EU citizens and Irish citizens and
people from Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland, need
no work permits. Everyone else does. The up-to-date rules and
regulations concerning work permits can be found at Department
of Enterprise, Trade and Employment work permit page.
Different rules
apply if you're setting up your own business.
EU and EEA
Citizens
If you have EU
citizenship, you can get a job here, whatever your skill
level, so long as you're willing to work hard, and come across
as honest. You don't need a work permit. If you are a citizen
of any country within the area covered by the European
Economic Area (EEA) Agreement you merely need to register with
the proper authorities and you do not need a work permit. The
EEA is any European Union nation plus Iceland and Norway and
Liechtenstein. Switzerland is also accorded similar rights.
With regard to
general work conditions: http://citizens.eu.int/cgi-bin/fsprint.cgi
is the European information service and the key paragraph is:
"The main
principle that governs the conditions for access to employment
for EU workers in the Member States is equal treatment with
nationals. Thus, any EU worker shall have the right to take up
an activity as an employed person in any Member State
irrespective of his place of residence under the same
conditions as nationals."
A Residency
Permit cannot be refused unless you are unable to support
yourself, and even then, so long as you can prove that you are
looking for work, you may stay.
Equally
important, the spouses and immediate family of EU citizens may
work in Ireland without work permits. This is item 1 of the
Work Permit document which the Department puts online
Who is
the EEA? And what about Switzerland?
The following
countries belong to the EEA: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech
Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece,
Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Leichtenstein,
Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland,
Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United
Kingdom.
Although
Switzerland is not part of the EEA, it reached an agreement
with the EU regarding free movement of persons whereby EU
workers and Swiss nationals are now to be treated equally with
regard to entry and residence provisions and access to the
labour market in many of the member states, and, in
particular, Ireland.
EU Accession
States (Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Czech Republic,
Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Malta & Cyprus)
The Accession
countries are Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Czech
Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Malta & Cyprus. As of
1st May 2004 Accession State Nationals no longer require work
permits to work in Ireland. You will, however, still need to
register with the local Garda station for a residency permit
like every other EU citizen.
Bulgaria
and Romania
The Government
announced on Tuesday 24th October 2006 that it would continue
to restrict access to the Irish labour market for nationals of
Bulgaria and Romania following their Accession to the EU on
the 1st January 2007.
Accordingly
Bulgarian and Romanian nationals, will continue to require a
permit to take up employment in Ireland and the job will
continue to be subject to the current requirement for a labour
market test. However those who are already in the State on a
valid employment permit for an uninterrupted period of 12
months or longer prior to the 31st December 2006 will not need
an employment permit.
Employers will
be expected to satisfy their labour market requirements from
within the European Economic Area (EEA) in the first instance
and if this is not possible it will be necessary for them to
give preference to Bulgarian and Romanian nationals ahead of
non-EEA nationals.
Work Permits
NOT required for the following:
Below is
paragraph 1.1 of the Work Permit regulations:
Work Permits
are NOT required for the following:
"A citizen of a
Member State of the European Economic Area (EEA) and, where
such a citizen is pursuing an activity as an employed or
self-employed person within the State, his or her spouse and
any of their children who are under the age of 21 years or are
dependent on the EEA citizen. [The EEA comprises of Member
States the European Union... together with Norway, Iceland and
Liechtenstein]."
Making It
Harder for Non-EEA Nationals
My wife and I
moved to Ireland in 1992 when 20pc unemployment was the norm.
Friends told us they’d probably hold a parade in our honour
since everyone else was lining up to head out of the country.
15 years later,
the immigrant influx is colossal. In 2006, over 200,000
foreign nationals registered for work in Ireland – 5pc of the
total population. Nearly 130,000 were from the new EU
accession states like Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. As EU
citizens, these foreign nationals can live and work in Ireland
without any permits or hassles.
The scale of
immigration forced the government to overhaul its rickety old
work permit system. Handling all the new arrivals meant
something had to give. What’s “give” is non-EEA nationals.
The New
Green Card and Work Permit System - 1st February 2007
Here’s a very
short summary of some of the key features of the new
employment system for non-EEA nationals:
Green
Cards:
Where the
annual salary (excluding bonuses) on offer is €60,000 or more,
the Green Card Permit is available for all occupations. The
Department gives themselves an out - "...other than those
which are contrary to the public interest." So really well
paid drug dealers need not apply.
Those workers
with high end skills – medical, financial, technical - are
welcome, so long as they have a job offer from an Irish
employer of between 30,000 and 60,000 Euro. After two years,
green card holders may apply for permanent residency.
If you can get
one, Green Cards are more desirable than standard Work Permits
which have more restrictions.
Work
Permits:
There are two
categories of application based on salary level.
Firstly, where
the annual salary (excluding bonuses) on offer is €30,000 or
more the Work Permit can be considered for occupations other
than those which are contrary to the public interest.
Secondly, Work
Permits will only be considered for a very limited number of
occupations below an annual salary of €30,000.
A very long
list of jobs are excluded from applying at all. As an example,
hotel staff of any kind except chefs are ineligible to apply.
After five years, work permit holders may apply for an
unlimited work permit.
Miscellaneous Provisions
Spouses and
dependents under the age of 18 of both green card workers and
work permit holders will find it much, much easier to work in
Ireland. Intra-company transfers are allowed again if the
company can prove a need for the employee to be in Ireland.
Overseas students graduating from Irish universities are now
granted 6 months to try and find work (or bum around) before
they’re out on their ears.
Much stricter
enforcement of employee rights and lots more inspectors on the
ground should, theoretically, result in some of the worst
abuses being eliminated. Those employers who break employment
law face jail. (I’m sceptical – this is a court system that
releases murderers after a couple of years.)
Good news –
Employees may now apply for a work permit themselves,
providing they have a solid job offer and the necessary proof.
Bad news – It
costs a LOT more to get a standard work permit or a new green
card. The price is now 1,000 euro and 1,500 euro for a
renewal.
Maybe news –
There are carefully hedged exceptions to some of the rules.
For example, dependents of work permit and green card holders
over the age of 18 may be able to take advantage of the
relaxed work rules on a case by case basis.
Key Links
and Documentation
The Minister of
Employment, Trade and Enterprise gave a speech outlining the
new system (the famous Upskilling speech). You can read it at
http://www.entemp.ie/press/2007/20070124a.htm
The Department
has put together a truly excellent series of explanatory
documents. Procedures are set out clearly. You can find them
at
http://www.entemp.ie/labour/workpermits/
Passports
and Visas
There are some
strict passport regulations that affect work permit and green
card applicants.
The passport of
the foreign national must be in date and valid for at least 3
months after the proposed expiry date of the Work Permit/Green
Card. And when applying permanent residency or unlimited work
permit, the applicant's passport must be in date and valid for
at least 12 months.
Bondage
Slavery (5 Years Before the Mast)
A subscriber
asked: Do the new work permits/green cards allow the employee
to change jobs? One of the major complaints with the 'old work
permit' is that we are all bound to the one employer.
As I read it,
the new rules say "yes" but they mean "no".
Here's the
wording for the work permit from the Department Guide:
Am I
free to move employer?
"If this is
your first work permit in the State then (apart from in
exceptional circumstances) you are normally expected to stay
with your initial employer for a period of 12 months, but
then you may move employer provided that a new application
for a work permit is made and that a labour market needs
test has been undertaken."
So, yes you may
move IF you manage to get a new employer AND a new work permit
AND the labour market test is done AND someone lays another
1,000 Euro on the line.
I read this
section rapidly when it first came out and thought, great!
Finally, people can move employers after a year. But, now
after rereading it closely, HA! It's hard enough to get one
work permit. How in the world will anyone get a second one?
But, if you can
find an employer willing to go through the whole process over
again AND pay the 1,000 euro, then yes you can change jobs.
And, if you succeed a second time, then once again you're
bound to this new employer for another 12 months. If you can
hang on for 5 years, Work Permit holders can apply for an
unlimited work permit.
It's a similar
situation for Green Card holders.
As an
employee, am I free to move employer after I get a Green
Card Permit?
"If this is
your first employment permit in the State then (other than
in exceptional circumstances) you are expected to stay with
your initial employer for a period of 12 months but then you
may move employer provided that a new application for a
Green Card Permit is made."
Obviously,
though, it will be easier for Green Card holders to change
employers because their occupations are already on the
Approved list, so they won't have to go through the whole
labour market needs test which is the real killer. And, short
of someone laying on the lash and chaining you up at night,
it's probably worth sticking it out because after two years
Green Card holders can apply for Permanent Residency - and
freedom.
Green
Card Miscellany:
Brent, a
subscriber, had a number of questions regarding Working Visas
which he resolved. For now, we can assume that the same
information applies to the new Green Card system. Here's what
he found out:
"One question
was whether you could obtain the work authorisation at an
Irish embassy in a country different from your country of
citizenship. The answer is yes. I just got my work
authorisation in London and I'm a US citizen.
Some other tips to pass on. They are extremely picky about
the documentation. They don't accept copies, only the
originals. For evidence of your third level education in the
Information Tech field my diploma needed to say somewhere on
it that the degree was Computer Science, Computer
Engineering, Information Technology or one other that I
can't recall or else they wouldn't accept it. The offer
letter from the company has to have all the information on
it that is stated on their web site or they won't accept it.
You also need to bring two passport photos, your passport
and the fee of course. That's all that is needed. They give
you a short one page application form to fill out.
I had some hitches with my documentation, but once I got all
the docs together it took 4 business days to get it.
The other question was whether my family needed anything
special to enter Ireland with me once I received my work
visa. The answer is no, but now that they are here we're
supposed to register with the Immigration Office in Dublin
or local Garda station. We haven't done that yet, but I've
been told it's sort of a rubber stamping kind of process
from what I've heard." (That's what I've heard, too...
Scott)
One item for
IT professionals: the Department insists on a
degree in IT. This means people who program, manipulate data,
have high end hardware skills, etc. Generally, it does not
include those with a degree in Computer Graphics or Web
Design.
Unfortunately,
self taught programmers and specialists get caught in the same
net. I know of one self trained programmer whose skills are so
specific and so in-demand that he has been able to work out a
very favourable contract with an Irish firm. The firm is
applying for the work permit, but he won't be just a standard
employee, but rather a type of sub-contractor able to work on
commission with a solid retainer. But... as I try to stress,
it's hard for non-EU nationals to get work here unless they
have high end skills.
Should You
Apply for the Work Permit Yourself
I listened to a
radio interview of a young American woman who brought the Work
Permit form to a company which hired her. She registered to
pay taxes, which were deducted from her wages, and she thought
everything was grand. However, after a year, she went to work
for another firm and when they applied for a new permit (every
time you start work for a new employer, you must apply again),
it turned out that the first employer had never sent in the
form at all. The new application was turned down and the poor
girl was scheduled for deportation because she worked in the
country illegally!
And Tina worked
in a small-town call centre because they were the one business
that promised to apply for a work permit.
"I filled out
the paperwork with them (twice), did the photos and put it
in the envelope and talked to them about splitting the cost
with them for it (which is against the rules but I offered
anyway).... One boss gave me fake "updates" about where my
permit was at in the process, every Friday. When I would ask
for proof (an email from the WP office in Dublin, perhaps?)
he would simply say, 'Ohhhh, but don't you trust me, Tina'?
NO! (Eventually) he told me he had never applied for my
permit, and laughed in my face. Talk about a Not So Nice
Person! And not only one boss lied to me AND then got
himself fired, but TWO OF THEM. Yep, one after the other."
So be aware
there are "Not-So-Nice-Persons" who are only too happy to
screw up your life if it will save them a spot of bother. If
you have doubts, you can now submit the work permit and green
card applications yourself.
Holding
Down Two Jobs
A work permit
is issued for a single job. When I called the Work Permit
Office I was informed that no one is permitted to take up two
different jobs while holding a work permit. And no, you cannot
apply for a second work permit.
Spouses,
Family, Boy Friends and Girl Friends
This is one of
those messy areas where the immigration officials have a wide
amount of personal decision making power. I've called half a
dozen officials for answers on this one, and I'm still
confused.
Here's a
summary of what I've been told, but it remains to be seen how
exactly the new work permit and green card system (in effect
from February 2007) will affect this.
The key person
who will decide whether your spouse and family can come into
the country is the immigration officer who meets them at the
point of entry - at an airport or ferry port. They will be
looking for a Visa if your family comes from a Visa required
nation.
Question 1
- Do you or your spouse and family need Visas to enter
Ireland?
The spouse and
dependent children (16 or over - children under the age of 16
are covered by the spouse's travel visa) should seek a "D
Type" Visa. Nowhere on any of the government sites can I find
a list of visas listed by alphabetical name. The Department of
Justice has a list of visas by name at
http://www.justice.ie/80256E01003A21A5/vWeb/pcJUSQ65WHUV-ga
I am told that
a spouse/children should seek a year long D Visa as opposed to
the 3 month C Visa.
To get such a
visa, you will have to prove that you can support your spouse
and family for a year in Ireland. Medical insurance covering
your family in Ireland may be demanded.
You will need
to provide 3 months worth of bank statements in your native
country and/or other proof of your ability to support a
dependent.
If you've been
in Ireland long enough to have a 3 month bank record, these
may do the job as well, though I haven't yet found anyone
willing to definitely commit to that clearly.
If you need to
extend your family's stay, you seek an extension while in
Ireland. (Note: a Visitor's Visa, referred to as the C Visa,
is restricted and usually is not able to be extended, I'm
told.) The same proofs are demanded at the Garda National
Immigration Office in Dublin or at your local Garda station as
are sought by the consulates and embassies. Again, these
documents are principally proof that you and your family will
not become a burden to the Irish state, that is, you can
provide proof of money in the bank and/or job earnings and
medical insurance that will suffice to support your family.
Question 2
- Are you and your family citizens of a non-Visa required
nation?
If a visa is
not needed because you're a citizen of nations such as the US,
Australia and dozens of others, then your family may join you
without any problems when first you arrive in Ireland.
To extend their
visit, you and they will need to visit the Garda National
Immigration Office in Dublin or your local Garda station and
seek an extension.
Here, the same
rules apply as for someone coming into the nation on a visa -
have your paperwork in order, certified marriage certificates,
birth documents of kids, passports with at least 6 months
still when you arrive in Ireland (and passports with at least
a year to go if you're seeking to stay a year), the work
permit you hold, etc.
Then be able to
prove the working spouse can support the family/spouse while
in ireland, provide 3 months of bank accounts and medical
insurance.
There are no
guarantees - the decision will be made by immigration officers
on a case by case basis. However, if you've got your paperwork
in order and you have the money in the bank and a proper work
permit, then it should be straight-forward and your family
will most likely be allowed to remain in the country with you
while you hold a valid work permit.
Any permissions
are granted for a year only and so must be renewed annually.
Workers holding
a Work Authorization Visa are spared some of these
restrictions and only have to renew every second year.
Complicated, I
know! And subjective, so it depends on who you end up dealing
with, whether they woke up on the right side of bed, etc.
Once in
Ireland, adult family members must register at the local Garda
Station or Immigration Office in Dublin. Children do not have
to register until they reach the age of 16.
Now comes the
really really confusing part.
The rules
listed on the standard Work Permit state that the worker has
to be employed and living in Ireland for a year before their
families can join them. So, for instance, a married couple who
are unable to qualify for a Working Visa/Work Authorisation
will face a choice: live separately for a year or seek two
work permits and two jobs - one for each spouse. Yet, as
detailed above, there are regular exceptions granted for those
who can prove they can support their family members.
Who can explain
it? Who can tell you why? Fools give you reasons, wise men
never try. Some enchanted evening....
My former
girlfriend and I were caught in this red tape quagmire since
she was Irish and I was a US citizen. We overcame the problems
by getting married. No one should get married just to live in
another country, but in our case, it was one further
propellant to get us to the altar. I can now thank the
bureaucracy for the best decision of my life.
Procedures for Spouses to Join the Work Permit Holder
If you are a
citizen of a non-visa required country (such as the US,
Australia and many others) then you arrive at your entry point
(airport, ferry port, etc.) with enough money (traveller's
cheques, cash) to prove you can support yourself during a one
month visit to the country. I'd suggest travel insurance/proof
of health insurance as well just to be on the safe side -
though the official I spoke to did not mention this.
If asked the
purpose of your visit, state the truth - you're meeting your
spouse who is working in Ireland with a work permit.
The official at
the entry port will almost surely grant you a one month entry
permission. Possibly it could be longer or a bit shorter -
this is one of those subjective areas where the individual
agent has much discretion.
Enjoy a few
days and weeks with your spouse.
Before the
entry permission expires go to the local Garda station or to
the National Garda Immigration Bureau in Dublin (located right
in the heart of town just a minute's walk from O'Connell
Bridge). Make sure your spouse who holds the work permit
accompanies you.
The two of you
should bring:
1. A marriage certificate
2. The spouse's work permit
3. Recent bank statements/pay slips of your work permit
spouse. This is to prove that your spouse can support you
without your becoming a burden on the state.
4. Any other proof that you will be able to financially
support yourselves. Here's where the health insurance/travel
insurance would be useful; bank statements showing savings in
your native land if you have any; etc.
Number 4 is not
required, but you'll have to prove to a potentially sceptical
official that you can support yourselves without the Irish
state and taxpayers assisting you. So, the better you can make
your case, the more likely you are to get an extension.
You will then
be given a one year extension. But, this depends on the type
of work permit the spouse holds, the length of time remaining
on it, etc.
At the end of
the year, you apply for another extension. In the meantime,
you're free to look for work yourself and try and get a work
permit in your own name, if you desire.
For those
requiring a Visa to enter Ireland in the first place, steps 1
to 4 take place in your own native land when you apply to the
consulate or embassy for a Visa. Discuss this with the local
consulate and they'll send out the necessary application form
which will specify exactly what is needed. And to complete
this round, start over again at the beginning of this
discussion about spouses and family.
Students
Full time non-EEA
students attending recognized and accredited colleges may work
up to 20 hours per week. The rules can be found at the
Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment's student page.
Let me prepare you, though. In perfectly polite language, the
Department advises you to shag off if you don't have high end
skills. Under the new rules in effect from February 2007,
graduates of Irish universities have 6 months after graduation
to try and find full time work.
And...
English-language Work Loophole Closed
Students at
English-language schools have been able to work 20 hours per
week while studying full time. This loophole became suddenly
popular as a method of getting employment and residing in
Ireland. The government’s solution has been to eliminate the
loophole entirely. As of April 2005, such students are not
allowed to work – full stop.
However, this
ruling does not apply to those students attending a course of
a least one year’s duration which leads to a formally
recognised qualification recognised by the Department of
Education & Science. If you're thinking of attending an
English Language School you can check if the school is
accredited by logging on to www.acels.ie.
Canadian,
Australian and New Zealand Nationals - Working Holiday
Authorisation
Lucky you. You
may come to Ireland with a Working Holiday Authorisation. This
special visa allows you to live and work in the Emerald Isle
for 12 months.
You have to be
between the ages of 18 and 30.You have to present a bank
statement showing you have $2,500 Australian dollars and a
ticket onward,
or $5,000 Australian dollars without an onward ticket.
Similar
restrictions apply for Canadians, though the amount needed in
hand is $2,000 Canadian.
Once you arrive
in Ireland, register at your local Garda/Police station. Your
Working Holiday Visa will be stamped and you then are free to
live in Ireland for one year. An important note: you must get
the Working Holiday Visa first! The Garda do not issue them.
So some pre-planning is necessary.
If you get a job, well and good. If you don't get a job, well
and good. You're still entitled to live here for 12 months. No
further work permit is required.New Zealanders may work for 12
months with a single employer, but Australians are entitled to
work for only 3 months with a single employer. But, even if
you only get work for 3 months, you still may reside in
Ireland for 12.
This is a once in a lifetime thing. You cannot just keep
applying for it. You get a Working Holiday Authorisation once.
If you want to stay longer, then like everyone else you are
required to get an employer to sponsor you to stay in Ireland
more than the 12 months.
I note that the
Garda find it a constant effort to keep their heads above the
morass. Chasing down Australians who are upstanding citizens
and whose employers are delighted to keep them gainfully
employed for longer than 3 months... well, I'd guess that this
falls somewhat lower on the priority list than tracking Al
Quaeda terrorists.
Almost no one
in Ireland knows anything about the 3 month rule. If I were in
your shoes, I'd be mighty tempted not to mention this rule
when applying for a job. Of course, since I only give advice
that is strictly legal, I assure you I would overcome the
temptation and tell anyone who asked the full details
of the restrictions. No doubt you will as well. Australians
may apply for the Working Holiday Authorisation at the Irish
Embassy in Canberra or to the Department of Foreign Affairs in
Dublin. Kiwis, for some unfathomable reason, cannot apply
through Dublin, but must apply through the Irish Consulate in
Auckland.
Work permit
rules do not apply to EU and Irish citizens and a surprising
number of people qualify for Irish citizenship because they
have Irish grandparents or even great-grandparents. So, if
you're serious about moving to Ireland, you'll want to check
this possibility out.
Ireland does
not require foreign citizenship to be dropped in order to get
an Irish passport. So, you can be a dual citizen of Ireland
and another nation. However, as a word of warning, many
non-Irish governments do not allow dual citizenship, so you
might have to give up your native citizenship to become an
Irishman, er... person. Check with your native country's
foreign affairs department for the rules.
Contact Information
Work Permits Section
Department of Enterprise, Trade & Employment
Davitt House
65a Adelaide Road
Dublin 2
Phone/Fax/E-mail Queries:
The Work Permits Callcentre exists primarily to deal
with enquiries from employer applicants. However, the
Callcentre will answer a limited number of questions
from enquiring prospective employees, subject to
sufficient verification of identity.
