Ireland immigration


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In recent years, Ireland has changed from being a country of emigration to a country of immigration. Unemployment is very low and nine percent of the labor force in Ireland is foreign born.
While in most cases individuals from European Economic Area (EEA) countries do not need a work permit to take up employment within Ireland, non-EEA nationals will require authorization from the government.

In the past, the Work Visa/Work Authorization scheme, instituted in 2000, handled work permits for employment of non-EEA nationals in Ireland. However, the scheme was recently replaced by new arrangements. The aim of these arrangements is to find high level skills which are strategic to the development of Ireland's economy and cannot be sourced from within the EU/EEA.
Ireland prefers to work with a system based on job offers in skills shortage areas rather than quotas or points based systems, such as the UK. Ireland has set up a system divided into the following categories:

» Green Card Permit Scheme
» Work Permit Scheme
» Intra-company Transfer Permit Scheme
» Spouse/Dependent Permit Scheme
» Third Level Graduate Scheme

In addition, Ireland has a policy regarding nationals of Bulgaria and Romania, who recently joined the European Union.

Work Permit Scheme Occupation Categories

There are two categories of occupations under which the Work Permit Scheme can be applied for:
The annual salary is EUR 30,000 a year or more (excluding bonuses). In this case, the work permit is available for all qualified occupations, other than those which are contrary to the public interest.

For salary ranges less than EUR 30,000 a year, only a very limited number of occupations will be considered for issuance of a work permit.

In either case, work permits will not be considered for any job categories specified in the ineligible job categories list.

Labor Market Needs Test
A job vacancy in which an individual or employer wishes to make an application under the Work Permit Scheme must be advertised in the FAS/EURES employment network and in local and national newspapers for three days to ensure that firstly, a national of the EEA or Switzerland, and secondly, a national of Bulgaria and Romania, cannot be found to fill the vacancy.

Processing Fees
First time application: EUR 500 for period up to six months
First time application: EUR 1000 for period from six months to 2 years
Renewal: EUR 1500 for period up to three years
Indefinite Renewal after five years: No Fee