General Employment Permit Ireland Work Visa

General Employment Permit Information Guide

  • The General Employment Permit is a good option as it facilitates a work permit application for a wide range of different job categories.
  • Sometimes it is described as a general work permit or a general work visa.
  • All job categories are eligible unless excluded under the Ineligible List of Occupations for Employment Permits. This means you can apply for a General Employment Permit if the job is not listed on the ineligible jobs list. This list is reviewed and updated from time to time in line with the labour market needs of the Irish economy. We can advise if the job that you have been offered is not in an excluded job category. The Ineligible Jobs List is available here
  • The main attraction of the General Employment Permit for prospective candidates is that it permits a work permit application for a broader range of job categories than the other types of employment permits, such as the Critical Skills Employment Permit for example.
  • The prospective employee must demonstrate that they have relevant qualifications, skills or experience that are required for the employment.
  • Salary eligibility: Minimum annual remuneration is generally €30,000. There are exceptions where the minimum annual remuneration are €27,000 and €27,500:
  1. €27,000 in respect of a non-EEA student – who has graduated in the last 12 months, from an Irish third level institution, and has been offered a graduate position from the Critical Skills Occupations List (the minimum annual remuneration must be €30,000 at renewal stage)
  2. €27,000 in respect of a non-EEA student – who has graduated in the last 12 months, from an overseas third level institution, and has been offered a graduate position as an ICT professional from the Critical Skills Occupations List (the minimum annual remuneration must be €30,000 at renewal stage)
  • €27,000 in respect of an employment which requires a person fluent in the official language of a state which is not a Member State of the EEA, where the employment is supported by an enterprise development agency and the employment is in (a) a customer service and sales role with relevant product knowledge, (b) a specialist online digital marketing and sales role, or (c) a specialist language support and technical sales support role
  1. €27,500 in respect of an employment as a boner (meat)
  • A Labour Market Needs Test is required in most cases. It means that the employer must advertise the vacancy prior to submitting the application:
  1. with the Jobs Ireland Website for at least 4 weeks
  2. in a national newspaper for at least 3 days
  • in either a local newspaper or jobs website (separate to the Jobs Ireland website) for 3 days
  • The advertisement must include: a description of the employment, the name of the employer, the minimum annual remuneration, the location/s of employment, and the hours of work.
  • We can advise on the advertisements and compliance with the Labour Market Needs Test. Failing to meet the requirements of the Labour Market Needs Test results in the General Employment Permit application being refused. This is a common refusal reason in practice as due to a lack of experience with the employment permits system proper care is often not taken in drafting the advertisements.
  • However, the Labour Market Needs Test is not required in the following circumstances: (a) where the job is an occupation included on the Critical Skills Occupations List, (b) where the job offer is in respect of an eligible employment with a minimum annual remuneration of €64,000, but please note that employment permits cannot be issued in respect of employments, irrespective of remuneration, on the Ineligible List of Occupations for Employment Permits, (c) where a recommendation from Enterprise Ireland or IDA Ireland has been made in relation to the job offer (this applies to client companies of Enterprise Ireland or IDA Ireland only), (d) where the job offer is for a Carer of a person with exceptional medical needs and the non-EEA national has been providing care to the person before the application was made and that person has developed a high level of dependence on that non-EEA national, (e) in the case of a General Employment Permit application, where the job is offered to a non-EEA national who held a General Employment Permit or a Work Permit Employment Permit and who, on a date after 1st October 2014, was made redundant and the redundancy occurred within the previous 6 months (This waiver only applies where the Department has been notified of the redundancy within four weeks of the date of dismissal).
  • The 50:50 rule must be observed in most cases. It means that on the date of application that at least 50% of the employees must be EEA nationals. The 50:50 rule is waived in the following circumstances: (a) Start-up companies – the employer must be registered with Revenue as an employer within last two years, and the employer must have a letter of support from either Enterprise Ireland or IDA Ireland (this applies to client companies of Enterprise Ireland or IDA Ireland only). Renewals of employment permits will require the employer to have met 50:50 rule. If not, then a one year employment permit may be provided in circumstances where the employer can demonstrate significant progress towards achieving 50% (this reduces the prospect of a company having to let people go to meet 50:50 target at early stage of company’s business). Such renewals must also have a letter of support from Enterprise Ireland or the IDA. The 50:50 rule will have to be achieved at the end of that one year renewal period, (b) Employment permits in force at time of commencement of the 2014 Act, (c) Where on the day on which the application is made the employer has no employees; the foreign national will be the sole employee; and the Minister is satisfied that having regard to the employment in respect of which the application is made, the foreign national concerned will be the sole employee of the employer. The exception to the 50:50 Rule will also apply at renewal provided the permit holder remains a sole employee. An employment permit for a carer in a private home is a good example of this exception.
  • General Employment Permit holders can not apply immediately for family reunification. In general a waiting period of one year applies before the spouse of a General Employment Permit holder can apply for immigration permission on Stamp 3 conditions.
  • The General Employment Permit application can be made online.
  • A General Employment Permit can be issued for an initial period of two years and can then be renewed for up to a further three years after which it is envisaged that a holder would apply for long-term residency on stamp 4 conditions from the Department of Justice and Equality.
  • An applicant can apply for an employment permit if they are residing in Ireland and have a valid immigration permission at the time of application, or alternatively a person can apply for an employment permit if they have a suitable job offer and they are residing outside Ireland. We can advise and assist if a person has problems with their immigration permission and needs to apply for a temporary extension of their immigration permission to apply for an employment permit.

Please contact our firm if you require professional advice – our firm can offer a full service to act as your legal representative and prepare and manage your general employment permit application from start to finish – send an email to [email protected] or call/message 0868561017 to make a consultation appointment or obtain further information.

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