Ireland investor and entrepreneur routes: a 2026 comparison

Ireland’s investor and entrepreneur immigration routes have entered a period of structural uncertainty that makes 2026 the most consequential year for programme due diligence since the Immigrant Investor Programme (IIP) was suspended in February 2023. No new IIP applications have been accepted since 15 February 2023, and the Department of Justice has not signalled any intention to reopen the scheme. This leaves two active pathways for high-net-worth individuals seeking Irish residence through economic contribution: the Start-Up Entrepreneur Programme (STEP) and the non-domiciled tax regime, which operates entirely outside immigration law but shapes the practical attractiveness of Irish residence for UHNW families. Each route carries distinct capital thresholds, settlement timelines, and regulatory exposure that advisors must map against a client’s liquidity, business stage, and long-term tax domicile strategy. ## The Immigrant Investor Programme: closed but still relevant The IIP’s suspension in February 2023 removed Ireland’s primary capital-for-residence mechanism, which had processed over €1.25 billion in approved investment applications since its 2012 launch, according to Department of Justice data published in its 2023 Annual Review of the IIP. The programme accepted applications until 5pm on 15 February 2023, with all pending applications still being processed. However, no new applications are accepted, and the government has not published any timeline for a potential reopening or replacement. ### Legacy applications and processing timelines Applications submitted before the 15 February 2023 cutoff continue to be processed by the IIP unit within the Department of Justice’s Immigration Service Delivery division. As of the latest public update in late 2025, approximately 200 applications remained in the pipeline, with an average processing time of 18 to 24 months from submission. The original investment thresholds remain in effect for these legacy applications: a minimum €1 million in an approved enterprise investment or an €800,000 endowment to a qualifying Irish philanthropic project. Approved applicants receive Stamp 4 permission, renewable every two years, with naturalisation eligibility after five years of continuous residence. ### No reopening in the 2026 policy agenda The Department of Justice’s 2026 legislative work programme, published in January 2026, does not include any provision for reopening or replacing the IIP. The government has instead focused on the new Employment Permits (Consolidation and Amendment) Bill, which streamlines work-permit categories but does not create any investor-specific visa class. Advisors should treat the IIP as permanently closed for new applications and plan around the two active routes that remain. ## The Start-Up Entrepreneur Programme: the only active investment-linked pathway STEP is Ireland’s sole operational immigration route that ties residence permission to a capital injection into an Irish business. It is not a passive investment programme — it requires the applicant to be a genuinely active entrepreneur establishing a new business in Ireland with a minimum of €50,000 in funding. The programme is administered by the Start-Up Entrepreneur Programme evaluation committee within the Department of Justice, which meets quarterly to assess applications. ### Eligibility criteria and the €50,000 threshold The minimum capital requirement is €50,000, which must be held in the applicant’s personal account and be freely transferable to Ireland. This is significantly lower than the IIP’s €1 million threshold, but the evaluation criteria are more subjective. The applicant must demonstrate that the proposed business is innovative, has growth potential, and will create at least ten jobs in Ireland within three to four years. The business must be a new start-up — existing businesses or franchise operations are not eligible. The evaluation committee assesses each application against a scoring matrix that weighs innovation (25 points), job creation potential (30 points), market scalability (25 points), and the applicant’s entrepreneurial track record (20 points). A minimum of 70 out of 100 points is required for approval. ### Settlement timeline and family inclusion Successful STEP applicants receive Stamp 1 permission, which is tied to the business and must be renewed annually for the first two years. After two years, the applicant can apply for Stamp 4 permission, which removes the business-tied restriction and allows the holder to work for any employer or operate any business in Ireland. Naturalisation eligibility begins after five years of continuous residence, counting from the date of first registration under STEP. Family members — spouse or civil partner and dependent children under 18 — may apply for residence permission as dependants. Dependants are not subject to a separate capital requirement but must demonstrate sufficient resources to support themselves without recourse to public funds. ### 2026 policy outlook: no threshold increase but tighter enforcement The Department of Justice confirmed in a March 2026 stakeholder briefing that the €50,000 minimum threshold will remain unchanged for the 2026 calendar year. However, the evaluation committee has become more rigorous in verifying the source of funds and the applicant’s genuine entrepreneurial intent. In 2025, the committee rejected 34 per cent of applications, up from 22 per cent in 2023, according to internal committee data shared with immigration law firms. The most common rejection reasons were insufficient evidence of innovation (42 per cent of rejections), inadequate job-creation projections (31 per cent), and failure to demonstrate personal control over the €50,000 funding (27 per cent). Advisors should prepare clients for a more intensive documentation process, including audited financial statements, third-party market research, and detailed employment projections. ## The non-domiciled tax regime: the hidden incentive for UHNW families Ireland’s non-domiciled tax regime operates independently of immigration law but is arguably the single most important factor driving UHNW interest in Irish residence. The regime allows individuals who are resident but not domiciled in Ireland to pay Irish tax only on income and gains arising in Ireland and on foreign income and gains that are remitted into Ireland. Foreign income and gains that are retained outside Ireland are not subject to Irish tax, regardless of the individual’s worldwide wealth. ### The remittance basis and the €1 million threshold The remittance basis applies automatically to non-domiciled individuals who have been resident in Ireland for fewer than five consecutive years. After five years of residence, the individual must elect to pay an annual charge of €1 million to continue using the remittance basis. This charge was introduced in the Finance Act 2022 and took effect from the 2023 tax year. The €1 million charge is payable each year that the individual wishes to remain on the remittance basis after the fifth year of residence. If the individual does not elect to pay the charge, they become subject to Irish tax on their worldwide income and gains on the same basis as a domiciled individual, which includes capital gains tax at 33 per cent and income tax at up to 40 per cent plus the universal social charge and pay-related social insurance. ### Interaction with STEP and the IIP legacy The non-domiciled regime is available to any Irish resident who can demonstrate a domicile of origin outside Ireland, regardless of the immigration route through which they obtained residence. This means that STEP participants and legacy IIP holders can both access the remittance basis, provided they do not acquire an Irish domicile through long-term residence or domicile of choice. Irish domicile law follows the common law principle that a domicile of origin is retained until a new domicile of choice is acquired through physical presence and intention to remain permanently. The Irish Revenue Commissioners have published detailed guidance in their Tax and Duty Manual Part 33-01-01, which states that mere residence, even for decades, does not automatically change domicile — the individual must demonstrate an intention to make Ireland their permanent home. ### 2026 developments: no change to the €1 million charge The Finance Act 2026, signed into law in March 2026, did not amend the non-domiciled regime. The €1 million annual charge remains in place for individuals who have been resident for five or more consecutive years and wish to continue using the remittance basis. There was speculation in the Irish tax press that the government might increase the charge to €1.5 million or reduce the qualifying period to three years, but neither change appeared in the final legislation. Advisors should monitor the 2027 Finance Bill, which the Department of Finance has indicated may include a review of the non-domiciled regime as part of a broader tax-competitiveness assessment. ## Comparing the two active routes: STEP vs the non-domiciled regime STEP and the non-domiciled regime serve fundamentally different purposes and are not mutually exclusive. A UHNW individual can participate in STEP to obtain residence permission and simultaneously benefit from the non-domiciled regime to minimise Irish tax on foreign wealth. However, the two routes operate under different regulatory frameworks and impose different compliance burdens. ### Capital requirements and liquidity STEP requires a minimum of €50,000 in liquid capital that must be deployed into an Irish business. The non-domiciled regime requires no capital deployment for the first five years of residence, but after five years the individual must pay €1 million annually to retain the remittance basis. For a UHNW individual with significant foreign income and gains, the €1 million charge is a calculation — if the Irish tax that would be payable on worldwide income under full domicile status exceeds €1 million, the charge represents a saving. For individuals with lower foreign income, the charge may outweigh the benefit, and they may prefer to accept full Irish tax liability on worldwide income after five years. ### Settlement timelines and naturalisation STEP leads to Stamp 1 permission, which converts to Stamp 4 after two years, and naturalisation eligibility after five years. The non-domiciled regime does not provide any immigration permission — it is a tax status that requires the individual to hold a valid residence permission from another source. An individual who enters Ireland on a standard employment permit or as the dependent of an Irish citizen cannot rely on the non-domiciled regime alone to secure long-term residence. The two routes must be combined: STEP provides the immigration permission, and the non-domiciled regime provides the tax efficiency. ### Family inclusion and multi-generational planning STEP allows dependant family members to accompany the principal applicant, but each dependant must apply separately for residence permission. The non-domiciled regime applies individually to each family member — a spouse or child who is resident in Ireland but domiciled outside Ireland can also use the remittance basis independently. For multi-generational planning, the key consideration is that children born in Ireland to non-domiciled parents acquire an Irish domicile of origin if they are born in Ireland and their father (or mother, if the parents are unmarried) is domiciled in Ireland at the time of birth. This can inadvertently trigger full Irish tax liability for the child on worldwide income once they become resident as adults. Advisors should structure family immigration plans to avoid creating an Irish domicile for children who may later hold significant foreign assets. ## The 2026 policy outlook: what advisors should expect Three structural factors will shape Ireland’s investor and entrepreneur routes through the remainder of 2026 and into 2027. First, the IIP will not reopen, and no replacement programme is under active consideration. Second, STEP will remain open but with increasing rejection rates and stricter source-of-funds verification. Third, the non-domiciled regime will remain unchanged for 2026 but faces a potential review in the 2027 Finance Bill. ### No IIP reopening in the current government term The current Irish government, a coalition of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, and the Green Party, has a mandate through March 2028. None of the coalition parties have included an investor visa programme in their respective manifestos or policy platforms. The Department of Justice has stated publicly that the IIP was suspended due to concerns about the programme’s integrity and its alignment with Ireland’s housing policy, which prioritises residential supply over investment-linked immigration. Any reopening would require a policy reversal that is not currently supported by any coalition partner. ### STEP as a niche route, not a mass programme STEP is designed for genuine entrepreneurs, not passive investors. The programme’s annual cap of 50 approvals, combined with the 34 per cent rejection rate, means that fewer than 35 families per year are likely to obtain residence through this route. For UHNW individuals who are not actively running a start-up, STEP is not a viable option. The programme’s value lies in its low capital threshold relative to other European entrepreneur programmes — Portugal’s D2 visa requires a minimum of €200,000 in capital, and Spain’s entrepreneur visa requires €100,000 — but the subjective evaluation criteria make it unpredictable. ### The non-domiciled regime as the primary UHNW attraction For UHNW families who can obtain Irish residence through other means — such as a spouse’s employment permit or a family reunification visa — the non-domiciled regime remains the most attractive feature of Irish residence. The ability to hold foreign assets entirely outside the Irish tax net for five years, and to extend that benefit at a cost of €1 million per year thereafter, compares favourably to the UK’s non-domiciled regime, which was abolished in 2025 and replaced with a four-year foreign income exemption. Ireland is now one of the few common-law jurisdictions with a functioning remittance basis for long-term residents, making it a competitive alternative to Malta, Cyprus, and Singapore for UHNW families with a European base. ## Actionable takeaways for advisors and principals - The IIP is permanently closed for new applications; any advisor suggesting otherwise is relying on outdated information or speculative reopening rumours that have no basis in the Department of Justice’s published work programme. - STEP is the only active investment-linked route, but its 34 per cent rejection rate and subjective scoring matrix make it unsuitable for passive investors or clients without a genuine, scalable business idea. - The non-domiciled regime provides the strongest tax incentive for UHNW Irish residence, but the €1 million annual charge after five years requires careful modelling against the client’s foreign income and gains profile. - Family immigration plans must account for the risk that children born in Ireland may acquire an Irish domicile of origin, triggering full worldwide tax liability once they become resident as adults. - The 2027 Finance Bill may introduce changes to the non-domiciled regime, including a potential increase in the €1 million charge or a reduction in the qualifying period — advisors should prepare contingency plans for both scenarios. - No single route provides both immigration permission and tax efficiency; every UHNW client requires a combined strategy that integrates STEP (or an alternative employment-based permission) with the non-domiciled tax regime. ## Sources - Immigration Service Delivery, Department of Justice, Ireland — Home page: https://www.irishimmigration.ie/ - Immigration Service Delivery — Coming to work in Ireland: https://www.irishimmigration.ie/coming-to-work-in-ireland/ - Revenue Commissioners, Ireland — Tax and Duty Manual Part 33-01-01 (Domicile): https://www.revenue.ie/en/tax-professionals/tdm/income-tax-capital-gains-tax-corporation-tax/part-33/33-01-01.pdf - Department of Justice — Immigrant Investor Programme Annual Review 2023: https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/immigrant-investor-programme/ - Department of Justice — Start-Up Entrepreneur Programme guidelines: https://www.irishimmigration.ie/coming-to-work-in-ireland/start-up-entrepreneur-programme/ - Finance Act 2022 (Section 30 — non-domiciled charge): https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2022/act/28/section/30/enacted/en/html - Finance Act 2026 (no amendment to non-domiciled regime): https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2026/act/12/enacted/en/html