Employment Permits
In order to work in the State, all non-EEA nationals require either relevant immigration permission or a valid employment permit.
There are 8 different types of Employment Permits. The most common are the General Employment Permit and the Critical Skills Employment Permit. All Employment Permits are issued by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE).
Critical Skills Employment Permit
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.
You can apply for a Critical Skills Employment Permit if you are offered a job in a profession that is either:
- Paying at least €32,000 per year and on the Critical Skills Occupation List.
- Paying €64,000 per year and is not on the list of ineligible occupations.
General Employment Permit
You can apply for a General Employment Permit if you are offered a job that is not on the ineligible occupations. The pay must be at least €30,000 per year, with the following exceptions:
* €27,000 if you have graduated from a third level college in Ireland in the past 12 months and are offered a graduate job on the Critical Skills Occupation List.
* €27,000 if you have graduated from a third level college overseas in the past 12 months and are offered a graduate job as an ICT professional on the Critical Skills Occupation List.
* €27,000 if the employer needs a person who is fluent in an official language of a non-EEA country, and the job is in customer service, online digital marketing or sales, or sales support. This only applies where the employment is supported by an enterprise development agency.
* €27,000 for healthcare assistants.
* €27,500 for jobs as boners of meat
You can apply for the Employment permit yourself, or your employer can apply on your behalf.