Ireland · Work Visa
Work permit categories, eligibility, sponsorship, application steps, and processing times.
Official route — published facts
Read off the responsible authority's own page. Only what it publishes appears here — a field we could not confirm is left out rather than estimated.
- Route
- Critical Skills Employment Permit
- Employer sponsorship
- Required — an employer must sponsor or nominate you
- Salary floor
-
- EUR 40,904 — Occupation on the Critical Skills Occupations List (degree required)
- EUR 68,911 — Occupation not on the list
- EUR 36,848 — Qualification obtained in the 12 months before applying
- Maximum stay
- Permit issued for 2 years
- Annual cap
- No published cap found — this is not the same as the route being uncapped.
The holder is expected to stay with the initial employer for at least the first 9 months.
Official page: Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment ↗ · Read 2026-08
AI-drafted, editorially reviewed. Confirm specifics with the official authority.
Two permissions are needed and they come from different departments: an employment permit from the enterprise department, and immigration permission to enter and remain from the immigration service. The main routes are the Critical Skills Employment Permit, aimed at occupations on a published skills list, and the General Employment Permit for other eligible roles. The Employment Permits Act 2024, which commenced on 2 September 2024, restructured the system and allows a permit holder to change employer after an initial qualifying period rather than being tied for the whole permit.
- The employment permit and the immigration permission come from different departments.
- Since the 2024 Act a permit holder can change employer after an initial qualifying period.
- Salary thresholds for the permits are being raised on a published roadmap — check the current figure.
Official authorities
- Department of Enterprise — Employment Permits
Employment permit types, eligibility and salary thresholds.
- Irish Immigration Service
Immigration permission to enter and remain.
Official-information aggregation, not legal advice. Always verify on the authority's own site.