Ireland Work Permit & Immigration Glossary.

Permit rule

50:50 rule

The 50:50 rule is the Irish employment permit condition that at least half the employees in a firm are EEA nationals at the time a permit is granted. It catches small companies far more often than large ones. Two waivers exist: a start-up supported by Enterprise Ireland or IDA Ireland may be granted a permit within its first two years of trading without meeting the ratio, and the rule does not defeat an application where granting it would mean the permit holder is the only employee.

• The General Employment Permit: the standard route
• Hiring outside the EEA: how the permit system works

Immigration permission

Atypical Working Scheme

The Atypical Working Scheme is an Immigration Service Delivery scheme for short term specialist work in Ireland that falls outside the employment permit system, usually for periods of less than 90 days. It is an immigration permission rather than an employment permit, it is decided by the Department of Justice, and it is not a shortcut around a permit for work the permit system does cover.

• Hiring outside the EEA: how the permit system works

Permit rule

Change of employer

Change of employer is what happens to an Irish employment permit when the holder moves job. A permit names one employer, one employee and one job, so moving to a different employer normally means a new permit application decided on its own merits. On the Critical Skills route a permit for a different employer generally cannot be considered until at least nine months have elapsed since the person first commenced employment in the State under an employment permit, with redundancy and unforeseen circumstances that fundamentally change the employment relationship treated differently.

• The Critical Skills Employment Permit: the shortage route
• Irish employers with permit history

Permit route

Contract for Services Employment Permit

The Contract for Services Employment Permit is the Irish permit route used where a foreign contractor has won a contract to provide services to an Irish entity and needs to send its own staff to Ireland to carry that contract out. The employment relationship stays with the foreign contractor rather than moving to the Irish client, and applications on this route are subject to the Labour Market Needs Test.

• The Labour Market Needs Test: 28 days, two places
• Employment permit directory

Working in Ireland

CORU

CORU is Ireland's regulator for health and social care professionals, covering registers such as physiotherapists, radiographers, social workers, dietitians and speech and language therapists. Where a profession is regulated, CORU registration is required to practise it in the State, and that is a separate process from any employment permit, run on its own timeline.

• Healthcare and social care hub
• Occupation code directory

Permit route

Critical Skills Employment Permit

Also called CSEP

The Critical Skills Employment Permit, often shortened to CSEP, is the Irish permit route for occupations treated as being in shortage. No Labour Market Needs Test applies, the job offer must run for at least two years, and the permit carries immediate family reunification and a route to Stamp 4 at the end rather than an indefinite chain of renewals. Two ways in exist: the occupation appears on the Critical Skills Occupations List, or annual remuneration is above the higher salary line and the occupation is not ineligible.

• The Critical Skills Employment Permit: the shortage route
• Occupation code directory

Occupation lists

Critical Skills Occupations List

The Critical Skills Occupations List is the restricted set of occupations Ireland treats as strategically important and in shortage. An occupation on this list can be considered for a Critical Skills Employment Permit at the lower salary line and without a Labour Market Needs Test. The list is set out in regulations and revised by statutory instrument, so a role that appeared on it last year may not appear now, and the reverse also happens.

• The Critical Skills Employment Permit: the shortage route
• Occupation code directory

Body or system

Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment

Also called DETE

The Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, or DETE, is the government department that runs Ireland's employment permit system: it sets the occupation lists and the salary thresholds, and its Employment Permits Section decides every permit application. DETE also publishes the monthly issued-permit statistics this site's permit directory is built from. No employer, agency or platform decides a permit outcome.

• Employment permit directory
• How we compile the permit data

Permit route

Dependant, Partner or Spouse Employment Permit

The Dependant, Partner or Spouse Employment Permit is the Irish permit route open to the spouse, recognised partner or dependant of certain permit holders, most commonly a Critical Skills Employment Permit holder. It is currently issued free of charge and is not subject to the Labour Market Needs Test, which is why family reunification is often the part of an offer that decides a competitive hire.

• The Critical Skills Employment Permit: the shortage route
• Irish employers with permit history

Permit rule

Employment permit

Also called work permit

An employment permit, commonly called an Irish work permit, is the permission that lets a named person do a named job for a named employer in Ireland. Nine types exist, and the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment decides each application. A permit is separate from a visa and separate from immigration permission: it says the person may hold the job, a visa is what lets a visa required national travel, and registration after arrival is a third step.

• Hiring outside the EEA: how the permit system works
• Employment permit directory

Permit rule

Employment Permits Act 2024

The Employment Permits Act 2024 is the Act that consolidated Ireland's employment permit legislation into a single statute and gave the system room to change by regulation rather than by new primary legislation each time. It is the framework the permit types, the occupation lists and the salary thresholds now sit inside, which is why those move by statutory instrument between one year and the next.

• Hiring outside the EEA: how the permit system works
• How we compile the permit data

Body or system

Employment Permits Online

Also called EPOS

Employment Permits Online, sometimes shortened to EPOS, is the Department's portal for Irish employment permit applications, live since 28 April 2025. Either the employer or the prospective employee can make the application, and both sides need their own account. An employer account is verified using revenue documentation and a CRO number, and the portal flags that verification as pending renewal three months before it expires.

• Hiring outside the EEA: how the permit system works
• The Trusted Partner Initiative: retired, and what replaced it

Working in Ireland

English language evidence

English language evidence is proof of English competence, required for work in Ireland by some professional regulators and some employers rather than by the employment permit application itself. Where a regulator asks for it, the accepted tests and minimum scores are set by that regulator, so the requirement is read from the register the person is joining rather than from permit guidance.

• Healthcare and social care hub
• Moving to Ireland resources

Body or system

EURES

EURES is the European employment services network that advertises vacancies across EEA member states. An Irish Labour Market Needs Test notice is placed with the Department of Social Protection Employment Services and the EURES network, which is what makes the advertising European rather than only Irish.

• The Labour Market Needs Test: 28 days, two places

Immigration permission

European Economic Area

Also called EEA

The European Economic Area, or EEA, is the EU member states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. Nationals of the EEA, along with Swiss and UK nationals, do not need an employment permit to work in Ireland. Everyone else does, unless they already hold an immigration permission that allows work without one. The EEA is also the labour market a Labour Market Needs Test advertises into, and the population the 50:50 rule is counted against.

• Hiring outside the EEA: how the permit system works
• The Labour Market Needs Test: 28 days, two places

Permit route

Exchange Agreement Employment Permit

The Exchange Agreement Employment Permit is a narrow Irish permit route for people coming to work in Ireland under a specific international agreement or exchange programme the State has signed up to. It is tied to the named agreement rather than to the open labour market, so it is rarely the route an ordinary commercial hire runs on.

• Hiring outside the EEA: how the permit system works

Immigration permission

Family reunification

Family reunification is bringing a spouse, recognised partner or dependent children to join someone living in Ireland. Critical Skills Employment Permit holders can apply for immediate family reunification, and a joining spouse or partner may then seek a Dependant, Partner or Spouse Employment Permit. Other permit routes carry different waiting periods and conditions, and the application is decided by the Department of Justice.

• The Critical Skills Employment Permit: the shortage route
• Moving to Ireland resources

Permit route

General Employment Permit

Also called GEP

The General Employment Permit, often shortened to GEP, is the broad Irish permit route, covering occupations named on neither the Critical Skills Occupations List nor the Ineligible List of Occupations. Because the occupation is not treated as being in shortage, a Labour Market Needs Test is usually required first. The permit names one employer, one employee and one job, and the salary, hours and location on it have to match the job actually being done.

• The General Employment Permit: the standard route
• Ineligible List of Occupations by SOC code

Body or system

Immigration Service Delivery

Also called ISD

Immigration Service Delivery, or ISD, is the Irish Department of Justice service that decides immigration permissions: visas, preclearance, registration, stamps and residence. ISD is a separate authority from the Department that issues employment permits, which is why a permit and a permission are applied for separately and can be decided differently.

• Moving to Ireland resources
• Hiring outside the EEA: how the permit system works

Occupation lists

Ineligible List of Occupations

The Ineligible List of Occupations is the published list of occupations that cannot be filled through the Irish employment permit system while they remain on it. It is the first thing to check, because an occupation on this list closes every permit route at once and no salary level reopens it. Like the Critical Skills Occupations List it is set out in regulations and revised from time to time.

• Ineligible List of Occupations by SOC code
• Check an occupation against the lists

Permit route

Internship Employment Permit

The Internship Employment Permit is a short duration Irish permit route for full time students enrolled outside Ireland who come to work in an occupation on the Critical Skills Occupations List as part of their course of study. It is time limited by design and does not convert into an ordinary employment permit at the end.

• Occupation code directory
• What an employment permit hire costs

Permit route

Intra-Company Transfer Employment Permit

Also called ICT permit

The Intra-Company Transfer Employment Permit, often shortened to the ICT permit, is the Irish permit route for moving senior management, key personnel or trainees from an overseas branch of a multinational into its Irish operation. The person stays employed by the overseas entity, a prior period of employment with that entity is required, and no Labour Market Needs Test applies because the transfer is internal rather than a vacancy offered to the market.

• What an employment permit hire costs
• Irish employers with permit history

Immigration permission

Irish Residence Permit

Also called IRP, residence card

The Irish Residence Permit, or IRP, is the card issued as evidence that a non-EEA national has registered their immigration permission after arriving in Ireland. It shows the stamp number that describes what the permission allows. The IRP is proof of a registration that already happened; it is not the permission itself, and it is not an employment permit.

• Moving to Ireland resources
• What an employment permit hire costs

Body or system

JobsIreland

JobsIreland is the Department of Social Protection's public employment service website, and the anchor placement for an Irish Labour Market Needs Test notice. Vacancies should not be amended or extended at any time during the 28 days of advertising on the JobsIreland site, so editing a live notice is the most common way an employer loses the period already served.

• The Labour Market Needs Test: 28 days, two places

Permit rule

Labour Market Needs Test

Also called LMNT

The Labour Market Needs Test, often shortened to LMNT, is the step that asks an Irish employer to show a vacancy was offered to the domestic and EEA labour market before a permit was sought for someone outside it. The notice runs for a minimum of 28 continuous days in two places, the Department of Social Protection Employment Services and EURES network plus one additional online platform, and the permit application must follow within 90 days of first publication, or 120 days where the employer is a third level institution. It is an evidence step rather than a judgment call, which is what makes it unforgiving about dates.

• The Labour Market Needs Test: 28 days, two places
• The General Employment Permit: the standard route

Immigration permission

Long stay employment visa

Also called D visa

A long stay employment visa, also called a D visa, is the Irish entry visa a visa required national applies for after an employment permit issues, so that they can travel to Ireland to take up the job. It is decided separately from the permit and it does not by itself grant permission to remain: registration with immigration still happens after arrival. Nationals of countries that are not visa required skip this step and register on arrival.

• What an employment permit hire costs
• Hiring outside the EEA: how the permit system works

Immigration permission

Long term residency

Long term residency is an Irish Department of Justice permission that can be sought after a qualifying period of lawful residence in the State, commonly cited as five years for someone who has held employment permits throughout. It is applied for separately from any permit renewal and is decided on its own terms.

• The General Employment Permit: the standard route
• Moving to Ireland resources

Permit rule

Minimum annual remuneration

Also called salary threshold

Minimum annual remuneration is the salary threshold attached to an Irish employment permit route. It is a floor for the route, not a market rate, and meeting it does not by itself decide an application. The General Employment Permit standard minimum is currently €36,605, with €34,009 for a recent relevant Irish graduate and €32,691 with a minimum hourly rate of €16.12 for horticulture workers, meat processors, health care assistants and home support workers. The Critical Skills route runs from €40,904 on the list, or €36,848 where the qualification was obtained in the previous 12 months, and an occupation not on the list needs remuneration above €68,911. These figures are indexed and revised, so confirm the current amount on the Department's page.

• What an employment permit hire costs
• The General Employment Permit: the standard route

Immigration permission

Non-EEA national

A non-EEA national is someone who is not a national of an EEA state, Switzerland or the United Kingdom. This is the population the Irish employment permit system exists for. A non-EEA national who already holds a permission allowing unrestricted work, such as Stamp 4, needs no employment permit, which is why checking current permission first is usually faster than starting with a permit route.

• Hiring outside the EEA: how the permit system works
• Free permit route check

Working in Ireland

Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland

Also called NMBI, An Bord Altranais

The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland, or NMBI, is the regulator that maintains the register of nurses and midwives in Ireland. NMBI registration is required to practise, it is assessed against the applicant's own qualifications and experience, and for internationally qualified applicants it can take considerably longer than a permit decision. It runs entirely separately from the employment permit system.

• Healthcare and social care hub
• Careers in Ireland

Occupation lists

Occupations lists review

The occupations lists review is the Department's evidence based process for revising the Critical Skills Occupations List and the Ineligible List of Occupations, drawing on labour market data and submissions from employers and representative bodies. Changes take effect by statutory instrument, which is why the operative question is always what the current published wording says on the day the application is made.

• How we compile the permit data
• Ineligible List of Occupations by SOC code

Permit rule

Permit renewal

Permit renewal is a fresh decision on an Irish employment permit rather than an extension of the old one. A renewal is assessed against the rules in force at the time it is made, not the rules that applied when the first permit issued, so a role may need to be re-priced where a threshold has been raised in between. Renewal fees are higher than first application fees, and reviewing the position a few months before expiry leaves room to act.

• What an employment permit hire costs
• The General Employment Permit: the standard route

Working in Ireland

Personal Public Service Number

Also called PPSN, PPS number

A Personal Public Service Number, or PPSN, is the identifier used for tax, social welfare and public services in Ireland. It is normally applied for after arrival, and payroll and Revenue registration depend on it, so it is one of the first administrative steps a new arrival takes. A PPSN is not part of the employment permit application and holding one is not itself a right to work.

• Moving to Ireland resources
• Hiring outside the EEA: how the permit system works

Immigration permission

Preclearance

Preclearance is an Irish immigration approval sought before travelling, used for certain categories such as some family members, where the person's eligibility is assessed in advance of arrival rather than at registration. It is separate from an entry visa and separate from an employment permit, and it is decided by Immigration Service Delivery.

• What an employment permit hire costs
• Moving to Ireland resources

Permit route

Reactivation Employment Permit

The Reactivation Employment Permit is the remedial Irish permit route for someone who entered Ireland on a valid employment permit but fell out of the system through no fault of their own, or who was badly treated in the workplace, and who wants to work again lawfully. It exists to repair a broken permission rather than to open a new hire.

• Hiring outside the EEA: how the permit system works
• Licensed recruitment agency directory

Working in Ireland

Right to work

Right to work is whether a person may lawfully do a particular job in Ireland, which follows from their immigration permission and, where one is needed, their employment permit. EEA, Swiss and UK nationals have it by nationality. For everyone else it is read from the permission actually held on the day, which is why employers check the current stamp and permit rather than relying on a previous role.

• Free permit route check
• Hiring outside the EEA: how the permit system works

Working in Ireland

Safe Pass

Safe Pass is the health and safety awareness card required to work on most construction sites in Ireland. It is obtained by completing a one day approved programme, it is valid for a fixed period and then renewed, and Safe Pass is a site access requirement rather than anything the permit system asks about.

• Construction and engineering hub
• Occupation code directory

Permit route

Seasonal Employment Permit

The Seasonal Employment Permit is a short stay, recurring Irish permit route provided for by the Employment Permits Act 2024, intended for seasonal work in named sectors such as horticulture. It was introduced as a new permit type rather than as a variant of an existing one, so check the Department's permit types page for its current operational status before planning a season around it.

• Agriculture and food production sector hub
• Employment permit directory

Occupation lists

SOC code

Also called Standard Occupational Classification, occupation code

A SOC code is the Standard Occupational Classification code that identifies a kind of work. Ireland's occupation lists are written against SOC 2010, so matching the role to the right SOC code is what connects a job title to the published lists. A code classifies the work only. It does not by itself determine permit eligibility, Critical Skills status or sponsorship, because duties, salary, employer and permit route also matter.

• SOC 2010 code hierarchy
• Occupation code directory

Permit route

Sport and Cultural Employment Permit

The Sport and Cultural Employment Permit is the Irish permit route for people with recognised expertise being employed to develop and operate sporting or cultural activities in Ireland. Like the other narrow routes it is assessed against its own published criteria rather than against the general occupation lists.

• Hiring outside the EEA: how the permit system works

Immigration permission

Stamp 1

Stamp 1 is the Irish immigration permission normally registered by someone working on an employment permit. It permits the holder to work for the employer named on the permit, for the period the permission runs. Stamp 1 is tied to that permission rather than to the person, so a change of employer or a lapsed permit changes what it allows.

• Hiring outside the EEA: how the permit system works
• Employment permit directory

Immigration permission

Stamp 1G

Stamp 1G is the Irish immigration permission granted to eligible graduates of Irish higher education under the Third Level Graduate Programme, allowing them to look for and take up employment without an employment permit for a limited, non-renewable period. It is a window rather than a status: the usual next step is an employment permit before the permission expires. Certain spouses and partners of permit holders also hold a form of Stamp 1G.

• Stamp 1G transition plan
• Irish employers with permit history

Immigration permission

Stamp 2

Stamp 2 is the Irish immigration permission held by a non-EEA student enrolled on an eligible full time course. It permits limited casual work under conditions set by Immigration Service Delivery, and Stamp 2 is not a route to an employment permit on its own. Students on eligible degree programmes often move to Stamp 1G at the end of the course.

• Student to career pathway
• Stamp 1G transition plan

Immigration permission

Stamp 4

Stamp 4 is an Irish immigration permission that allows the holder to work without an employment permit and is not tied to a single employer. Critical Skills Employment Permit holders may apply to the Department of Justice for Stamp 4 at the end of the permit rather than renewing through the Employment Permits Section. It is a route, not an entitlement: the application is decided by the Department of Justice on its own terms.

• The Critical Skills Employment Permit: the shortage route
• Irish employers with permit history

Immigration permission

Third Level Graduate Programme

Also called graduate scheme

The Third Level Graduate Programme is the Irish scheme under which eligible graduates of Irish higher education institutions are granted Stamp 1G to remain in the State and seek employment for a limited period after their award. The length of the permission depends on the level of the award, and it cannot be extended, so the graduate job search runs against a fixed clock.

• Student to career pathway
• Stamp 1G transition plan

Permit rule

Trusted Partner Initiative

The Trusted Partner Initiative is a retired Irish scheme that once let frequent employer applicants skip repeating their company documentation on every permit application. It ended on 28 April 2025 when Employment Permits Online launched, and there is no Trusted Partner status to hold or apply for now. The equivalent today is a verified employer portal account kept current, which the portal flags for renewal three months before it expires.

• The Trusted Partner Initiative: retired, and what replaced it
• Hiring outside the EEA: how the permit system works

Body or system

Workplace Relations Commission

Also called WRC

The Workplace Relations Commission, or WRC, is the statutory body responsible for employment rights compliance in Ireland, and the issuer of employment agency licences. Any business acting as a recruitment agency in the State holds a WRC licence, and the register of those licences is public. A licence is official source data about the agency, not a statement about vacancies or sponsorship.

• Licensed recruitment agency directory
• How working with agencies works