Hiring from outside the EEA is a system that rewards preparation. Since 28 April 2025 every application runs through the Employment Permits Online portal, and your company must hold a validated employer account, built on your Revenue documentation and CRO number, before you can file anything. The old Trusted Partner Initiative is gone; verification now happens once at account level for every employer.
Get the sequence right and the process is very workable: Critical Skills applications are currently decided in about 2 to 3 weeks and General Employment Permits in about 6 weeks, though DETE asks for applications at least 12 weeks before the start date. Get it wrong and you lose months, because a refused application joins a review queue that is currently running over 6 months. We help you choose the route, set up the portal, and file it right first time.
Do you qualify?
Before any candidate is assessed, DETE assesses you. These are the company-side conditions every permit application must clear.
Your company will need
- Registration as an employer with Revenue, and with the CRO or Registry of Friendly Societies where applicable
- To be genuinely trading in the State
- A direct employer-employee relationship with the hire; a signed contract of employment from both parties
- A validated employer account on Employment Permits Online, with Revenue documentation and your CRO number uploaded and approved
- A workforce that is at least 50% EEA nationals on the date of application, unless a waiver applies
- A salary at or above the current minimum for the permit type, from €36,605 for most General Employment Permit roles and €40,904 for Critical Skills
- For a recent graduate, reduced salary floors apply: €36,848 on the Graduate Critical Skills route, or €34,009 on the Graduate General route where the candidate holds an Irish Level 8+ degree obtained in the last 12 months
A permit will not work if
- The role is on the Ineligible Occupations List, which still covers most retail, admin and general catering roles
- You want to engage the person as a self-employed contractor rather than a direct employee
- More than half your workforce is non-EEA and neither the startup waiver nor the sole-employee waiver fits
- The work is a short specialised assignment under 90 days; that is the Atypical Working Scheme through ISD, not an employment permit
- The candidate already holds Stamp 4, Stamp 1G or a spouse or partner Stamp 1G; they can work for you with no permit at all
CSEP vs GEP: which permit for this hire?
Critical Skills Employment Permit
Fast track- Salary floor
- €40,904 (listed role + degree)
- Labour market test
- Not required
- Job offer
- Minimum 2 years
- Current decision time
- About 2-3 weeks
- Retention story
- Stamp 4 at 21 months, family joins immediately
General Employment Permit
- Salary floor
- €36,605 (most roles)
- Labour market test
- Required, 28 days on 2 platforms
- Job offer
- No 2-year minimum
- Current decision time
- About 6 weeks
- Retention story
- Renewable to 5 years, Stamp 4 at 57 months
Graduate Critical Skills
Recent graduate- Salary floor
- €36,848 (recent graduate)
- Graduation window
- Level 8+ degree in the last 12 months
- Institution
- Any recognised third-level college
- Labour market test
- Not required
- Retention story
- Stamp 4 at about 21 months
Graduate General
Recent graduate- Salary floor
- €34,009 (recent graduate)
- Graduation window
- Level 8+ degree in the last 12 months
- Institution
- Irish third-level college only
- Labour market test
- Required unless waived
- Retention story
- Stamp 4 at about 57 months
How the journey works
- 01
Check whether a permit is needed at all
Day 1EEA, UK and Swiss citizens need no permit. Neither do candidates already holding Stamp 4, graduates on Stamp 1G, or spouses and partners of permit holders on Stamp 1G. We confirm the candidate's current permission before you spend a cent.
- 02
Choose the route: Critical Skills or General
Week 1If the role sits on the Critical Skills Occupations List and pays at least €40,904 with a 2-year offer, CSEP is almost always the answer: no advertising, faster decision, stronger retention. Otherwise we check the role is not on the Ineligible List and build a GEP application at €36,605 or above. If your hire is a recent graduate with a relevant Level 8+ degree from the last 12 months, they may qualify for the reduced floors on the Graduate Critical Skills route (€36,848, any recognised college) or the Graduate General route (€34,009, Irish college), so we check that first.
- 03
Set up your employer account on EPOS
Week 1You register on the Employment Permits Online portal with email, password and mobile multi-factor authentication, then upload your Revenue documentation and CRO number. Nothing can be submitted until the permits team validates the account, so we do this before the paperwork, not after.
- 04
Run the labour market needs test, GEP only
Weeks 2-6The vacancy must run on jobsireland.ie through DSP Employment Services or EURES and on one other online jobs platform, each for at least 28 consecutive days, unamended. The ad must state the job description, your company name, the minimum annual remuneration, the location and the hours. You then have 90 days from first publication to file. The Graduate General Employment Permit route, at the reduced €34,009 floor for a recent Irish Level 8+ graduate, follows the same test unless a waiver applies.
- 05
Submit the application and fee
Week 6-7Either you or the candidate can apply and pay; the permit issues to the worker with a certified copy to you. Draft applications are deleted after 28 days, and DETE wants the application at least 12 weeks before the proposed start date, so we build the file completely before pressing submit.
- 06
Decision, visa and start date
Critical Skills applications are currently decided in about 2 to 3 weeks and new GEPs in about 6 weeks, strictly in date order. Visa-required nationals then apply for an entry visa, and after arrival the worker registers with immigration for their IRP card before starting work.
- 07
Meet your obligations after the grant
Pay at least the salary stated on the permit, keep the person in the occupation named on it, hold employment records for 5 years or the full employment if longer, and notify DETE within 4 weeks if the employment ends. WRC inspectors enforce all of this, often unannounced.
What to gather
Start collecting these early. Weak or missing documents are the most common avoidable cause of delays and refusals.
Revenue registration documents
Uploaded once to validate your EPOS employer account
CRO number
Or Registry of Friendly Societies registration where applicable
Employment contract
Signed by both employer and employee before filing
Full job description
Duties matched to the occupation being claimed
Salary breakdown
Annual salary plus hourly rate, weekly hours and any deductions
Labour market test evidence
GEP only: both 28-day adverts, filed within 90 days of first publication
Candidate's passport bio page
Valid for the intended permit period
Qualifications and experience evidence
Degree for the CSEP listed-occupation route
Professional registration
Where the role is regulated, e.g. NMBI for nurses
Non-EEA headcount figures
DETE checks the 50:50 workforce rule at application
Redundancy declaration
Any redundancies in the same role in the past 6 months
IRP or GNIB PIN
If the candidate is already living in Ireland
Every case is different. We confirm your exact list at consultation.
What it costs
| Item | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| General Employment Permit, new | €500 / €1,000 | €500 up to 6 months, €1,000 for 6 to 24 months. |
| Critical Skills Employment Permit, new | €1,000 | Covers the full 24-month permit. |
| Graduate Critical Skills Employment Permit | €1,000 | Same application fee; salary floor €36,848 for recent graduates. |
| Graduate General Employment Permit | €1,000 / €500 | €1,000 up to 24 months (€500 for 6 months or less); salary floor €34,009, Irish Level 8+ degree in the last 12 months. |
| GEP renewal | €750 / €1,500 | €750 up to 6 months, €1,500 up to 36 months. CSEP has no renewal; the holder moves to Stamp 4. |
| Refund if refused or withdrawn | 90% back | Refunds issue only to the applicant, even if you paid on their application. |
| Recovering costs from the worker | €0, ever | Section 55 of the Employment Permits Act 2024 prohibits deducting or recouping any permit costs from the employee. |
| Our consultation | Fixed fee | Agreed up front at booking, no surprises. |
Government fees are set by DETE and can change. Budget separately for job-board advertising if a labour market needs test applies. Either the employer or the employee can pay the application fee, but under the Employment Permits Act 2024 the employer can never recover or deduct that cost from the employee.
How long it takes
Guide figures from current official processing information. Individual cases vary.
CSEP decision
2-3 weeks
As of 10 July 2026 DETE is processing Critical Skills applications received 24 June 2026.
New GEP decision
~6 weeks
Applications received 30 May 2026 are being processed. Add the 28-day advertising run before filing.
Renewals
~14 weeks
The renewal window opens 4 months before expiry. File the day it opens.
Review, if refused
~6.5 months
Reviews received 29 December 2025 were being decided in July 2026. Getting it right first time is the whole game.
Why applications get refused
Most refusals are preventable. These are the patterns we see and design out of every application.
The 50:50 workforce rule fails
No permit issues if more than half your workforce is non-EEA on the date of application. DETE counts this at the moment you file, not when you offered the job.
Avoid it: Check your workforce mix before the offer. Startups within 2 years of Revenue registration can seek a waiver with an Enterprise Ireland or IDA letter, and there is a sole-employee waiver for a first hire.
A defective labour market needs test
Adverts that ran short of 28 days, were amended mid-run, missed a required detail like the salary or hours, or went stale past the 90-day filing window all sink a GEP application.
Avoid it: Treat the adverts as legal documents. We draft them against the DETE checklist and diary the 28-day and 90-day clocks.
Salary below the threshold, or hourly maths wrong
The salary must clear the current threshold for the permit type. DETE converts using 2,028 hours a year, so a 37.5-hour week needs a higher hourly rate to hit the same annual figure.
Avoid it: Offer a buffer above €36,605 or €40,904 and let us run the hourly conversion before you put a number in the contract.
Employer registration or portal problems
Applications fail where the company is not properly registered with Revenue or the CRO, is not trading in the State, or the EPOS employer account was never validated before submission.
Avoid it: Set up and validate the portal account as step one, and keep it current: accounts flip to Pending Renewal 3 months before verification expires.
The quota is already gone
Quota roles run out fast. In 2026 the 292-permit hospitality managers quota filled by 28 April and the 200-permit mechanics quota by 19 March.
Avoid it: For quota occupations, start the labour market test the day a quota opens and file the moment the 28 days finish.
Inconsistent paperwork
Different salaries, titles, hours or start dates across the contract, the job description and the application form are the classic avoidable refusal.
Avoid it: One person should cross-check every figure on every document. That reconciliation is part of our standard review.
Common questions
Which hires actually need an employment permit?+
Only non-EEA nationals without an existing right to work. EEA, UK and Swiss citizens never need one. Neither do people on Stamp 4, graduates on Stamp 1G, or spouses and partners of permit holders who hold Stamp 1G. Always verify the candidate's current stamp before starting an application.
CSEP or GEP, which should we use?+
If the role is on the Critical Skills Occupations List, pays at least €40,904 and you can offer 2 years, use the CSEP: no advertising, a decision in about 2 to 3 weeks, and the worker reaches Stamp 4 in 21 months, which is a genuine retention advantage. The GEP covers far more occupations at €36,605 but adds the 28-day labour market test and a decision time of about 6 weeks.
Can we ask the employee to pay or repay the permit fee?+
No. Section 55 of the Employment Permits Act 2024 prohibits employers from deducting or recovering any permit application costs from the worker, whether as a payroll deduction, a clawback clause or an up-front charge. And if an application you paid for is refused, the 90% refund goes to the applicant, not necessarily to you.
We were a Trusted Partner. What happened to that?+
The Trusted Partner Initiative is discontinued. Since Employment Permits Online launched on 28 April 2025, every employer verifies once at account level with Revenue documentation and a CRO number, and there is no separate fast-track register. The portal flags your account as Pending Renewal 3 months before verification expires so you can revalidate in time.
How long does the whole process really take?+
Plan around DETE's own guidance: file at least 12 weeks before the start date. A CSEP is currently decided in about 2 to 3 weeks; a GEP needs the 28-day advertising run first and then about 6 weeks for a decision. Visa-required nationals then need an entry visa, which ISD guidance puts at about 8 weeks for a decision, plus immigration registration after arrival.
Can we hire someone just for the summer season?+
Not through the Seasonal Employment Permit right now. The 2025 horticulture pilot granted only 33 permits and DETE is preparing a stricter second pilot aimed at the 2027 season, so there is no 2026 intake. For specialised work under 90 days, the Atypical Working Scheme through ISD costs €250 and takes a minimum of 20 working days. For longer horticulture roles, GEPs are available at the €32,691 sub-threshold rate.
How long must the new hire stay with us?+
Permit holders generally stay 9 months with their first employer. From 9 months, and before 22 months have elapsed, they can use the statutory change of employer process to move without a new permit, up to 3 times, in the same type of role. Redundancy is different: the worker notifies DETE within 4 weeks and has up to 6 months to find a new role, and you must notify DETE within 4 weeks of any termination.
What are the penalties if we get this wrong?+
Employing a non-EEA national without a valid permit is an offence for both parties: fines up to €3,000 and up to 12 months in prison on summary conviction, and up to €250,000 or 10 years on indictment, with directors personally exposed. WRC inspectors call unannounced and can issue fixed payment notices up to €2,000. Solid right-to-work checks and 5-year record keeping are your defence.
Grounded in official sources
Ready to talk through your next step?
Book a consultation with our team and leave with a clear, personal plan grounded in the official rules.
Related services