Any non-EU national seeking employment in the Republic of Ireland must submit an application for an employment permit via the Department's Employment Permits Online System (EPOS).
It is choosing the right application form.
There are two types of work permits that the majority of you will be applying for:
Critical Skills Employment Permit.
General Employment Permit.
Critical Skills Employment Permit?
This type of permit is given to individuals whose expertise is important to growing Ireland’s economy, are highly demanded and highly skilled, and are in a significant shortage of supply in Ireland's labour market.
Criteria for eligibility 1. The offering firm must be based and trading in Ireland and registered with the Revenue Commissioners and, where applicable, the Companies Registration Office/Register of Friendly Societies.
2. Critical Skills Employment Permits must have a minimum salary of €38,000 based on a 39-hour week for occupations contained in the Critical Skills Occupations List. This is an hourly rate of pay of €18.74. Or a minimum annual remuneration of over €64,000 and not be on the Ineligible List of Occupations for Employment Permits.
3. A relevant degree qualification or higher is required.
4. 50:50 Rule, a firm offering the job must have 50% of the employees from EU countries.
5. Must have secured a 2-year job offer or a permanent role. 6. Employee must possess the relevant qualifications, skills and experience required for the employment.
General Employment Permit?
Unlike Critical Skills Employment Permits where the State specifies eligible occupations, General Employment Permits assume all occupations to be eligible unless otherwise specified. Therefore, all occupations are eligible unless excluded under the list of Ineligible Categories of Employment for Employment Permits.
Criteria for eligibility
The offering firm must be based and trading in Ireland and registered with the Revenue Commissioners and, where applicable, the Companies Registration Office/Register of Friendly Societies.
General Employment Permits must have a minimum salary of €34,000 based on a 39-hour week.
Employees must possess the relevant qualifications, skills and experience required for employment.
50:50 Rule, a firm offering the job must have 50% of the employees from EU countries.
Labours need test is a government policy where jobs in this area must first be advertised to Irish and EU citizens if a suitable candidate is not found only then it can be offered to a non-EU and for this, the employer must advertise the vacancy and:
Provide the Department of Social Protection Employment Services/EURES Employment Network Reference Number of the advertisement for the job. Advert must run for 28 days before the application can be made. Employers should note that vacancies should not be amended or extended, at any time, during the 28 days of advertising on the JobsIreland site.
A copy of the advertisement for the job in a national newspaper for each of the 3 days.
A copy of the advertisement for the job in a local newspaper for each of the 3 days (if the paper is published weekly only 1 advertisement is required) or a copy of the ad on a job’s website (separate to Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection/EURES website) for 3 days.
Please ensure all advertisements provide the following information: A description of the employment; The name of the employer; The location(s) at which the employee will be carried out; The number of hours to be worked per week; The minimum annual remuneration.
Once, you have picked which employment permit you wish to apply for, select I am an Employee.
Apply for a New Employment Permit and fill in your personal details in the pop-up presented, this information will assist you in saving and resuming your application at a later date.
Introduction section
On opening each form you are presented with an Introduction Section which provides a short description of the permit being applied for and asks for information on who the Applicant for the permit is and whether an Agent is assisting in the process.
MyWork-ID
In order to allow you to put your work on the Application on hold and resume it later, and to associate relevant signature pages with an application, the System automatically assigns a unique identifier - MyWork-ID – to each application form created.
The form can be completed in any order and the user-friendly menu to the left will assist you to navigate through the form with ease. (?) Help Buttons, hover over them to understand what the form is asking you to fill in. Once you are satisfied will all the information click "Complete Form," this action cannot be undone, so be sure that all information submitted is accurate.
Post completing the form, you will be diverted to a web page, from where you can download the signature sheet. Sign it, gather all your important documents, and have a scanner handy as now is the time to upload all the relevant supporting documents.
List of documents required:
Signature pages signed by the employer, employee, and agent (if applicable) (Mandatory);
A Digital Passport Photo of a Foreign National (Mandatory) - Width of the image is 413 pixels (35mm @ 300dpi). - Height of the image is 531 pixels (45mm @ 300dpi).
Copy of employee’s passport clearly showing his/her picture, personal details, date and signature. A passport must be valid for at least a further 6 months for a new employment permit and a further 3 months for a renewal employment permit.
A clear copy of the employee’s current immigration stamp (if resident in the State) and visa (if applicable). GNIB/Irish Resident’s Permit pin must also be provided.
Name, position in the company, phone number and e-mail address for the contact person.
Copy of contract signed by employer and employee.
A statement issued by Revenue Commissioners showing the monthly statutory return made by the employer dated within the 3-month period preceding the application, or a receipt for such a return whether issued through ROS (Revenue Online Service) or evidence of payments made to the Revenue Commissioners through SEPA monthly direct debit payments made within the 3-month period preceding the application.
Copy of Tax Clearance Certificate
Copies of Utility Bills
Copies of Certified Qualification
Copy of Qualification as a trained medical professional (If Applicable)
Copy of P60, Payslips, Bank Statement (6 months)
Letter of Recommendation if an application is supported by IDA / Enterprise Ireland for the purposes of the 50:50 rule
If the application is in respect of a Nurse who is in the State undergoing adaptation under the Atypical Working Scheme (AWS) provide a copy of the AWS permission letter.
Provide registration/pin or licence number if employment is required to be registered with regulatory bodies or Government Ministers. A full list of the employments that require registration is available on the DETE website: Registration Bodies for certain employments.
Cover letter and any other Letters of Support (Miscellaneous)
Payments portal, the employment permit fee is €1,000 and you are redirected to the 3rd Party Payments Provider System to pay with your Credit/Debit Card.
Email confirmation: Once you have submitted your application the information will be transferred electronically to the Employment Permits Management System and assigned a unique EP reference number via e-mail.
Contact EPOS: You can e-mail at: epos@djei.ie or call at (01) 417 5333 or LoCall: 1890 201 616 and select option 1.
To conclude
If you'd like to engage in a personalised discussion regarding your specific situation, kindly arrange a one-on-one conversation by scheduling an appointment here.