Yes, if you are currently outside Ireland you may be permitted to come to Ireland to work. You must check if you need immigration permission from the Department of Justice or an employment permit from the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment to work before you travel or apply for a visa (if you are a visa required national).
In general, in order to come to Ireland to work a non-EEA national must hold a valid employment permit or immigration permission.
Employment permit
All first time applicants for employment permits must make their application while resident outside Ireland. The Irish employment permit system, including the processing of these applications, is operated by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE). Detailed information regarding the employment permit system can be found at the following link (DETE Employment Permit Information). If you are required to have an employment permit you must obtain a permit before you apply for a visa (if you are a visa required national) in order to travel to Ireland.
Atypical Working Scheme
Immigration permission under the Atypical Working Scheme is issued by the Department of Justice.
Working Holiday Authorisation Programme
This Working Holiday Authorisation Programme allows young people to fund an extended holiday through temporary work. Only certain nationalities may avail of this programme. These programmes are currently suspended due to the COVID 19 pandemic.
Trainee Accountant
If you intend to come to Ireland to take up a position as a trainee accountant.
Minister of Religion
If you intend to travel to Ireland to work as a Minister of Religion, you will need preclearance approval before you travel. This applies to all Non EEA nationals whether you require a visa or not.
Volunteering
If you intend to travel to Ireland to Volunteer with an eligible body in Ireland, you will need preclearance approval before travel. This applies to all Non EEA nationals whether you require a visa or not.
Start up Entrepreneur Programme (STEP)
The Start up Entrepreneur Programme (STEP) allows you to establish a business in Ireland and to work in the business on a full time basis. You are not permitted to be employed in any other capacity and you must not become a financial burden on the Irish State.
Immigrant Investor Programme
The Immigrant Investor Programme (IIP) is open to non-EEA nationals who commit to an approved investment in Ireland. The IIP requires a minimum investment of €1 million, or €0.5 million (€500,000) if making an endowment, from applicant’s own resources and not financed through a loan or other such facility.
A non-EEA national who is legally employed by a company in an EU country may be permitted to provide services on a temporary basis to a company in another EU country, including Ireland, on behalf of his/her employer without the need to obtain an employment permit.
This is permitted under the Van Der Elst process. You will still be subject to Irish immigration rules and may require a visa before coming to Ireland.
If you are a visa required national you must apply for a visa before travelling to Ireland. Find out if you need a visa.
You can apply for all employment visa types up to 3 months before your date of travel to Ireland. You should apply for a visa as soon as possible after the granting of an employment permit/hosting agreement/immigration permission.
If you are applying for a visa/preclearance to work in Ireland and you are filling in your information on the online application form.
- Select visa/preclearance type as ‘Long Stay (D)/Short Stay (C)’
- Journey Type as ‘single’ or ‘multiple’
- Select the correct Reason for Travel:
- If you intend to Work for more than 90 days on the basis of having obtained an Employment Permit from DETE, the reason for travel should be ‘Employment’
- If you intend to Work for more than 90 days on the basis of the Van Der Elst Process, the reason for travel should be ‘Employment (Van Der Elst)’
- If you intend to Work for more than 90 days on the basis of having obtained a Hosting Agreement, the reason for travel should be ‘Employment (Scientific Researcher)’
- If you intend to work for more or less than 90 days on an atypical permission the reason for travel should be Employment, Business, Conference/Event, Exam, Internship, Performance/Tournament, Training.
You must make your visa application from the country where you are ordinarily resident, i.e. the country where you live. Requests to make a visa application from any other country (e.g. a country that you are visiting while on holiday) will not be accepted.
Yes. You must have obtained an employment permit from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE) or a letter of immigration permission before applying for a visa.
If you have not been granted an employment permit and are not exempt from the requirement to hold an employment permit, your visa application will be refused.
Yes, you will have to submit documents in support of your application.
Required documents
Here are the supporting document requirements for all categories of long stay Employment visa applications.
Additional documents
You will also need to provide these additional documents depending on your circumstances or the type of Employment application you are submitting.
All employment visa applications are processed in date order. Processing times can vary between countries. They can also vary during busy periods during the year.
You should keep copies of all the documents that you provide.
We will return original documents such as marriage, birth or death certificates to you. We will not return other documents such as bank statements or letters of invitation
If there are particular documents that you wish to have returned, please provide a list of these documents with the application.
The visa will be placed in your passport and returned to you.
We will contact you about issuing your visa. If we have not contacted you in relation to the issuing of your visa, then to arrange the issue of your visa please contact:
• The Irish Embassy or Honorary Consulate where you sent your application; or
• The Dublin visa office if you sent the application to that office.
Yes. Find out more in relation to a refusal of your visa application including the rights to appeal the decision.
If you are granted permission to enter the State for employment, you are only permitted to take up the employment for which you have been approved.
If your stay is more than 90 days, you will also be required to register with the immigration authorities – please visit our registration page where you will find all relevant information.
Your family may be permitted to join you in Ireland, but that will depend on your immigration permission or the type of employment you are travelling to Ireland to undertake.
Please note that all applications to join family are subject to normal immigration controls. For visa required nationals, a separate visa application for all persons is required. For full details in relation to family reunification in Ireland and the rules which apply to different types of employment please refer to our non-EEA policy document on family reunification.