What is the Critical Skills Employment Permit?

The Critical Skills Employment Permit replaces the Green Card type employment permit and is designed to attract highly skilled people into the labour market with the aim of encouraging them to take up permanent residence in the State.

Eligible occupations are deemed to be critically important to growing Ireland's economy, highly demanded and highly skilled, and in significant shortage of supply. Permit holders can apply for immediate family reunification from the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service and once their dependants/partners/spouses are resident in the State, they are eligible to seek any employment and apply to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment for a Dependant/Partner/Spouse Employment Permit which is currently issued free of charge. Other general features of employment permits also apply, such as the full rigour of Irish Employment Rights law. 

The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment examines a number of criteria when assessing eligibility, including a job offer from a bona-fide employer based and trading in Ireland and who is registered with the Revenue Commissioners and Companies Registration Office/Register of Friendly Societies. Eligibility is largely determined by the type of occupation, and proposed remuneration level, with a minimum annual remuneration of €32,000 for a restricted number of strategically important occupations and a relevant degree qualification or higher for a nurse or midwife. The prospective employee must have secured a 2-year job offer from the employer and possess the relevant qualifications, skills and experience required for the employment. An employment permit must be granted to companies with 50% or more EEA nationals at the time of application, but this restriction may be waived in respect of start-up companies within 2 years of their establishment. Compensation criteria include basic salary, annual remuneration excluding bonuses, health insurance payments made to a health insurer registered with the Health Insurance Authority on its Register of Health Benefits Undertakings under Section 14 Health Insurance Act, 1994 or what the Minister is satisfied is the equivalent.

An application for a Critical Skills Employment Permit can be made online on the Employment Permits Online System (EPOS). There is a User Guide available to guide the applicant through the process and details the documentary requirements for each employment permit type. Applications are processed in date order by Employer Type and applicants can keep track of their progress online. The processing fee for a Critical Skills Employment Permit is €1,000 and 90% of the fee will be refunded. The employer may not make any deductions from the remuneration of, or seek to recover from, the holder of the employment permit concerned any charge, fee or expense related to the application.

Following a successful application for an employment permit, and if visa required, an applicant should apply to their local Irish Embassy/Consulate for an entry Visa. All relevant and supporting documentation, including the original employment permit, must be available. Non-EEA nationals in possession of an employment permit must register with the Garda National Immigration Bureau to be lawfully resident in the State. Renewals are not required, but holders must apply for a support letter from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and present themselves for registration renewal with their existing Critical Skills Employment Permit or Green Card Employment Permit, passport, and their Garda Naturalisation Immigration Bureau card. If they comply with their previous immigration and employment permit conditions and are of good character, they will be issued with an immigration permission which allows them to reside and work in the State without the need for a further employment permit.

The Immigration permission granted by the Garda National Immigration Bureau will be for 2 years, renewable subject to meeting all relevant criteria. If not satisfied, applicants will be issued with a Stamp 1 by the Bureau and must hold an employment permit in order to work in the State. If an employee is made redundant while they are a Critical Skills or Green Card Employment Permit holder, they must notify the Employment Permits Section of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment of the redundancy on the prescribed Notification of Redundancy Form within 4 weeks of the date of dismissal. A new Critical Skills Employment Permit will be issued in accordance with the remuneration requirement and for a job where there is a strategic skills shortage. If the non-EEA national cannot acquire another job within 6 months of being made redundant, they must contact the immigration authorities to establish their immigration status beyond that period.

What is the General Employment Permit?

The General Employment Permit replaces the old Work Permit Employment Permit and is the primary vehicle used by the State to attract 3rd country nationals for occupations experiencing a labour or skills shortage. It permits a broader range of occupations than the other classes of employment permit and may be obtained in respect of a 12-month contract of employment. It can be issued for an initial period of 2 years and can then be renewed for up to a further three years.

Criteria for eligibility include a job offer from a bona fide employer registered with the Revenue Commissioners and, if applicable, with the Companies Registration Office/Registry of Friendly Societies. The proposed employment is not in an excluded job category under the Ineligible List of Occupations for Employment Permits.

Minimum annual remuneration is €30,000 for an employment as a healthcare assistant, €27,000 for a non-EEA student who has graduated in the last 12 months, and €27,500 for an employment supported by an enterprise development agency. Employers must ensure that the employer is a genuine and legal employer, and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment examines a number of criteria when assessing employers. Employment permits must be issued to employers that are registered with the Revenue Commissioners and with the Companies Registration Office/Registry of Friendly Societies, and which are currently trading in the State. The 50:50 rule is waived in certain circumstances, such as start-up companies and client companies of Enterprise Ireland or IDA Ireland. Renewals of employment permits will require the employer to have met 50:50, but a one-year employment permit may be provided in circumstances where the employer can demonstrate significant progress towards achieving 50%.

A Labour Market Needs Test is required in most cases. Employment permits cannot be issued in respect of employments, irrespective of remuneration, on the Ineligible List of Occupations for Employment Permits. To fulfil the Labour Market Needs Test, employers must advertise the position on DSP Employment Services/EURES employment network and in newspapers. The main criteria applied are minimum annual remuneration (generally above €30,000), the employment named is not in an excluded job category, and the prospective employee must possess the relevant qualifications, skills or experience. Spouses, dependants or partners of General Employment Permit holders are not eligible for a Dependant/Partner/Spouse Employment Permit.

The Employment Permits Act 2006 as amended states that a new employment permit cannot be considered if fewer than 12 months has elapsed since the permit holder first commenced employment in the State. However, if the following circumstances apply, the Department may permit a General Employment Permit holder to change employer: medical doctors on 6-month rotations; permit holder is made redundant; or circumstances that fundamentally change the employment relationship. Remuneration criteria include basic salary to achieve at least National Minimum Wage or a rate of pay fixed under or pursuant to any enactment, and health insurance payments made to a health insurer registered with the Health Insurance Authority on its Register of Health Benefits Undertakings under s14 Health Insurance Act, 1994. An application for any employment permit must be received at least 12 weeks before the proposed employment start date. There are up to three stages in the passage of an employment permit application: Application received (awaiting processing) is placed in the relevant processing queue depending on the Employer type.

Processing is where the application is considered by a decision maker, an official with decision making authority, and the processor will either grant or refuse it. Fee for a new General Employment Permit is €500 for 6 months or less duration or €1,000 for an employment permit from 6 months up to 24 months duration. If an application is unsuccessful, 90% of the fee will be refunded. If the employer is the applicant, they may not make any deductions from the remuneration of, or seek to recover from, the holder of the employment permit.

What is a Dependant/Partner/Spouse Employment Permit?

A dependant of a Critical Skills Employment Permit Holder or researcher on a Hosting Agreement is permitted to work in Ireland while they are resident here and accompanying the Critical Skills Permit Holder. They must have a job offer and apply for a Dependant/Partner/Spouse Employment Permit, which is free of charge and can be renewed after the initial period.

The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment will examine a number of criteria when assessing Employment Permit applications, and only certain categories of dependants can apply for this type of employment permit. The Department of Justice and Equality has determined that a dependant of a primary permit holder or researcher must have resided in the State on a continual basis, been working within the terms of their Employment Permit/Hosting Agreement, and have either a valid Critical Skills Employment Permit or permission to reside in the State under the Scheme for admission of Third Country Researchers to Ireland. To apply for a Dependant/Partner/Spouse Employment Permit, a letter is required from the employer confirming that the primary permit holder/researcher is still in employment with that employer, and their job title.

Employment permits are not provided for the following: non-EEA dependants/civil partners/spouses of Irish nationals, EU nationals, and non-EU nationals who hold other classes of Employment Permits. People in these categories should contact the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service to determine the status of the relationship and provide appropriate residency permission along with permission to be employed. The Immigration Service Delivery provides a letter outlining that a person may seek employment in the State without an employment permit or subject to the issuing of an employment permit.

A Dependant/Partner/Spouse Employment Permit application must be granted for a period of either the expiry of the employment permit of the primary permit holder or the immigration stamp of the researcher, or if they were the holder of a Green Card Employment Permit, Critical Skills Employment Permit or a Hosting Agreement.

The Dependant/Partner/Spouse Employment Permit does not affect the entitlement of a dependant, civil partner and spouse of the primary permit holder or researcher to apply for an employment permit in their own right. The Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation examines a number of criteria when assessing employers, including that applications will only be accepted from employers that are registered with the Revenue Commissioners and where applicable, with the Companies Registration Office/Registry of Friendly Societies, and that an employer/employee relationship will exist in that the prospective employee will be employed, salaried and paid directly by the employer.

What is an Intra-Company Transfer Employment Permit?

The Intra-Company Transfer Employment Permit is designed to facilitate the transfer of senior management, key personnel or trainees who are non-EEA nationals from an overseas branch of a multinational corporation to its Irish branch.

The main attraction of this permit is that it facilitates the temporary injection of corporate or HQ personnel and also provides for such employees to stay on the foreign payroll.

Criteria for eligibility include senior management earning a minimum annual remuneration of €40,000, key personnel earning a minimum monthly salary of €20,000, and personnel undergoing a training programme earning a minimum yearly salary of €30,000. Senior Management refers to persons primarily having one of the following functions: management of the organisation, supervision or control over the work of other supervisory, professional or managerial employees, or management of an essential function. Key personnel refers to persons working within an organisation who possess specialist knowledge essential to the establishment's service, research equipment, techniques or management.

Personnel participating in a training programme refer to persons transferring for training purposes for a maximum of 12 months. Minimum periods of employment with foreign employer prior to transfer include 6 months, 1 month, or return to their country of origin. Section 12(1)(e) of the Employment Permits Act 2006 as amended states that a new Employment Permit cannot be considered if less than 12 months has elapsed since the permit holder first commenced employment in the State. Trainees on an Intra-Company Transfer Employment Permit can apply for a Critical Skills Employment Permit or a General Employment Permit during the 12-month period. Foreign employers and connected persons must be bona fide and be trading and engaged in substantive business operations in Ireland.

Proof may be requested of an applicant to show that it is trading. The foreign branch of the organisation must be engaged in substantive business operations in the foreign country in question, the connected person must be linked with the foreign employer, and the minimum annual remuneration threshold must be €40k (or €30k in the case of an Intra-Company Transfer trainee). Compensation components include basic salary, board and accommodation, health insurance payments, and the monetary value of board and accommodation directly provided by the connected person or foreign employer.

What is a Contract for Services Employment Permit?

The Contract for Services Employment Permit is designed for situations where a foreign undertaking has won a contract to provide services to an Irish entity on a contract for services basis and to facilitate the transfer of non-EEA employees to work on the Irish contract in Ireland. It is limited to positions required for the service of the contract and cannot be considered for any occupations listed in the Ineligible List of Occupations for Employment Permits or those contrary to the public interest. Applicants must have been working for a minimum of 6 months with the Contractor prior to transfer in order to support the contention that the Contractor was awarded the contract on the basis of the skills and service they could provide. At the cessation of the contract or when the permit expires, the permit holder must leave the State. Contract for Services Employment Permit holders may apply for an alternative employment permit, for example, a Critical Skills Employment Permit or a General Employment Permit.

The employer must be registered with the Revenue Commissioners as an employer, and at least 50% of the employees of the Contractor or the Relevant Person must be EEA nationals. Compensation criteria include basic salary, board and accommodation, and health insurance payments made to a health insurer registered with the Health Insurance Authority on its Register of Health Benefits Undertakings under Section 14 Health Insurance Act, 1994.

What is a Reactivation Employment Permit?

The Reactivation Employment Permit replaces a class of Employment Permit dealing applications routed through the Migrant Rights Centre of Ireland. It allows foreign nationals who entered the State on a valid Employment Permit but fell out of the system due to no fault of their own or who have been badly treated or exploited in the workplace to work legally again. Applicants must apply to the Immigration Service Delivery (ISD) and make an application for permission to be in the State for the purpose of making an application under this employment permit scheme. Applicants may be eligible for this type of employment permit if they are: a person who previously held an employment permit, a person who is the holder of a current Work Permit Employment Permit for a low skilled and low paid position, a Spousal/Dependant Employment Permit holder, or a Dependant/Partner/Spouse of current Green Card and Critical Skills Employment Permit holders and Researchers. The Reactivation Employment Permit Scheme is intended to facilitate people who have fallen out of the employment permits system and bring them back into legal immigration and employment.

It is available to holders of current Spousal/Dependant or new Dependant/Partner/Spouse Employment Permits whose circumstances have changed (for example, separation) and where the Minister for Justice and Equality is satisfied that they should be considered in the case. Applicants must be made redundant during the 6 months period preceding 1 October 2014 and have a period of 6 months from the date of their redundancy to seek the same employment for the same category of job, even if it is now ineligible. Those who continue to breach both immigration and employment permit legislation cannot be continuously facilitated under the scheme. The new Employment Permits (Amendment) Act 2014 provides a period of 6 months to seek the same employment for the same category of job, even if it is now ineligible, and to apply for a new Employment Permit. The main criteria applied for Reactivation Employment Permits are remuneration must be National Minimum Wage or higher, all occupations are permitted, and the foreign national must possess the relevant qualifications, skills or experience required for the employment.

Employers must be registered with the Revenue Commissioners and registered with the Companies Registration Office/Registry of Friendly Societies, and must ensure that an employer-employee relationship exists. The Reactivation Employment Permit (REP) is an exception to the 50:50 Rule for foreign nationals who previously entered the labour market legally on foot of an Employment Permit, are not currently in employment, have a genuine offer of employment in the State, and are holders of a temporary stamp 1. Applicants must make an application for this permission to the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service and stay with the initial employer for a period of 12 months. After 12 months, the permit holder may move employer provided that a new application is made.