Ireland's employment permit system is employer-led and now covers almost every trade an Irish company cannot fill locally. The process is precise rather than slow: a 28-day advertisement, a complete application, a permit in weeks, a visa in about eight. This page is the sequence from brief to first working day — with the figures that changed on 1 March 2026 and the lists that changed on 13 May 2026.
The General Employment Permit is the route for almost every trade and operative role: minimum annual remuneration of €36,605 from 1 March 2026 (basic pay on a 39-hour week, €18.05 an hour; the sub-standard rate of €32,691 applies only to healthcare assistants and home-support workers, meat processing operatives and horticulture workers), a permit fee of €1,000 for up to two years refunded at 90 % if refused, a first permit of two years renewable for three, and an application filed at least twelve weeks before the start date. Before filing, the Labour Market Needs Test: the vacancy advertised for 28 continuous days on JobsIreland (and through it EURES) and for 28 days on one other online platform, stating the job, the employer, the location, the hours and the minimum annual remuneration, with the application lodged within 90 days of the first publication. At company level at least half of the employees must be EEA nationals — the 50:50 rule — with exceptions for start-ups supported by Enterprise Ireland or IDA and for a sole employee; the Government approved proposals in May 2026 to amend the rule for health and social care, not yet law.
DETE processes applications in order of receipt and publishes the dates weekly: on 23 October 2026 new General Employment Permit applications received about five weeks earlier were being decided, Critical Skills applications within about a week, renewals in about eleven weeks. With the 28-day advertisement, a complete application, the permit and the visa, four to six months from brief to first working day is realistic; the visa is the longest single step and we start the Philippine documentation the day the permit is filed.
The permit decides family life as well as work. Critical Skills permit holders may bring their nuclear family immediately with no income test; General Employment Permit holders may apply after twelve months in the State and must meet an income test under the Family Reunification Policy of 12 June 2026 — above €30,000 gross for a spouse, and for children a net income above Working Family Payment levels, which for one child corresponds to roughly €50,200 gross. A tradesman at €36,605 can bring a spouse after a year and, in practice, not his children; we say so in Manila before anyone signs.
A permit holder may change employer after nine months, within the same occupation, without a new Labour Market Needs Test, up to three times — which makes the first year the one in which housing, pay and the briefing have to match. Permits issued for two years renew for three; after five years the holder may apply for long-term residence.
Recruitment runs through our own DMW-licensed agency, Prime Search Manpower Agency Inc. in Makati (licence DMW-027-LB-11182024): your company is accredited at the Migrant Workers Office in London, which covers the United Kingdom and Ireland, the job order is registered with the DMW, and every worker leaves Manila with a verified contract, medical clearance, pre-departure orientation and an Overseas Employment Certificate. Recruitment follows the employer-pays principle: no applicant pays for an interview, a trade test or a place on a shortlist. Your company is the employer from day one; we never employ or lease the workers.
Everything here is subject to the Employment Permits Act 2024 and regulations, the occupations lists in force (S.I. 213/2026), DETE and ISD practice, Irish employment law and Philippine DMW rules.
Any occupation not on the Ineligible List, within the quota where one applies: construction trades including roofers, steel fixers and curtain wallers; welders and electricians; vehicle body repairers and mechanics under quota; dairy farm assistants under quota; healthcare assistants without quota; nurses on the Critical Skills permit. General operatives, scaffolders, packers, cleaners and kitchen assistants remain ineligible, and HGV drivers only with an EU CE licence.
For the General Employment Permit, yes — except for Critical Skills occupations, roles paying €68,911 or more, Enterprise Ireland/IDA-recommended roles and certain carers. An advertisement below the applicable pay floor invalidates the application.
Four to six months: 28 days of advertising, about five weeks at DETE for a new GEP in October 2026, about eight weeks for the visa through VFS Philippines, and the Philippine exit steps in parallel.
At least half of your employees must be EEA nationals when you apply, at company level. A company with 40 EEA staff can hold up to 40 permits. Reform for health and social care was approved for drafting in May 2026 but is not law.
On a Critical Skills permit immediately and without an income test; on a General Employment Permit after twelve months and subject to the income test of the June 2026 policy — a spouse at over €30,000 gross, children only above Working Family Payment levels (about €50,200 gross for one child). We brief this in Manila.
General information for employers, not legal or migration advice. Rules change; we re-verify before each hire.