The Critical Skills Employment Permit is designed to attract highly skilled people into the Ireland labour market with the aim of encouraging them to take up permanent residence in the State.
Eligible occupations under this type of permit are deemed to be critically important to growing Ireland’s economy, are highly demanded and highly skilled, and in significant shortage of supply in the country's labour market. Occupations such as ICT professionals, professional engineers, medical officers and technologists are catered for under this type of employment permit.
Click below for a list of eligible occupations.
The Critical Skills Employment Permit is designed to attract highly skilled people into the Ireland labour market with the aim of encouraging them to take up permanent residence in the State.
Eligible occupations under this type of permit are deemed to be critically important to growing Ireland’s economy, are highly demanded and highly skilled, and in significant shortage of supply in the country’s labour market. Occupations such as ICT professionals, professional engineers, medical officers and technologists are catered for under this type of employment permit.
Click below for a list of eligible occupations.
The employment permit holder may, after serving one year in employment with the original employer as specified on the employment permit, change employer. This is subject to applying for a new employment permit and which is subject to the policy at that time.
Eligibility for a Critical Skills Employment Permit is largely determined by the type of occupation, and proposed remuneration level. The following are eligible:
Further criteria include:
The full details of what is required are set out on the application form and include:
An application for a Critical Skills Employment Permit can be made online and must be received at least 12 weeks before the proposed employment start date.
Download a PDF copy of the Critical Skills Employment Permit Checklist (PDF, 243KB)
There are up to three stages in the passage of an employment permit application:
The processing fee for a Critical Skills Employment Permit is €1,000. If an application is unsuccessful then 90% of the fee will be refunded. While the fee may be paid by a third party, the current policy restricts refunds to applicants only (for example, if the applicant was an employee and the employer paid the fee, then the refund will still be issued to the employee).
Where the employer is the applicant, the employer may not make any deductions from the remuneration of, or seek to recover from, the holder of the employment permit concerned any charge, fee, or expense related to the application.
Following a successful application for an employment permit, and if visa required, an applicant should apply to his/her local Irish Embassy/Consulate for an entry Visa. Any persons wishing to enter the State, whether visa required or not, are subject to the usual immigration controls at the port of entry. Therefore, all relevant and supporting documentation, including the original employment permit, must be available for inspection by an Immigration Officer. Entry to the State is always at the discretion of the Immigration Officer.