Types of employment permits

Most non-EEA nationals must have an employment permit to work in Ireland. If you have moved to Ireland to join a family member, or you have been granted residence in Ireland by the Minister for Justice, you may be allowed to work without an employment permit.

Employment permits are processed by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE). Usually, you apply for the employment permit when you have been offered a job. You must get your employment permit before you come to Ireland in most cases. You can apply for the employment permit yourself, or your employer can apply for you.

There are different types of employment permits administered by DETE and a special Hosting Agreement for academic researchers administered by the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science. The most common employment permits are the General Employment Permit and the Critical Skills Employment Permit.

The employment permits scheme is governed by the Employment Permits Acts. On 2 September 2024, the Employment Permits Act 2024 comes into effect and introduces some changes to employment permits law in Ireland.

Which employment permit should I apply for?

If you are not sure which permit to apply for, you can use DETE’s application guide.

You can apply for a Critical Skills Employment Permit (CSEP) if you are offered a job in a profession that is either:

• Paying at least €38,000 per year and on the Critical Skills Occupation List
• Paying €64,000 per year and is not on the list of ineligible occupations

The Critical Skills Employment Permit is for skilled workers who are qualified in professions where there is a shortage of skills in Ireland. You must have a relevant third-level qualification, but for some types of job, you may be eligible with a lesser qualification or if you have the required practical experience to do the job.Your prospective employer must offer you at least a 2-year employment contract.

Your family can join you in Ireland immediately. Your spouse or partner can get a Stamp 1G Irish Residence Permit, which allows them to work without an employment permit. After 21 months of working on a Critical Skills EP in Ireland, you can apply for a Stamp 4 Irish Residence Permit, which allows you to work without an employment permit.

Can I change employer?

From 2 September 2024, a CSEP permit holder can change to another employer after 9 months have passed since you started your first employment. You don’t have to apply for a new permit, but you have to move within the profession.

You cannot start work with your new employer until the employment permit has been reissued. You must start work with your new employer within 1 month of the new permit being issued.

Can I get promoted?

From 2 September 2024, the Employment Permits Act 2024 allows for promotion and internal transfer in the same company where you are using the same skills.

You can apply for a General Employment Permit if you are offered a job that is:

• Paying at least €34,000 per year (from 17 January 2024) - see below for exceptions
• Not in a profession on the list of ineligible occupations
• For a business where at least half the workers are from the EEA. This is called the 50:50 rule.

The company or business must be already trading in Ireland and registered with the Companies Register Office and Revenue.

Your family can join you in Ireland after your first year of employment. Your spouse or partner can get a Stamp 1G Irish Residence Permit, which allows them to work without an employment permit. All other dependants must apply for an employment permit to work in Ireland. Find out more about employment permits and family members.

If you get a General Employment Permit, you can apply for a visa to come to Ireland (if you need a visa to enter Ireland). After 57 months you can apply for a Stamp 4 Irish Residence Permit, which allows you to work without an employment permit. If you are a doctor working for the HSE or a HSE funded agency and have a Stamp 1H, you can get a Stamp 4 after 21 months.

Can I change employers?

From 2 September 2024, GEP permit holders can change to another employer after 9 months have passed since you started your first employment. You don’t have to apply for a new permit, but you have to move within the profession. For example, a meat processing operative can move to another meat processing role.

Can I get promoted?

From 2 September 2024, the Employment Permits Act 2024 allows for promotion and internal transfer in the same company where you are using the same skills.

Labour Market Needs Test

The employer must have tried to fill the post with an Irish or EEA citizen. They must show that they have advertised the job with EURES and the Department of Social Protection (DSP) for at least 28 days. Employers must also advertise the job in a national newspaper for at least 3 days, and in a local paper or online recruitment agency (that is not a DSP or EURES website) for 3 days. From 2 September 2024, the publication of adverts can be online (instead of print), for example, on a newspaper’s website.

There are some exceptions to when a Labour Market Needs Test is needed.

Pay rate

The job must have a minimum annual salary of €34,000.

You can also apply if your annual salary is €30,000 (with a minimum hourly rate of €14.79) and you are:

• Offered a job as a meat processing operative
• Offered a job as a horticultural operative

You can also apply if your annual salary is €27,000 and you are:

• Offered a job as healthcare assistant (you must have a Level 5 QQI qualification or a relevant health and social care qualification comparable to a Level 5 QQI, or get one within 2 years of starting your job)
• Offered a job as home carer (you must have a Level 5 QQI qualification, or get one within 2 years of starting your job)

A Dependant, Partner, Spouse Employment Permit is for the dependants of people on a Critical Skills Employment Permit or a researcher under a Hosting Agreement. The spouse or de-facto partner of a person on a Critical Skills Employment Permit or a Hosting Agreement does not need this permit as they do not need an employment permit to work in Ireland. However, any other dependants will need an employment permit and can apply for a Dependant, Partner, Spouse Employment Permit.

You can read more about the right to work for family members of employment permit holders.

If you are working for a company that has a contract with an Irish business or body to carry out work in Ireland, your employer can apply for a Contract for Service Employment Permit. You must have been working for the contractor (the business abroad that has been granted the contract) for at least 6 months.

The Permit is only valid for as long as needed to carry out the contracted work. You cannot stay in Ireland for more than 5 years on a Contract for Service Employment Permit. For short contracts of less than 3 months, you should apply for the Atypical Working Scheme.

The following rules apply:

• The contractor must be registered with Revenue.
• At least half of the employees of the contractor or the company that the contract is with must be EEA citizens.
• A Labour Market Needs Test is needed in most cases.
• The minimum pay rate is €46,000 per year.

You can apply for a Sport and Cultural Employment Permit for jobs in the sport and cultural sectors in Ireland.

You must have the specific skills and relevant qualifications to work in a sporting or cultural business or organisation.

You can apply for an Intra-Company Transfer Employment Permit if you work for a multinational company and you are transferred to the company’s Irish branch. The Permit is for:

• Senior managers earning at least €46,000 per year
• Key personnel who have specialist knowledge, earning at least €46,000 per year
• Trainees earning at least €34,000 per year

Senior managers and key personnel must have worked for the company for at least 6 months before the planned transfer. Trainees must have worked for the company for at least one month.

You can read about employment permits and family members.

You can apply for an Exchange Agreement Employment Permit if you are coming to Ireland through one of the following programmes:

• AIESEC
• The International Association for the Exchange of Students for Technical Experience (IAESTE)
• The Fulbright Programme
• The Bord Bia exchange agreement between St Joseph’s University, Philadelphia and UCC for food marketing students
• Vulcanus in Europe Programme (Ireland)

Permits are for a maximum period of 12 months.

If you are a full-time student in a college outside of the EEA, you can apply for an Internship Employment Permit to get work experience in Ireland.

The following rules apply:

• The work experience must be a requirement of your course
• The minimum pay rate is the national minimum wage
• The internship must be in an occupation on the Critical Skills Occupations List
• The Permit is for a maximum period of 12 months. When the Permit is finished, you must leave Ireland.

You can apply for a Reactivation Employment Permit if you were working in Ireland with an employment permit, and you became undocumented through no fault of your own, or you were badly treated by your employer.

You must apply to Immigration Services Delivery for permission to be in Ireland. If your application is successful, you can register with immigration and apply for the Reactivation Employment Permit. You must have an offer of employment. The job must pay the minimum wage or above, and there are no restrictions on the type of job you can apply for

The Employment Permits Act 2024 introduces a new Seasonal Employment Permit that will commence in early 2025. This is a short-term employment permit for non-EEA nationals to work for a maximum of 7 months per calendar year in seasonally recurrent employment.

If you are a non-EEA researcher, you can apply to carry out paid research in an accredited organisation under the fast track work permit for Non-EU R&D personnel (Hosting Agreement) scheme. EURAXESS Ireland processes the applications for the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science.

You must have:

• A contract for a minimum of 3 months
• Salary of €23,811 per year (€30,000 if you have dependants)
• The appropriate higher education qualification that entitles you to access doctoral programmes

You can find out more about the Scheme on the EURAXESS website.

For short-term contracts, you can apply for the Atypical Working Scheme.

You can read about coming to Ireland to work.