The Critical Skills Employment Permit is designed to attract highly skilled people into Ireland with the aim of encouraging them to take up permanent residence. Employees need to earn over a certain salary level and be employed and paid by an Irish entity.
Local contract and payroll are required, and the employee must be paid at least EUR 64,000 gross per annum for any job position. Where the job position is listed on the Critical Skills Occupations List as a strategically important occupation, the base salary can be in the range of EUR 38,000 to EUR 63,999 but, in that instance, the employee must have a relevant tertiary-level degree.
The General Employment Permit may be granted for job positions with an annual salary of EUR 34,000 or more where the Critical Skills Employment Permit is not an option. For third-level graduates of Irish or overseas colleges who have graduated within the last 12 months who are offered a job position on the Critical Skills Occupations List, and for technical or sales support roles with fluency in a non-EEA language, the remuneration threshold is reduced to EUR 34,000 per year although this must increase to EUR 34,000 at the renewal stage. Local contract and payroll are required.
Due to the Labour Market Test requirement, and where Critical Skills Employment Permits don’t need to be renewed, most companies and employees prefer to opt for the Critical Skills route, if possible.
The Intra-Company Transfer Permit is for employees transferring between commonly owned entities and remaining on home payroll and contract.
It is limited to the following eligible positions: Senior management or key personnel with at least six months of employment with the sending entity and earning a minimum annual remuneration of EUR 46,000; or trainees with at least one month of employment with the sending entity and earning a minimum annual remuneration of EUR 34,000.
An Employment Permit for this category will be issued for the duration of the contract, up to an initial period of two years and can then be renewed for up to a further three years making a total maximum of five years in Ireland on this status.
A Van der Elst permission (assignment from within the EEA) allows a non-EEA national who is employed and contracted by a home entity in the EEA country to be sent on assignment to another EEA country without a separate work permit. Note that if the duration of the assignment will exceed one year, an application for a different category (e.g. for a Contract for Services or Intra-Company Transfer Permit) should be made.
For foreign entities sending employees to Ireland pursuant to a contract for services with an Irish entity, a Contract for Services Permit under the employment permit category may be granted. The duration of the assignment in Ireland must be at least 90 days. The contract must be directly between the overseas employing entity and the Irish entity where the transferee will be based. Subcontracting to third parties is not permitted. The applicant must have been employed by the sending company for a minimum of six months.
The Atypical Work Scheme provides a streamlined mechanism to deal with atypical, short-term employment where the nature of work is not governed by current legislation or available routes. It applies to non-EEA nationals who are required to undertake short-term (between 15 and 90 days) work with an Irish entity.
EU/EEA/Swiss nationals do not need a work or residence permit to take up employment in Ireland, however a posted worker declaration is required for all assignments from other EU/EEA/Swiss employing entities. There is no formal residence registration process, although optional procedures exist.
Due to the Common Travel Area, Nationals of the United Kingdom do not need a visa or residency permit to live, work, or study in Ireland. British and Irish citizens can travel freely between each others countries without any immigration process. Note that no posted worker notification is required.
