Ireland Work Visas

Ireland offers a range of work visas from short-term work permits and intra company transfers to the long-term Irish green card for those who wish to live and work in Ireland on a permanent basis.

You can find out whether you qualify for an Irish visa today by visiting the Global Visas online assessment area. Simply complete an assessment form and a specialist Irish immigration consultant will contact you.

Irish Work Permits

Irish work permits require candidates to have an offer of employment in place and allow a candidate to work for the sponsoring employer in the specified position only. Although changing employer or position is permitted after a period of one year, a separate application must be made to do so. Although Irish work permits are not expressly intended as a means to permanent settlement in Ireland, they may potentially lead to the opportunity to apply for Irish citizenship if the minimum residency requirements are met. Irish work permits are granted for 2 years, however, if the position is still in place and the requirements of the work permit continue to be fulfilled, a work permit extension of three years may be obtained. Beyond this extension, the candidate may extend their permit indefinitely and apply for Irish naturalization.

Applying for an Irish Work Permit

One of the key advantages of applying for an Irish work permit over a permanent Irish Green Card is that the salary requirements for the job offered are not as high and in many cases jobs do not have to be in shortage sectors as is the case with green card applications.

In most cases, Work permit applications can only be submitted where the job being offered pays a minimum of €30,000. In addition, although positions do not have to be in sectors in which a shortage is identified, all positions must still undergo the Labour Market Needs Test which involves advertising the position and demonstrating that no existing Irish citizen or permanent resident is able to fill the position. All candidates must have the appropriate qualifications and/or experience to fulfil the role being offered and the remuneration and conditions of the post must be in line with what would be offered to a candidate from the domestic labour market.

A work permit applicant may apply for their spouse or partner and/or dependent children to join them in Ireland for the duration of their grant. Such dependents may apply for an Irish work permit in their own right in order to commence living and working in Ireland.

Irish Work Permit - Intra Company Transfers (ICTs)

Intra Company Transfers (ICTs) are a specific class of work permit designed for overseas nationals employed within a branch or subsidiary of an Irish based company to relocate to Ireland to fulfil a specific role or to undergo training. Unlike a standard work permit, an ICT will not lead directly, or indirectly, to permanent residency.

ICTs are designed to benefit the company recruiting staff from overseas and applications may only be submitted by the sponsoring employer, not the applicants themselves. ICTs are issued for the duration of the role or project being undertaken, however an ICT may be granted for up to two years and may be extended to a total of five.

Applying for an ICT – Eligibility Requirements

Key personnel and senior staff members temporality immigrating to Ireland through an ICT may be granted an initial duration of up to 24 months. In this category, candidates must be earning a minimum of €40,000 pa. and must have worked for the sponsoring company for at least one year. Applicants in this stream must have a key knowledge of the services and/or products provided by the company and must be employed in a managerial role. ICTs are issued for a maximum of one year where the candidate is transferring to undergo training.

Irish Green Cards

Unlike the Irish Work Permit outlined above, Irish Green card applications allow candidates to apply for permanent residency in Ireland after only two years. However, it is important note that unlike the famous USA Green Card, Irish Green cards are not an immediate grant of permanent residency and applicants will need to be on a Green Card status for at least two years before they can apply for permanent residency. Like a work permit, an Irish Green card requires applicants to have a prearranged offer of employment although for a Green Card application, the position must be in a shortage sector. However, jobs offered under the Green Card scheme do not need to undergo labour market testing although the minimum salary requirements are higher.

Applying for an Irish Green Card

Applicants may apply for an Irish Green card under one of two streams depending upon their proposed salary. Where applicants will be receiving €60,000 or more, any occupation may be considered. Where candidates will be receiving €30,000 - €59,999 the options are more limited. In this stream applicants must have a job offer for a position in a strategically important field including jobs within IT, finance, healthcare, construction, and engineering.

As with Irish work permits the immediate family members of Irish green card applicants may join them in Ireland and will be permitted to work if they successfully apply for a spousal work permit or dependent work permit.

Irish Working Holiday Visa

In Ireland, visas for working holidaymakers are issued for a maximum of one year and are designed for those who wish to work in Ireland as part of an extended holiday. The working holiday visa offers a longer duration than a normal Irish visitor visa and allows the applicant to work in Ireland, which the visit visa does not. However, unlike the Irish work visas outlined above, Irish working holiday visas will not lead to permanent residency in Ireland and applicants will be obliged to return to the their country of residency on or before the expiry of their visa.

Applicants must be aged between 18 and 30 and must be able to finance their stay in Ireland. Candidates must not base their finances on the work they will perform whilst in Ireland and must be in a position to fund their stay at the time of their application. Applicants may only work for a maximum of 30 hours per week and it is not permitted to work for a single employer for more than three months.

As Irish immigration specialists Global Visas offer the complete range of Irish visas and immigration services. Visit the online assessment are today to begin your application.