Irish Citizenship (Landing Page)

Critical Skills Occupations List contains a list of jobs eligible for a Critical Skills Employment Permit.
Ineligible List of Occupations contains a list of jobs that are not eligible for any Employment Permits in Ireland.

Please note that there is no list of eligible occupations list which you can take up with the General Employment Permit. All occupations are considered eligible unless they are on the list of Ineligible Lists of Employment.

Employment Permits in Ireland

The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE) in Ireland processes all employment permit applications. The employment permit system was developed to allow non-EU/non-EEA nationals to work in Ireland in jobs with a labour shortage in the market and where an employer needs help finding an Irish or EU national to file for the role.

Non-EEA nationals currently in Ireland on a Working Holiday Authorisation or a Van Der Elst Transfer Permission cannot apply for an employment permit from within the State and must leave the State should they wish to apply for a permit.

Persons resident in the State on a valid visa (Stamp 1, 1G, 2, 2A or 3) may apply for an employment permit.

Types of Employment Permits

There are nine different types of employment permits in Ireland. The most common employment permits are:

1. Critical Skills Employment Permit (CSEP)

Critical Skills Employment Permit targets highly skilled people to encourage them to reside in Ireland permanently. Only the Occupations included on the Critical Skills Occupations List are catered under this type of employment permit. Learn more

2. General Employment Permit (GEP)

The other employment permits are:

3. Dependant/Partner/Spouse Employment Permit

Spouses and de-facto partners of CSEP holders will be granted eligibility under this permit. The permit allows the holder to reside in Ireland under Stamp 1 Conditions, providing direct access to the labour market without needing an employment permit. Learn more

4. Intra-Company Transfer Employment Permit

The Intra-Company Transfer Employment Permit is designed to facilitate the transfer of senior management, key personnel or trainees who are foreign nationals from an overseas branch of a multinational corporation to its Irish branch. Learn more

5. Contract for Services Employment Permit

Contract for Services Employment Permit is designed for situations where a foreign undertaking (Contractor) has won a contract to provide services to an Irish company (Relevant Person) on a contract for services basis and to facilitate the transfer of their non-EEA employees to work on the Irish contract in Ireland. Learn more

6. Reactivation Employment Permit

A reactivation Employment Permit is designed to permit a non-EEA national who entered the State on a valid Employment Permit but fell out of the system through no fault of their own or who has been badly treated or exploited in the workplace to work legally again. Learn more

7. Internship Employment Permit

Internship Employment Permit is designed to facilitate employment in the State of non-EEA nationals who are full-time students studying in a discipline relevant to the occupations included on the Critical Skills Occupations List and enrolled at a third-level institution outside the State to gain work experience. Learn more

8. Sport and Cultural Employment Permit

The Sport and Cultural Employment Permit is designed to facilitate employment in the State of non-EEA nationals with the relevant qualifications, skills, experience or knowledge for the development, operation and capacity of sporting and cultural activities. Learn more

9. Exchange Agreement Employment Permit

The Exchange Agreement Employment Permit is designed to facilitate employment in the State of non-EEA nationals pursuant to prescribed agreements or other international agreements to which the State is a party. Learn more