If there’s a chance that you or any family members may wish to work in Ireland, you must ensure that this will be possible before moving to Ireland.

If you don’t qualify to live and work in Ireland by birthright, family relationship or as a national of an EU or EEA country, obtaining a work permit may be difficult or even impossible.

Work permits aren’t required by nationals of an EEA country, although they need to apply at their local Garda (police) station for a residence permit if they plan to stay longer than three months. A work permit isn’t required to buy property, make an investment, start an Irish company or register a foreign company in Ireland, although the person in Ireland who’s responsible for a company’s activities must have a work permit, as must anyone visiting Ireland in connection with an Irish business.

Non-EEA nationals who carry out any activity for monetary gain in Ireland require a work permit as well as a residence permit (issued simultaneously for the same duration) unless they:

• are dependent relatives of EEA nationals residing in Ireland;
• are spouses or parents of Irish nationals;
• have been posted to Ireland for a maximum of four years by a company or group of companies which has operations in more than one EU state;
• have been posted to Ireland for a maximum of three years for company training;
• have been granted refugee status in Ireland or temporary permission to remain while an asylum application is being processed.

Applications for work permits must be made by a prospective employer to the Work Permits Section of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE) in Dublin (Tel. (01) 661-4444 ext. 3076) and must be submitted before your arrival in Ireland or you may be refused entry (it’s advisable to obtain the work permit before you arrive, in case the application is denied!).

Some companies are under the impression that their employees need to apply for their own permits, so they may need reminding that this isn’t the case. Indeed, it’s important to note that work permits are specific not only to one company, but also to a particular position within that company. If you wish to move to another company or even obtain promotion within a company, you’ll need to apply for a new work permit and there’s no guarantee that it will be granted. Ideally, applications should be made at least six weeks before employment is due to start or before a current permit expires; the current processing time for applications is four weeks.