Without Condition As To Time is a permission to remain on an indefinite basis granted to those who have acquired 96 months of lawful residence in the State. It is evidenced by a Stamp 5 permission to remain placed in the passport.
Without Condition As To Time is a particular type of discretionary permission to remain which allows non nationals to reside in the State on an indefinite basis. The principle eligibility requirement is that the applicant has acquired eight years of lawful residence in the State, which includes residence on foot of a Stamp 4, Stamp 1 or stamp 3, but excludes residence on foot of a Stamp 2, Stamp 2 A, Stamp 1 A, and any stamp issued on foot of an Inter Company Transfer. It is also required that the applicant is a person of good character.
While it is necessary that the applicant has acquired 96 months of lawful residence, it is not necessary that these stamps be continuous. It is necessary that the applicant be lawfully resident at the time of submitting the application. A person resident on stamp 4 permission to remain will be eligible to apply for WCATT once the Stamp 4 permission has less than 6 months to run. Applications prior to this 6 month period will not be accepted.
The required (original) documents to be submitted in support of this application are as follows;
All expired passports since arriving in Ireland, and
Your current passport, and
A copy of the GNIB card, and
Documentary evidence of current address
If the application is successful, the applicant will receive an approval letter from the Department of Justice and Equality. The applicant must then immediately attend the GNIB to register their new permission to remain, which will be evidenced by a stamp 5 Certificate of Registration and a corresponding stamp in the applicant’s passport. The permission to remain will normally extend for the duration of that person’s passport, and be renewable again on the issuing of a new passport. It is important that a successful applicant for WCATT register at the GNIB while they are still documented, as otherwise the GNIB may refuse to complete the registration. The Stamp 5 is only a valid permission once registration with GNIB is complete and a certificate of registration is issued.
As of the 10th November 2010, the processing time for the WCATT applications was eight weeks.