because they had less than 21 month continues employment.
You can try to contact DETE directly to check if your case is applicable to apply for the stamp 4 support letter, or just apply for the letter as it is for free.

[littlerr]

To get a Stamp 4 support letter, you need to have been on Stamp 1 for 21 months AND having worked under Stamp 1 for 21 months. So the period you were made redundant needs to be excluded.

[mmssaa]

Thank you both for the prompt responses. Regarding the support letter documentation, I'm wondering if I need to submit both employment permits or not. I didn't see any mention of employment permits in the "Requirements for supporting documentation" section on the following page: https://enterprise.gov.ie/en/publicatio ... tamp-4.pdf.

[littlerr]

You don’t need to submit copies of the permit. They are issued by DETE so they have access to them anyway when they process your support letter request.

[hgruth]

Hi @mmssaa, I have a similar case where I was made redundant and was jobless for a period of 45 days before starting a new job. I wanted to know if you were able to find an answer to this. Thanks!