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The short answer
It depends on your permission. A General Employment Permit holder (Category C) needs gross income above €30,000 in the previous tax year to be joined by a spouse, and must have spent 12 months in Ireland first. A Critical Skills Employment Permit holder (Category B) has no fixed earnings requirement and no waiting period, according to ISD's Family Reunification Policy dated 12 June 2026.
Many Nigerians who move to Ireland for work come alone first and plan to bring a husband or wife once they are settled. Whether your spouse can join you, and when, depends on two things: the immigration category your own permission falls into, and what you earned. The figures below come from Immigration Service Delivery (ISD), part of the Department of Justice: its Policy Document on Non-EEA Family Reunification dated 12 June 2026 and its financial thresholds page, updated the same day. This is information, not immigration advice.
Which category are you in?
ISD sorts sponsors into three categories. Your category sets both the waiting period and the income test.
| Category | Who is in it (examples from ISD) | Wait before spouse can apply | Spouse income threshold |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Irish citizens | None | At least €75,000 gross, cumulative, over the three years before applying (about €25,000 a year) |
| B | Critical Skills Employment Permit holders, intra-company transferees, full-time non-locum doctors, researchers on Hosting Agreements, STEP entrepreneurs, approved scholarship and PhD students, certain ministers of religion | None for nuclear family | No earnings required before reunification |
| C | General Employment Permit holders, Reactivation Employment Permit holders, Stamp 4 holders not in Category B; refugees for relationships formed after arrival | 12 months in the State on an eligible permission | Gross income above €30,000 in the previous year, for a couple with no children |
Refugees and people with subsidiary protection are treated as Category C for relationships formed after they entered Ireland, with a two-year minimum wait from the date protection was granted that ISD says cannot be waived.
The Category C test in detail
Most Nigerians on a General Employment Permit fall here. ISD looks at your gross income for the previous tax year and expects it to be maintained. The evidence is your Revenue employment detail summary, which you can download from myAccount; see reading your first Irish payslip for how gross pay differs from what lands in your account.
- Only one sponsor's income counts. You cannot add your spouse's earnings, even if your spouse already works somewhere.
- You must not have been mainly reliant on State supports for a continuous two years or more immediately before applying.
- ISD calls the thresholds minimum, guideline figures, and says verifiable savings may be considered where income falls short.
- You must keep meeting the level and show evidence again when your family member's permission is renewed.
If your children are coming too
For Category C sponsors joined by minor children, the test switches to net income for the previous tax year, set by the Department of Social Protection's Working Family Payment limits. ISD's 2026 figures:
| Children | Net income must exceed | Indicative gross equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | €39,780 | €50,200 |
| 2 | €45,032 | €60,200 |
| 3 | €50,284 | €70,100 |
| 4 | €55,016 | €80,000 |
The table continues to eight or more children (net €79,664). ISD says these figures will be updated each year, so check the thresholds page in the year you apply.
Worked example
An example: Chiamaka has held a General Employment Permit in Cork for 14 months and earned €45,000 gross in the last full tax year. That is above €30,000, so she meets the guideline for her husband. To bring their daughter as well, she needs net income above €39,780 (indicative gross €50,200). At €45,000 gross she is about €5,200 short of the indicative gross figure, so on income alone the child would not meet the guideline that year; she could wait for a higher year or ask ISD to consider verifiable savings.
Category B: no fixed figure
If you hold a Critical Skills Employment Permit, ISD's policy says no earnings are required before reunification, because the permit assumes a level of income. ISD instead looks at the length of your employment and your gross income for the current tax year. Nuclear family members can apply straight away. Category A sponsors (Irish citizens, including Nigerians who have naturalised) face the three-year €75,000 test instead.
What your spouse gets, and how long it takes
Under the policy's Appendix C, the spouse of a Critical Skills holder or a General Employment Permit holder is given Stamp 1G; the spouse of a Category C Stamp 4 holder is given Stamp 3; an Irish citizen's spouse gets Stamp 4. ISD's stamps page says Stamp 1G spouses of Critical Skills holders can work without an employment permit but cannot run a business, and that Stamp 3 does not allow work. The policy does not set out work rights for other Stamp 1G spouses, so check the conditions on the letter ISD issues. For the wider rules, see Stamp 1G work and benefit rules.
ISD's target is a decision in approximately 12 months once all information is in, longer for complex cases. That is a business goal, not a legal deadline. Your own permission needs to stay valid throughout; see renewing an IRP card online.
What to check first
- Confirm your category from the stamp and permit you hold, not the job title.
- Count your months in Ireland on that permission if you are Category C.
- Download your Revenue employment detail summary for the previous tax year and compare the gross (or net, for children) figure with ISD's current table.
- Gather marriage evidence and your spouse's documents in the form ISD's policy asks for.
- If you are close to the line, assemble savings statements that ISD can verify.
Where Pryme fits
While you wait, many sponsors support a spouse still in Nigeria. A Pryme Personal Account opened from Ireland holds euro and naira in one account, and you can send naira home with the rate and the fee shown before you approve. If you need to show ISD a regular record of support or savings, you can generate a statement through Pryme's verifiable receipts and statements with VerifyDoc.ai.
Questions people ask
How much do I need to earn to bring my wife to Ireland on a General Employment Permit?
ISD's policy dated 12 June 2026 says gross income above €30,000 in the previous tax year for a couple with no children, after 12 months in Ireland on the permit.
Is there an income requirement for Critical Skills permit holders to bring a spouse?
No fixed figure. Critical Skills holders are Category B, and ISD says no earnings are required before reunification and there is no waiting period for nuclear family.
Can my spouse's salary count towards the family reunification threshold?
No. ISD considers only one sponsor's income and does not combine it with a spouse's or another relative's.
How long does family reunification take in Ireland?
ISD's target is approximately 12 months once all required information is submitted, and complex cases can take significantly longer.
Sources
- Irish Immigration Service Delivery: Policy Document on Non-EEA Family Reunification (12 June 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- Irish Immigration Service Delivery: Financial thresholds for family reunification (updated 12 June 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- Irish Immigration Service Delivery: Immigration permission stamps (updated 5 June 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
This article is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. Products described are provided under the terms on this site and are subject to regulation and eligibility.