Ireland General Employment Permit for occupations facing shortages 2026

The General Employment Permit is the main route Ireland uses to attract workers from outside the EEA for occupations that face a labour or skills shortage. Unlike the Critical Skills permit, it does not list the eligible occupations. Instead, every occupation is eligible unless it appears on the Ineligible List of Occupations for Employment Permits, and the permit can be obtained for a job with a 12-month contract of employment, which is why it covers a much broader range of jobs than other permit types.

The permit depends on a job offer from a genuine employer that is registered with the Revenue Commissioners and trading in Ireland, and either the foreign national or the employer can apply. The department checks the description of the job, the qualifications, skills or experience it requires, and a minimum annual salary that it sets, which is lower for a few named shortage jobs and for recent graduates of an Irish third-level college. In most cases the employer must first advertise the vacancy in a Labour Market Needs Test, unless the job is on the Critical Skills list, pays above a higher salary threshold or falls under another listed exception, and at least half of the employer's staff must be EEA nationals, with exceptions for supported start-ups and businesses whose only employee is the foreign national.

A first-time permit holder is expected to stay with the first employer for a set period, after which a move to another employer needs a new application. The permit is issued for an initial period of 24 months and can be renewed for up to a further three years, after which the holder may apply to the immigration service for long-term residency. The application is made on the Employment Permits Online portal and must be received at least 12 weeks before the proposed start date; there is no fixed intake.