Ireland work permit guide for non-EU workers, job seekers and employers

01

Overview

Ireland's non-EU work system is built around employment permits issued by the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, followed by immigration permission and registration with Immigration Service Delivery. For most applicants the practical split is between the Critical Skills Employment Permit, the broader General Employment Permit, the temporary Intra-Company Transfer route, and the separate hosting-agreement path for accredited research organisations. 3 4 5 6 15 12

Hosting-agreement salary figures are published through EURAXESS operational guidance rather than the higher-level gov.ie overview pages, so researcher cases should still confirm the current institutional checklist before filing. 15 17

02

Permit routes

4 routes currently recognised

Critical Skills Employment Permit

★ HIGHLY PAID HIRES IN LISTED SHORTAGE ROLES OR OTHER HIGH-SALARY ELIGIBLE JOBS

This is Ireland's flagship long-term work-permit route for shortage occupations and other highly paid roles. It requires a job offer of at least two years, skips the labour-market test, and is the cleanest path to a Stamp 4 upgrade after 21 months if the employment remains compliant.

Min salary: EUR 40,904 for listed critical-skills roles, EUR 36,848 for recent relevant graduates, or over EUR 68,911 for other eligible occupations; public-sector pay-agreement roles use the agreed rate.
Timeline: Operational snapshot only: as of 16 April 2026 DETE was processing Critical Skills applications received on 8 April 2026; separate visa handling still applies where required.

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General Employment Permit

★ APPLICANTS WITH AN IRISH JOB OFFER THAT IS ELIGIBLE BUT DOES NOT FIT CRITICAL SKILLS

The General Employment Permit is Ireland's broader sponsored route and covers far more occupations, but it usually comes with a labour-market test and does not carry the same fast family and Stamp 4 benefits as Critical Skills. Initial grants can be issued for up to 24 months and the route is still tied tightly to the named employer and role.

Min salary: Generally EUR 36,605, with lower current thresholds for certain listed roles and EUR 34,009 for recent graduates from Irish third-level institutions.
Timeline: Operational snapshot only: as of 16 April 2026 DETE was processing new non-Critical-Skills applications received on 24 February 2026.

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Intra-corporate Transfer Permit

★ SENIOR STAFF, KEY PERSONNEL, OR TRAINEES MOVING WITHIN A MULTINATIONAL GROUP

Ireland's ICT route is for temporary intra-group moves, not for filling an ordinary open vacancy in the local labour market. It can keep the worker on foreign payroll, but it requires a connected Irish entity, prior overseas service with the group, and it does not build long-term-residence rights in the same way as the job-market routes.

Min salary: EUR 49,523 for senior management or key personnel, and EUR 36,605 for trainees.
Timeline: Operational snapshot only: as of 16 April 2026 DETE was processing new ICT applications received on 7 January 2025, so this queue needs extra buffer.

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Hosting Agreement

★ RESEARCHERS JOINING AN ACCREDITED IRISH UNIVERSITY, INSTITUTE, OR RESEARCH-ACTIVE ORGANISATION

The hosting-agreement route sits outside the normal DETE permit classes and lets accredited research organisations bring in non-EEA researchers directly for research work. It can cover contracts from three months to five years and supports family movement, but the institution must already hold the relevant accreditation and the role really needs to be a research appointment.

Min salary: Operational guidance says at least EUR 23,181 without dependants in Ireland or EUR 30,000 where a spouse or children will accompany the researcher.
Timeline: The visa step is processed in date order and ISD advises researchers not to buy travel before the visa decision; the route duration itself can run from 3 months to 5 years.

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03

Eligibility (common baseline)

01

Most non-EEA workers need a real Irish job offer from a bona fide employer that is registered and trading in the State before DETE will issue an employment permit.

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02

Critical Skills cases need a two-year offer and either a listed shortage occupation with the current threshold, a qualifying recent-graduate case, or another eligible occupation above the higher salary floor.

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03

General Employment Permit cases usually need a labour-market test, unless a published waiver applies, and the employer normally must satisfy the 50:50 EEA workforce rule unless a listed exception fits.

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04

Intra-company transfer cases need the Irish entity and foreign employer to be connected, and the worker must already have the required prior service with the overseas group company before transfer.

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05

Researchers need the appropriate higher-education profile, a contract of at least three months with an accredited host, and the published hosting-agreement salary level for their family situation.

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Regulated profession? See the qualification recognition guide for Ireland →

04

Documents checklist

Passport and visa application file

If you are visa-required, use the long-stay employment or scientific-researcher route as applicable and apply from your home country or a place where you are a legal resident.

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Employment permit or hosting agreement

Bring the actual DETE permit or the original hosting agreement because Ireland treats the permit decision and the entry-visa or registration step as separate layers.

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Employment contract and qualification evidence

The permit file needs the role description, salary, and evidence that your qualifications, skills, or experience match the occupation being sponsored.

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Registration packet after arrival

For Stamp 1 registration you will generally need your passport, the permit or hosting agreement, and proof of current or new employment when you register or renew with ISD.

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05

Application steps

1

Choose the correct route before filing

Start by confirming whether the case fits Critical Skills, General Employment, Intra-Company Transfer, or the researcher hosting-agreement scheme because the salary rules, sponsor duties, and later Stamp 4 timelines are not interchangeable.

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2

Secure the permit or hosting agreement first

DETE says employment-permit applications should be received at least 12 weeks before the proposed start date, while hosting-agreement researchers need the original agreement issued before travel.

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3

Apply for the long-stay visa if your nationality requires one

Employment and scientific-researcher visa applicants can apply up to 3 months before travel and should wait for the visa outcome before buying tickets because ISD processes these applications in date order.

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4

Register after arrival and track Stamp 4 eligibility

If you will stay for more than 90 days, register your permission with ISD within 90 days and keep an eye on the 21-month or 57-month thresholds that control later Stamp 4 upgrades.

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06

Timelines & fees

Typical timeline

Employment permit filing lead time

DETE says applications for employment permits should be received at least 12 weeks before the proposed start date.

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Critical Skills queue snapshot

As of 16 April 2026 DETE was processing Critical Skills applications received on 8 April 2026.

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General route queue snapshot

As of 16 April 2026 DETE was processing new non-Critical-Skills applications received on 24 February 2026.

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ICT queue snapshot

As of 16 April 2026 DETE was processing new ICT applications received on 7 January 2025.

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Visa application window

Employment and scientific-researcher visa applications can be filed up to 3 months before travel, but ISD does not publish a fixed decision SLA on those pages.

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Fees

Critical Skills Employment Permit EUR 1,000

90% is refunded if the application is unsuccessful.

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General Employment Permit EUR 500 for 6 months or less, or EUR 1,000 for more than 6 months up to 24 months

Renewal fees are higher and depend on duration.

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Intra-Company Transfer Employment Permit EUR 500 for 6 months or less, or EUR 1,000 for more than 6 months up to 24 months

Renewal can reach EUR 1,500 for permits above 6 months up to 36 months.

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Long-stay visa EUR 60 single entry or EUR 100 multi-entry

Some applicants are exempt from visa fees.

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IRP registration EUR 300

Fee waivers apply for certain categories, including some family members and minors.

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07

Community tips

Anecdotal · Not verified · Treat with appropriate skepticism

Anecdotal — not official

No community tips logged for this country yet.

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Warnings and uncertainty

Warning

Do not treat permit processing snapshots as a promise

Ireland publishes live queue dates rather than fixed SLAs, and the ICT queue was materially older than the general work-permit queues when checked on 16 April 2026.

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Warning

Visa pages are older than the 2026 remuneration update

ISD's employment-visa page was last updated on 23 September 2024 and the scientific-researcher visa page on 7 March 2025, so use them for application mechanics, not to infer current permit salary thresholds or queue speed.

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Several DETE permit pages still carry some legacy wording around GNIB or older statutory references, so where route mechanics and current law appear to differ, follow the 2024 Act and Regulations plus current ISD registration instructions.

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09

Immigration agencies

Vetted agencies for individuals and employers navigating work permits

Digital platforms for job seekers

Tech-first platforms and tools that digitise the visa process

1 ID-Pal

www.id-pal.com

Dublin-founded identity verification platform that powers Ireland's official IRP renewal portal. Since November 2024 it provides real-time AI identity checks for all online immigration renewals processed through the ISD portal, covering 7,000+ identity documents and 200 address data sources.

Why we list this agency: Selected by the Department of Justice as the official digital identity partner for Ireland's immigration renewals (announced October 2024, live November 2024), as reported by the Irish Times, Silicon Republic, and IDtech Wire. Enterprise Ireland backed. Has raised €12M total across a €1M seed round and a €7M Series A led by Inspire Investments and Act Venture Capital (Silicon Republic, July 2022). Active in 30+ industries across Ireland, UK, and the US.

Working in Ireland