More Occupations Eligible for Employment Permits

At a Glance

• Following a comprehensive review, Irish authorities have added occupations such as civil engineers, construction project managers, and mechanical and electrical engineers to the list of those eligible for a Critical Skills Employment Permit.
• The government also updated the Ineligible List of Occupations, making many technical and construction-related occupations eligible for a General Employment Permit to address labour shortages in these industries.
• Employers and foreign nationals will benefit from broader eligibility for the two main Irish permit types.
• The changes will take effect on April 22, 2019.

The situation

Effective April 22, 2019, more occupations will be eligible for a Critical Skills Employment Permit and General Employment Permit. 

A closer look

Following comprehensive review with private and public stakeholders, the Irish Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation announced that the following changes will take effect on April 22, 2019:

• Critical Skills Occupations List. Occupations were added to the Critical Skills Occupations List, making them eligible for a Critical Skills Employment Permit. Notably, the new eligible occupations include civil engineers, construction project managers, and certain mechanical and electrical engineers, among others.
• Ineligible List of Occupations. A number of occupations were removed from the Ineligible List of Occupations, making these occupations eligible for a General Employment Permit. The newly-eligible occupations are mostly technical positions in construction and transport. Notably, the changes include 300 quota spots for occupations related to customs checks, in preparation for Brexit.

Impact

Employers and foreign nationals will benefit from broader eligibility for the two main Irish permit types.

Background

The changes result from a comprehensive review of the labour market, stakeholder feedback and factors such as Brexit. The changes seek to prevent skills shortages in light of Ireland’s current labor market (which lacks technical and construction-related workers because many of these workers left Ireland during the recent economic downturn) and the government’s stated economic development goals.

Looking ahead

Fragomen expects the government to continue its efforts to streamline existing immigration processes to encourage employment and retention of highly-skilled foreign nationals. Fragomen will report on relevant updates to the Critical Skills Employment Lists, which are typically updated bi-annually.

This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen or send an email to ireland@fragomen.com.