Every failed international hire we see went wrong at the same moment: before the offer, when nobody checked what the candidate's permission actually allows. Some candidates can start tomorrow with no permit at all: EEA, UK and Swiss citizens, anyone on Stamp 4, graduates on Stamp 1G, and spouses and partners of Critical Skills holders since 2019 and of General Employment Permit and Intra-Company Transfer holders since May 2024. Others look available but are not: a Stamp 2 student is capped at 20 hours a week in term time, a Stamp 2A holder cannot work a single hour, and a Stamp 3 dependant has no work rights until a permit issues.
If a permit is needed, the questions get harder. Is the occupation on the Critical Skills list, the Ineligible list, or neither, under the lists set by SI 213 of 2026 in effect since 13 May 2026? Does the salary clear the floor in force, €36,605 for most General Employment Permit roles and €40,904 for Critical Skills since 1 March 2026? Does your workforce pass the 50:50 rule? And does the maths of a 28-day advertising run, a roughly 6-week decision queue and an 8-week visa fit before the start date? We answer all of it in one assessment, before you spend a cent, and give you a clear verdict with the strongest route.
Made for people like you
Employers with an offer on the table
You have found the person you want and need to know, before contracts go out, whether you can legally employ them and by which route.
HR teams screening applicants
CVs arrive with every stamp and nationality imaginable, and you want a reliable way to read an IRP card and rank candidates by how quickly they can start.
Hiring against a hard start date
A project or contract starts on a fixed date and you need an honest answer on whether a permit and visa can be in place in time.
First-time sponsors
You have never hired a non-EEA worker and want to know whether the role, the salary and your company would even qualify before you commit.
Do you qualify?
The assessment runs in a strict order: the candidate's current permission first, then the occupation, then the salary, then your company, then the calendar. A hire is only viable when all five clear.
The candidate can start without a permit if they are
- An EEA, UK or Swiss citizen, who never needs an employment permit
- A Stamp 4 holder, who can work for any employer with no permit
- A graduate on Stamp 1G under the Third Level Graduate Programme, who can work up to 40 hours a week for any employer for 12 months after a Level 8 award, or up to 24 months after a Level 9 or 10 award
- The spouse or partner of a Critical Skills permit holder, on Stamp 1G since 2019, or of a General Employment Permit or Intra-Company Transfer holder, on Stamp 1G since May 2024
- A Stamp 2 student, but only within the caps: 20 hours a week in term time across all jobs combined, 40 hours a week only from 1 June to 30 September and 15 December to 15 January
A permit route will not save the hire if
- The role is on the Ineligible Occupations List, which blocks a General Employment Permit entirely and still covers most retail, admin and general catering roles
- The salary is below the floor in force: €36,605 for most GEP roles, €40,904 for Critical Skills, with reduced rates only for quota roles at €32,691 and recent graduates at €34,009 GEP (Irish degree) or €36,848 CSEP
- More than half your workforce is non-EEA on the date of application and neither the startup waiver nor the sole-employee waiver fits
- You want to engage the person as a self-employed contractor; every permit requires a direct employer-employee relationship
- The start date is too close: a GEP needs a 28-day advertising run plus roughly 6 weeks of processing, and DETE wants applications 12 weeks before the start date
The verdict, at a glance
Can start now, no permit
Hire today- Who
- EEA, UK, Swiss, Stamp 4, Stamp 1G holders
- Your paperwork
- Right-to-work check: dated copies of IRP and stamp
- Hours
- Full time, no permit cap
- DETE involvement
- None
- Lead time
- Notice period only
Needs an employment permit
- Who
- Other non-EEA candidates without work rights
- Route
- CSEP if listed at €40,904+, otherwise GEP at €36,605+
- Recent graduates
- Reduced floors: €36,848 on the Graduate Critical Skills route, or €34,009 on the Graduate General route with an Irish Level 8+ degree from the last 12 months
- Gatekeepers
- Occupation lists, salary floor, 50:50 rule
- DETE involvement
- Full application, permit before any work starts
- Lead time
- 12 weeks minimum, more with an LMNT and visa
How the journey works
- 01
Read the candidate's current permission
Day 1We check nationality first, then the IRP card. EEA, UK and Swiss citizens need nothing. Stamp 4 and Stamp 1G work without a permit. Stamp 2 works within the student caps, Stamp 2A cannot work at all, and Stamp 3 has no work rights until a permit issues. Dated copies of both sides of the card are your statutory defence, so we build that file properly from the start.
- 02
Classify the occupation against the lists
Day 1-2The Critical Skills Occupations List and the Ineligible Occupations List, set by SI 213 of 2026 and in effect since 13 May 2026, decide everything. DETE assesses the real duties, not the job title, so we map the actual role: on the Critical Skills list means the fast track, on the Ineligible list means no GEP at all, and anything in between points to a General Employment Permit.
- 03
Test the salary against the floor in force
From 1 March 2026 most GEP roles need €36,605, Critical Skills needs €40,904 with a relevant degree or €68,911 for non-listed roles, and quota roles sit at €32,691. A recent Level 8+ graduate unlocks reduced rates: €34,009 on a General Employment Permit with an Irish third-level degree from the last 12 months, or €36,848 on Critical Skills with any relevant qualification obtained in the last 12 months. DETE converts hourly pay over 2,028 hours a year, so we run that maths before a number goes in the contract.
- 04
Check the company side
No permit issues if more than half your workforce is non-EEA on the date of application, unless the startup or sole-employee waiver applies. You also need Revenue and CRO registration, a validated Employment Permits Online account and a direct contract of employment. We confirm all of it before you commit to the candidate.
- 05
Map the timeline against the start date
Critical Skills applications are currently decided in about 2 to 3 weeks and new GEPs in about 6 weeks, after the 28-day advertising run where one is needed. Visa-required nationals then need an entry visa, around 8 weeks, plus immigration registration after arrival. DETE asks for applications at least 12 weeks before the start date, and the permit must be in place before any work starts.
- 06
Deliver the verdict and the strongest route
You get a clear answer: hire now with no permit, hire via CSEP or GEP with the exact salary and advertising requirements, or do not proceed because the role, the salary, the workforce mix or the calendar cannot clear. Where a permit route exists, we hand over a ready-to-run plan with every deadline diarised.
- 07
File it, if you want us to
If the verdict is a permit route, we can run the labour market needs test, build the application and file it through Employment Permits Online, so the assessment flows straight into the hire without losing a week.
What to gather
Start collecting these early. Weak or missing documents are the most common avoidable cause of delays and refusals.
Candidate's passport bio page
Nationality decides the first question
IRP card, both sides
The stamp on it defines the current work rights; copies dated at the check
Evidence behind the stamp
Stamp 1G award letter or the sponsor's permit for spouse-route holders
Draft job description
Real duties, for mapping against the occupation lists
Proposed salary and hours
Annual figure plus weekly hours, for the threshold maths
Draft contract or offer letter
Terms must match whatever route we recommend
Workforce headcount by nationality
EEA versus non-EEA, for the 50:50 rule
Revenue and CRO details
Needed for any permit route and the EPOS account
Intended start date
The timeline verdict is built backwards from this
Candidate's qualifications
A relevant degree unlocks the €40,904 Critical Skills band
Every case is different. We confirm your exact list at consultation.
What it costs
| Item | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Our right-to-work assessment | Fixed fee | Agreed up front at booking, no surprises. One report per candidate with a clear verdict. |
| Hiring someone who needs no permit | €0 to DETE | No application, no fee. Your only task is the dated right-to-work check. |
| Critical Skills permit, if needed | €1,000 | Covers the full 24-month permit. |
| General Employment Permit, if needed | €500 / €1,000 | €500 up to 6 months, €1,000 for 6 to 24 months. 90% refunded if refused. |
| Getting it wrong instead | Up to €250,000 | And/or 10 years in prison on indictment; up to €3,000 and 12 months on summary conviction, plus WRC fixed payment notices up to €2,000. |
Government fees are set by DETE and can change. Whatever the route, section 55 of the Employment Permits Act 2024 bans recovering any permit cost from the worker, so every figure above stays on the company side.
How long it takes
Guide figures from current official processing information. Individual cases vary.
No-permit hire
Days
EEA, UK, Swiss, Stamp 4 and Stamp 1G candidates can start as soon as your right-to-work check is on file.
CSEP route
2-3 weeks
Current decision queue for new Critical Skills applications, with no advertising step. File 12 weeks before the start date regardless.
GEP route
~10 weeks
The 28-day labour market test plus a decision currently running at about 6 weeks, filed within 90 days of the first advert.
Add a visa
~8 weeks
Visa-required nationals apply for an entry visa after the permit issues, then register for their IRP card after arrival.
Why applications get refused
Most refusals are preventable. These are the patterns we see and design out of every application.
The stamp was misread at offer stage
Stamp 2A looks like Stamp 2 but allows no work at all, and Stamp 3 dependants have no work rights until a permit issues. An offer made on a misread card either collapses or, worse, turns into illegal employment.
Avoid it: Check the actual stamp on the IRP card, not what the candidate believes it allows, and copy both sides with the date before contracts go out.
The role turns out to be on the Ineligible list
The Ineligible Occupations List blocks a General Employment Permit entirely, however good the candidate, and DETE assesses the described duties rather than the job title you chose.
Avoid it: Classify the real duties against the current lists under SI 213 of 2026 before the offer. If the role is ineligible, no salary or paperwork fixes it.
The salary misses the floor, or the hourly maths does
The threshold in force when the application is received is the one that counts, and 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 the number goes in the contract.
The 50:50 workforce rule fails on filing day
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.
The start date never fit the process
A GEP needs 28 days of advertising, about 6 weeks of processing and possibly 8 weeks of visa time, and DETE asks for applications 12 weeks before the start date. Offers signed against a 4-week start date set everyone up to fail.
Avoid it: Run the timeline check before the offer letter, not after. If the calendar cannot clear, negotiate the start date or pick a candidate who can work without a permit.
Work started before the permit did
A permit must be in place before any work starts. 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.
Avoid it: No onboarding, no shadowing, no paid trial shifts until the permit issues and the immigration registration is done. We diarise the true legal start date for you.
Common questions
Which candidates can we hire with no permit at all?+
EEA, UK and Swiss citizens never need one. Neither do people on Stamp 4, graduates on Stamp 1G under the Third Level Graduate Programme, or spouses and partners of Critical Skills, General Employment Permit and Intra-Company Transfer holders, who hold Stamp 1G with direct access to work. Your only obligation is a proper right-to-work check with dated copies on file.
How long can a Stamp 1G graduate actually work for us?+
Full time, up to 40 hours a week for any employer, for 12 months after a Level 8 award or up to 24 months after a Level 9 or 10 award. The clock is strict, so the realistic plan is to move them onto an employment permit before it runs out. A recent Level 8+ graduate qualifies for reduced permit rates, €34,009 on a General Employment Permit (with an Irish degree from the last 12 months) or €36,848 on Critical Skills (any relevant qualification from the last 12 months), which makes them cheaper to sponsor than an overseas hire.
Can we give a Stamp 2 student extra shifts in a busy week?+
Not past 20 hours in any term-time week, counted across all their jobs combined, and the limit is an absolute weekly cap, not an average. The 40-hour allowance applies only from 1 June to 30 September and 15 December to 15 January. And if the card shows Stamp 2A rather than Stamp 2, they cannot work at all.
The candidate's spouse holds a work permit. Does that help?+
It can decide the whole hire. Spouses and de facto partners of Critical Skills holders have received Stamp 1G since 2019, and spouses and partners of General Employment Permit and Intra-Company Transfer holders since May 2024. All of them work for any employer without a permit of their own, so a candidate in that position can often start immediately while a permit-route candidate waits months.
How do we know if the role even qualifies for a permit?+
Two lists decide it, both set by SI 213 of 2026 and in effect since 13 May 2026. If the occupation is on the Critical Skills list and pays at least €40,904 with a 2-year offer, the fast track opens. If it is on the Ineligible Occupations List, which still covers most retail, admin and general catering roles, no General Employment Permit can issue for it. Everything in between is GEP territory at €36,605 or above, usually with a 28-day labour market test.
What does the timeline really look like against our start date?+
Work backwards. DETE asks for applications at least 12 weeks before the start date. A Critical Skills application is currently decided in about 2 to 3 weeks with no advertising. A GEP needs the 28-day labour market test first and then about 6 weeks for a decision. Visa-required nationals add around 8 weeks for the entry visa, plus immigration registration after arrival. If the offer needs someone at a desk in 4 weeks, only a candidate with existing work rights can deliver that.
Can they start on day one while the permit is processing?+
No. The permit must be in place before any work starts, and employing a non-EEA national without a valid permit is an offence for both employer and employee: up to €3,000 and 12 months in prison on summary conviction, up to €250,000 or 10 years on indictment, with directors personally exposed where they consented or connived. WRC inspectors call unannounced and can issue fixed payment notices up to €2,000.
What does a proper right-to-work check involve?+
Check the IRP card, confirm the stamp permits the work on offer, and copy both sides with the date of the check, then diarise the expiry and recheck at each renewal. Taking all reasonable right-to-work checks is your statutory defence if a worker turns out not to be entitled to work, and records must be kept for 5 years or the full employment if longer.
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.
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