Ireland Work Permit

What is the Irish Employment Permit?

If you plan on coming to Ireland to work from outside the EEA, you must obtain an Irish Work Permit. The Irish Work permit is a long term immigration permission and the official document that grants you permission to live and work in the country.

Note, If you’re a UK citizen, you generally do not need an employment permit to work in Ireland, thanks to the Common Travel Area (CTA) agreement between Ireland and the UK.

The Irish Employment Permit is not very difficult to obtain, although the process is somewhat complicated. This is mainly because you must first obtain immigration permission to work in Ireland before you apply for a work visa.

To get immigration permission to work, you need an employment contract or job offer. This must be in a highly skilled position or one where there’s a shortage of skill in Ireland. There’s a total of nine different Irish employment permits, and they have different requirements.

Aside from applying for an employment visa, you can as well follow the Atypical Working Scheme, ‘Van der Else’ route, Researcher Employment Visa, Start-up Entrepreneur Programme (STEP), and Immigrant Investor Programme (IIP) to work in Ireland.

Eligibility criteria for Ireland work permit

To be eligible for an Irish work permit, you must:

• Be over 18 years of age.
• Have a job offer from an employer in Ireland.
• Meet the minimum salary requirements.
• Have the required qualifications and skills for the role.
• Be employed in an occupation that is on the list of occupations under the General Employment permit.
• Be from a country that is not in the European Union, European Economic Area, or Switzerland.
• Not have any previous convictions for criminal offences.

How do I obtain an Ireland Work Permit?

Since there are different employment permits, the process of getting an Employment visa to Ireland depends on your specific case. This is why the route is said to be complicated. Sometimes, your case could match neither of the nine different permits. In that case, you’ll have to apply for a different type of Employment Visa.

Nevertheless, for all employment visa permit types, you have to first secure a job or employment contract. After that, you’ll apply for immigration permission to work with the Department of Jobs, Enterprise & Innovation (DJEI) and then apply for your permit. In addition, you have to pass the border control at the port of entry and apply for permission to stay with Irish Immigration.

If you intend to work in Ireland for a short period, less than 90 days, you can apply for the Atypical Working Scheme instead.

Types of Employment Permits in Ireland

The nine different Irish employment permits include:

• General Employment Permit
• Critical Skills Employment Permit
• Dependant/Partner/Spouse Employment Permit
• Reactivation Employment Permit
• Contract for Services and Employment Permit
• Intra-Company Transfer Employment Permit
• Exchange Agreement Employment Permit
• Internship Employment Visa
• Sports and Cultural Employment Permit

You must know and apply for the right permit for your work type and conditions. You need to obtain the right permit before you apply for a visa. If you obtain the wrong one, you can’t get the visa.

Critical Skills Employment Permit in Ireland

The Critical Skills Employment Permit is the most popular permit for Irish employment visas. It’s highly sought-after as it carries the most benefits. One of the main benefits is that you can easily become an Irish permanent resident with this employment permit.

Like every developed country, the Irish government aims to retain skilled individuals in certain critical sectors. You can become an Irish permanent resident even before your critical skills employment permit expires.

Occupations in this permit category are usually in highly-skilled industries with significance to the Irish economy. Hence, the Irish government prioritizes critical skills employment visa permit applicants.

Requirement for this employment visa permit include:

• The job offer must be for a minimum of 2 years
• The job offer must be for a highly skilled occupation with a minimum salary of €38,000 or a non-highly skilled occupation with a minimum salary of €64,000

General Employment Permit in Ireland

The General Employment Permit is open to a lot more employable positions than the Critical Skills Employment Permit. In fact, it covers almost all occupations in Ireland. As a result, if you can’t link your long-term job offer to a particular permit type, you can apply for a general employment permit.

The general employment visa permit still has its requirements which include:

• Your prospective employer must be registered with the Revenue Commissioners
• The job must not be on the Ineligible List of Occupations for Employment Permits
• You must meet the skill set, have relevant qualifications, and work experience required for the job
• The job should have a minimum salary of €34,000. This can be reduced €30,000 in exceptional circumstances, such as if you’re planning to work as a meat processing operative or a horticultural operative.

Note, as of June 25, 2024, workers with general or critical skills employment permits can switch employers after 9 months.

Intra-Company Permit in Ireland

The Intra-company employment permit allows skilled workers in a multinational company to switch branches and come to Ireland. If you work for a company that has a branch in Ireland and get transferred to the Irish branch, you’ll apply for the Intra-company employment permit.

This employment permit, however, mainly favours staff occupying important positions in the company. You can easily obtain an Intra-Company employment permit if you’re key personnel or senior manager in the company. This permit is also open to trainees.

To qualify as key personnel, senior manager, or trainee, you must meet the following requirements:

• You must earn a minimum of €46,000 as a key personnel
• You must earn a minimum of €46,000 as a senior manager
• You must earn a minimum of €34,000 as a personnel attending training

Exchange Agreement Employment Permit in Ireland

The Exchange Agreement Employment Permit is exclusive to foreign nationals coming to work in Ireland through a prescribed or other international agreement. This agreement must not exceed 2 years. Circumstances

Current agreements for the Exchange Agreement Employment visa permit include:

• Association internationale des étudiants en sciences économiques et commerciales (AIESEC): a not-for-profit organisation run by students and recent graduates of higher education institutions
• The International Association for the Exchange of Students for Technical Experience (IAESTE): a non-governmental organization that represents student, academic, and industrial interests
• The Fulbright Programme: a bilateral agreement between Ireland and the United States
• The Bord Bia exchange agreement between St Joseph’s University, Philadelphia and UCC for food marketing students
• Vulcanus in Europe Programme

To apply for the Exchange Agreement Employment Permit under any of these agreement schemes, you must check your eligibility with the Department of Business, Enterprise, and Innovation (DBEI).

Contract for Services Employment Permit in Ireland

If you win a contract to supply a service to an Irish company or entity, you can apply for the Contract for Services Employment Permit. This visa grants you legal permission to live and work in Ireland for up to 2 years.

The Contract For Services Employment Permit has the following requirements:

• You must have a prior business/work relationship with the Irish company or entity for at least six months
• The job position or service must not be on the Ineligible Employment Permit List

Dependant/Partner/Spouse Employment Permits

Dependant/Partner/Spouse Employment Permits allow the dependents of work permit holders to work in Ireland.

The permit is valid for the same period as the work permit holder’s employment contract, up to a maximum of two years and can be renewed for a further three-year period.

To be eligible for a Dependant/Partner/Spouse Employment Permit, the applicant must be the spouse, civil partner, or dependent child of a work permit holder.

The dependent must also be aged 18 years or over and have a valid passport. One good thing about this permit is that its application fee is free of charge.

Additionally, the prospective employer is not required to undertake a Labour Market Needs Test.

Reactivation Employment Permit in Ireland

The Reactivation Employment Visa Permit is a rare permit and only granted in extraordinary circumstances. The permit is only open to previous foreign workers in Ireland that fell through the work system due to unjust circumstances or circumstances beyond their control.

These circumstances can include mistreatment, exploitation, divorce, and separation from a partner. The permit is also available for workers filling low-paid employment positions that are not under the General Employment Permit route.

With this permit, such a person gains re-permission ‘reactivation’ to live and work in Ireland again. The requirements for this permit depend on the reason for reactivation.

Internship Employment Permit in Ireland

Internship employment visa permit is open to foreign students enrolled in a third-level institution outside Ireland to visit and work in Ireland to gain experience. To qualify for this permit as a full time student, you must meet the following requirements:

• You must be a full-time degree or higher student of a third-level learning institution outside Ireland.
• Your course which you need internship experience for must be on the Highly Skilled Occupation List
• You must earn at least the national minimum wage during your stay in Ireland.

Sport and Cultural Employment Permit in Ireland

The Sport and Cultural Employment Permit allows international talent in sports and cultural industries to live and work in Ireland. It’s a unique permit and has the following requirements:

• You must have the relevant sport skills or cultural qualifications.
• You have unique knowledge or experience that can help develop and expand the capacity of sports and cultural activities in Ireland.
• You must earn at least the national minimum wage during your stay in Ireland.

Contact us today to talk to one of our immigration consultants about our Immigration services by calling us or using the online contact form to get in touch instead of hiring an immigration lawyer.

Required Documents for Ireland Work Permit

The following are the document requirements for an Irish employment permit:

• Irish work visa application form: From the online application system.
• Offer of employment: The applicant must have a job offer from an Irish employer. The job offer must be in writing and specify the duties of the position, the salary, the start date, and the duration of the contract.
• Copy of passport: A copy of the biographical page of the applicant’s passport.
• Passport-sized photograph: A passport-sized photograph of the applicant.
• Proof of qualifications: The applicant must provide proof of their qualifications, such as educational certificates, transcripts, or professional licenses.
• The applicant must provide evidence of their English language proficiency, such as a TOEFL or IELTS score report.
• Police clearance certificate: The applicant must provide a police clearance certificate from their home country and any other countries they have lived in for more than six months in the past five years.
• Medical examination: The applicant must undergo a medical examination and provide evidence of their good health and must have private medical insurance.
• Proof of financial support: The applicant must provide proof that they have sufficient funds to support themselves during their stay in Ireland.
• Proof of paid work visa fees: The applicant must provide proof of payment for the work visa application fee.

There are different document requirements for each type of work permit. For more information, please see the Employment Permits page on the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation website.

The above-mentioned requirements are subject to change without prior notice. Before applying for a work

The employer must also meet certain requirements, such as being registered with the Companies Registration Office and having a valid Tax Reference Number.

In addition, the employer must provide a written statement of support for the work permit application.

For more information on the requirements for employers, please see the Employment Permits page on the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation website.

How to Apply for Ireland Work Permit?

The application process

To apply for an Ireland work permit, the applicant must submit an online application through the Employment Permits Online System (EPOS) portal. The portal is available in English and Irish.

The online application system has many benefits, such as the ability to track the progress of your application, online application system, receive updates by email, upload supporting documents, secure online fee payments, and more.

Attaching the documents

Once the online application is complete, the applicant must then gather all of the required supporting documentation and send it to the Employment Permits Section.

The formats for the electronic documents are PDF, PNG or JPEG/JPG and are no larger than 10MB. The documents must be printed out and signed before being submitted to the Employment Permits Section.

Paying the fee

The application fee for an employment permit depends on the type of permit and whether the applicant is applying for the first time or renewing an existing permit.

The fee must be paid online through the EPOS portal using a credit or debit card. The applicant will not be able to submit their application until the fee has been paid.

Application deadlines

A work permit application where the Labour Market Needs Test is required must have published a EURES vacancy for at least 28 calendar days before the work permit application is submitted.

An application for a work permit that does not require a Labour Market Needs Test may be submitted no more than 90 days before the proposed employment start date.

If an application has not been submitted within 28 days of the work permit expiry date, a new work permit application will need to be made and the previous one deleted from the system for data protection purposes.

Applying for Residence Permit in Ireland

An Irish residence permit (IRP) is not required for stays of less than 90 days. However, if the applicant intends to stay in Ireland for longer than 90 days, they must apply for a residence permit. The Irish residence permit costs €300 per person every time you register and renew.

The permit must be applied for within 90 days of arrival in Ireland. For more information on residence permits, please see the Immigration page on the Department of Justice and Equality website.

How Can Immigration Advice Service Help?

If you need help with your Irish employment permits applications, whichever type of work permit you are applying for, our immigration solicitors can assist you.
We have a wealth of experience in assisting clients with work permit applications and can help you ensure that your application is submitted correctly and on time.

Here are some of the services we offer:

• Assistance with completing the work permit application form.
• Advice on which type of work permit you should apply for.
• A full assessment of your eligibility for a work permit.
• Guidance on the supporting documentation you will need to provide.
• Advice on the application process and how to avoid common mistakes.

Call us on +44 (0)333 414 9244 or +353 (0) 61 518 025 or contact us online to speak to one of our work permit solicitors and get started on your application today.