The Labour Market Needs Test: 28 days, two places, one window
The advertising step that has to happen first, and the timing that decides whether it counted.
The short answer
- Where the vacancy is advertised
Two places, both for the full period
The Department of Social Protection Employment Services and EURES network, plus one additional online platform.
- How long
Minimum 28 continuous days in each place
Continuous. A notice taken down and reposted restarts the clock.
- Application deadline
Within 90 days of first publication
120 days where the employer is a third level institution.
- Which permits
General Employment Permit and Contract for Services Employment Permit
Critical Skills Employment Permit applications do not require the test.
Checked against official guidance on 15 August 2026. See the sources.
What the test actually asks
The Labour Market Needs Test asks the employer to show the vacancy was offered to the domestic and EEA labour market before a permit was sought for someone outside it. It is an evidence step, not a judgment call: the requirement is that the advertising happened, in the right places, for the right length of time, saying the right things.
That makes it unusually unforgiving. Most refusals connected to the test are not about the merits of the hire. They are about a notice that ran for 26 days, or an advertisement that omitted the salary, or an application filed 100 days after the notice first appeared.
How to run the test
Place the vacancy with the Department of Social Protection and EURES
The notice must stay up for a minimum of 28 continuous days. This is the JobsIreland listing, and it is the anchor for the whole exercise.
Place the same vacancy on an additional online platform
Also for a minimum of 28 continuous days. The second placement runs alongside the first rather than after it.
Leave both notices alone while they run
Vacancies should not be amended or extended at any time during the 28 days of advertising on the JobsIreland site. Editing a live notice is the most common way employers lose the period they have already served.
Apply within the window
The permit application must be made within 90 days of the day the notice was first published, or 120 days where the employer is a third level institution. The window runs from first publication, not from the end of the 28 days.
What both notices must contain
All five items, in both placements. An advertisement missing one of them may not satisfy the test even if it ran for the full period.
- A description of the employment.
- The name of the employer.
- The minimum annual remuneration.
- The location or locations of employment.
- The hours of work.
When the test does not apply
The published circumstances in which a General Employment Permit application is not subject to the test.
- The occupation appears on the Critical Skills Occupations List.
- Annual remuneration for the role is above €68,911.
- The role is the subject of a recommendation from Enterprise Ireland or IDA Ireland.
- The role involves caring for a person with exceptional medical needs, in that person's home.
- The applicant was made redundant within the previous six months.
The advertised salary binds the application
The minimum annual remuneration stated in the advertisement is the figure the application is read against. Advertising a range and then applying at the bottom of it, or advertising below the threshold for the intended permit route, both create a mismatch that is visible on the face of the file. Set the figure before the notice goes up.
Common questions
- How long does the Labour Market Needs Test take?
- A minimum of 28 continuous days of advertising, in both required places, before the permit application can be made. Processing time for the application itself is separate and comes after.
- Where does the vacancy have to be advertised?
- A notice must be placed with the Department of Social Protection Employment Services and the EURES employment network for at least 28 continuous days, and on an additional online platform for at least 28 continuous days.
- Can the advertisement be edited while it is running?
- Vacancies should not be amended or extended at any time during the 28 days of advertising on the JobsIreland site. If details need to change, the safe assumption is that the period starts again.
- Which permits require the test?
- It applies to General Employment Permit and Contract for Services Employment Permit applications. Critical Skills Employment Permit applications do not require it.
Official sources
Figures and rules on this page were read from these pages on 15 August 2026. Salary thresholds, fees and the occupation lists are revised, so confirm the current figure on the official page before relying on it.
Find a licensed agency for the role
Ireland’s recruitment agencies hold employment agency licences issued by the Workplace Relations Commission. The directory carries that register, so you can check an agency before you contact it.
Related surfaces
The General Employment Permit: the standard route
The route the test usually attaches to, with its salary thresholds.
The Critical Skills Employment Permit: the shortage route
The route that does not require the test at all.
Ineligible List of Occupations by SOC code
Confirm the occupation before spending 28 days advertising it.
Licensed recruitment agency directory
Agencies on the WRC employment agency licence register.
More guides
Neutral explainers that survive being forwarded, because they name no agency and sell nothing.
- Hiring outside the EEA in Ireland: how the permit system works
- The General Employment Permit: Ireland's standard work permit route
- The Critical Skills Employment Permit: the shortage route
- What an employment permit hire costs, from fee to start date
- The Trusted Partner Initiative: retired, and what replaced it
Important
IrishTalents is not a licensed employment agency and does not select or submit candidates. Any agency information reflects the wording found on agency websites only, not vacancies, sponsorship, or suitability.
An occupation (SOC) code classifies the kind of work. It does not by itself determine permit eligibility, Critical Skills status, or sponsorship. Job duties, salary, employer and permit route also matter.
This is general information, not legal or immigration advice. IrishTalents is not affiliated with the Irish government.