Critical Skills Employment Permit Ireland

The Critical Skills Employment permit is designed to allow non-EU individuals to move to Ireland in order to fill roles which are important to Ireland’s continued economic growth and which the existing Irish labour supply is unable to fill. These are roles which require skilled workers who possess economically important critical skills.

In general, the role in question will need to be on the Critical Skills Occupation List in order for the applicant to receive a Critical Skills Employment permit. However, roles with an annual salary of at least €64,000 are also generally eligible.

The Critical Skills List, created in line with the recommendations of the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs, lists the roles which are considered strategically important to Ireland’s continued economic success, with Ireland’s existing labour supply currently unable to meet the demand for these roles. As such, companies are able to immediately recruit non-EEA candidates when they have a job opening for one of these roles.

In the event that your role is not on the Critical Skills Occupation List and does not have an annual pay of at least €64,000, you will not be eligible for a Critical Skills Employment permit, but may be able to explore other permit routes, such as the General Employment permit.

Page Contents

• What is a Critical Skills Employment Permit in Ireland?
• Who is eligible for an Ireland Critical Skills Employment Permit?
• Salary Requirements for Ireland Critical Skills Employment Permit
• Required Documents for Critical Skills Employment Permit Ireland
• How to Apply for Ireland Critical Skills Employment Permit?
• Which Occupations are on the Critical Skills Occupation List?
• Application Cost for Ireland Critical Skills Employment Permit
• Renewal of Critical Skills Employment Permit in Ireland
• Permanent Residency in Ireland with Critical Skills Employment Permit
• Labour Market Needs Test
• How Can Total Law Help?
• Frequently Asked Questions

In order to apply for a Critical Skills Employment permit, there are a number of eligibility criteria which must be satisfied. These are as follows:

• In most cases, the job in question must be on the Critical Skills Occupation List and must also have an annual pay of at least €38,000.
• In the case of nurse or midwife applicants, they must be in possession of a third level degree or diploma which the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland accepts as sufficient for practising as a nurse or midwife within Ireland.
• Jobs which offer an annual salary of at least €64,000 are also eligible for a Critical Skills Employment permit, even if they are not on the Critical Skills List, provided that they are not on the Ineligible List of Occupations for Employment Permits or considered contrary to the public interest.
• The prospective employee must have the relevant qualifications and/or professional experience to complete the role in question.
• The prospective employee must have a job offer for the role in question, and the duration of the job being offered must be at least 2 years.
• The company which has made the offer of employment to a non-EU national must have a workforce which is composed of at least 50% European Economic Area (EEA) nationals (with exceptions sometimes made to this rule in the case of certain start-ups).

In order to apply for a Critical Skills Employment permit, you will need to satisfy certain salary requirements. These are as follows:

• In the case of jobs on the Critical Skills Occupation List, the minimum salary is €38,000 in the case of a 39-hour work week.
• For jobs which are not on the Critical Skills Occupation List, the annual salary must be at least €64,000 for a 39-hour work week.
• Note that salary, in this context, refers solely to base pay. Bonuses and overtime payments do not count towards the minimum salary requirement, for example.

There are a number of documents which you will need to provide when submitting an application for a Critical Skills Employment permit, such as the following:

• Details of the employer, such as their Employer Registered Number, Company Name Registered Number, and their registered address
• Details of the prospective employee, such as their name, date of birth, passport details, and proof of qualifications/relevant professional experience
• Details of the role, including the expected duties and responsibilities, location, proposed employment start date and duration (which must be at least 2 years), and the qualifications/experience required for the role
• Confirmation of the pay being offered (at least €38,000 in the case of a role on the Critical Skills List and €64,000 in the case of a role which is not on the list)
• Details of the person who will be paying for the permit

When applying for a Critical Skills Employment permit, there are a number of steps which must be completed.

Firstly, you should submit an application online, via the Irish government website. This can be submitted by either the employer or the prospective employee. The application should be submitted at least 12 weeks before the proposed start date. An application fee of €1,000 will also need to be paid, either by the prospective employee or by the employer. In the event that the application is unsuccessful, 90% of this fee will be returned to the applicant.

In the event that a Critical Skills Employment permit is granted, the applicant will then also need to apply for a Work visa, which can, if successfully granted, be used to enter Ireland. The visa application is a separate process.

For help with applying for either an Employment permit or visa, contact Total Law today.

Roles across a number of employment categories are included on the Critical Skills Occupation List. Some of the main categories, and corresponding roles, are as follows:

• Natural and social science professionals
  • Chemical scientists in manufacturing
  • Medical laboratory scientists
  • Meteorologists
• Engineering professionals
  • Civil engineers
  • Mechanical engineers
  • Electrical engineers
• IT and telecommunications professionals
  • IT specialist managers
  • BIM Manager
  • IT project and programme managers
  • IT business analysts, architects and systems designers
  • Programmers and software development professionals
  • Web design and development professionals
  • All other ICT professionals not elsewhere classified
• Health professionals
  • Medical practitioners
  • Psychologists
• Nursing and Midwifery professionals
  • Nurses
  • Midwives
• Architects, Town Planners, and Surveyors
  • Architects
  • Town planning officers
  • Construction project managers

When applying for a Critical Skills Employment permit, you will need to pay a processing cost of €1,000. This can be paid by either the employer or the prospective employee.

In the event that the application is unsuccessful, 90% of the processing fee will be returned to the applicant. This is true even if the fee was paid by a third party – the prospective employer, for example.

Note that, in the event that the employer covers the fee, they must not deduct that fee from the employee’s future salary, nor seek to recover that fee from the employee, per section 55 of the Employment Permits Act 2024.

For help navigating the legal requirements surrounding the application fee, contact Total Law today.

Once your Critical Skills Employment permit is due to expire, you will not need to apply for an additional Employment permit. Instead, you can apply directly for Stamp 4 status, via the Department of Justice. This permission allows you to work in Ireland without needing to obtain an Employment permit. This will last for an additional 2 years and can be renewed upon expiry, provided that you continue to satisfy the eligibility criteria.

Time spent with Stamp 4 status can also be used to count towards your minimum residency period when applying for permanent residency.

Obtaining an Irish Critical Skills Employment permit provides a direct route to permanent residence. First, you will need to remain in Ireland for the 2-year duration of your Critical Skills Employment permit. After this, you can apply to the Department of Justice for a Stamp 4, which allows you to work in Ireland without needing to obtain a further Employment permit. The duration of the Stamp 4 permission will generally be 2 years, which can then be renewed, provided that you continue to satisfy the eligibility conditions.

Once you have resided in Ireland for at least 5 years, you can then apply for long term residence status. This grants you permission to live in Ireland for an additional 5 years and can be renewed upon expiry, provided you continue to satisfy the eligibility criteria.

Submitting Your Irish Citizenship Application

Irish citizenship applications are done online rather than by mailing an application form. You will need to upload documents that prove your identity and prove that, as a non-EEA citizen, you have met the reckonable residency requirements.

For your application to be processed, you also need to pay the appropriate application fee. This is currently €175.