Employment Permit in Ireland (2026): Types, Salary Rules and Who Gets Them
A non-EEA national needs an employment permit to work for an employer in Ireland. The employer or the worker applies to the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment (DETE) for one specific job, and DETE published 31,044 permits issued to 8,269 employers in 2025.
7,609 visa sponsorship jobs in Ireland open now →Critical Skills Occupations List →All Irish employers with permits →
ApplyWave is not an employer or a recruitment agency. You apply to each employer directly — we find their contact and write your letter. Real employers never charge money for a job or a visa sponsorship.
The nine employment permit types
Most people hired from abroad come in on one of the first two. Each permit names one employer and one job.
- General Employment PermitMost occupations, unless the job is on the Ineligible List of Occupations.
- Critical Skills Employment PermitOccupations on the Critical Skills Occupations List, or other eligible jobs paying over €68,911; the faster route to Stamp 4.
- Dependant / Partner / SpouseFor the family of Critical Skills permit holders and certain researchers.
- Intra-Company TransferSenior staff, key personnel or trainees moving from a multinational's overseas branch to its Irish branch.
- Contract for ServicesWorkers a foreign contractor sends to Ireland to deliver services to an Irish company.
- ReactivationFor people who lost their permit status through no fault of their own, or were mistreated or exploited at work.
- InternshipFull-time students at an overseas third-level institution, for work experience.
- Sport and CulturalSporting, cultural or entertainment work.
- Exchange AgreementWork under reciprocal agreements Ireland is party to.
General Employment Permit: what it requires
Salary of at least €36,605 a year. For horticulture workers, meat processor operatives, healthcare assistants and home support workers it is €32,691 (at least €16.12 an hour); for a relevant degree from an Irish college in the last 12 months, €34,009.
A labour market needs test in most cases: the employer advertises the job with the Department of Social Protection's employment services / EURES and on one more online platform first. Jobs on the Critical Skills Occupations List or paying at least €68,911 are exempt.
The 50:50 rule: at least half of the employer's staff must be EEA nationals when it applies, with waivers for supported start-ups and a sole employee.
Fee €1,000 for a permit of 6 to 24 months (€500 up to 6 months), 90% refunded if refused. An employer may not take the fee out of your pay.
The first permit runs up to 24 months, a renewal up to 3 more years. You can move to another employer after 9 months with a new application; after 5 years on permits you can ask the Department of Justice for Stamp 4.
Processing times
DETE does not promise a number of weeks. It publishes, each week, the date of the applications it is now processing for each permit type and for trusted partner employers — compare your submission date with that list on enterprise.gov.ie.
Stamp 1 and Stamp 4
When you arrive with a permit you register with immigration and get an Irish Residence Permit with Stamp 1, which lets you work for the employer named on the permit. Stamp 4 lets you work without a permit: Critical Skills holders can apply for it after their permit (usually two years), General Employment Permit holders after five years.
Employers granted the most permits in 2025
From the list of companies DETE issues employment permits to. A permit is for one job; these employers have hired from outside the EEA before, which does not mean they are hiring now.
- 1Amazon Web Services EMEA SARL550 permits
- 2Google Ireland Limited385 permits
- 3Ernst & Young278 permits
- 4University Limerick Hospitals Group251 permits
- 5Redwood Extended Care Facility UC237 permits
- 6Accenture Limited197 permits
- 7Tata Consultancy Services Limited167 permits
- 8Cork University Hospital146 permits
- 9CareChoice Trim Limited144 permits
- 10Bartra Propco (No. 26) Limited136 permits
- 11WuXi Biologics Ireland Limited130 permits
- 12Mowlam Healthcare Services Unlimited Company129 permits
- 13Costern Unlimited Company128 permits
- 14Software Labs Campus Unlimited Company127 permits
- 15Bernard Kavanagh and Sons Limited123 permits
Permits issued by year: 2020 — 16,401, 2021 — 16,275, 2022 — 39,956, 2023 — 30,981, 2024 — 39,384, 2025 — 31,044, 2026 — 29,989 (this year so far).
Questions people ask
- Who applies for an Irish employment permit, me or the employer?
- Either can, but you need a job offer first: the permit is for that job with that employer. DETE decides; the fee is paid by whoever applies, and an employer may not recover it from your wages.
- What is the minimum salary for a General Employment Permit?
- €36,605 a year in most occupations; €32,691 for healthcare assistants, home support workers, horticulture workers and meat processor operatives; €34,009 with a relevant degree from an Irish college in the last 12 months.
- How long does an employment permit take?
- DETE publishes the dates it is currently processing each week on enterprise.gov.ie rather than a fixed number of weeks. Trusted partner employers are processed separately.
- Can I change employer on an employment permit?
- Usually after 9 months with your first employer, by making a new application that meets the normal criteria. Earlier moves are allowed only in cases such as redundancy.
- Is ApplyWave an employer or a recruitment agency?
- No. ApplyWave lists jobs from employers and helps you prepare your application. We do not employ anyone or apply for permits, and real employers never charge money for a job or a permit.
Rules checked against Permit types, enterprise.gov.ie, General Employment Permit, enterprise.gov.ie and Current processing dates, enterprise.gov.ie in October 2026. They change: check the official page before you apply.