Ireland: More Occupations Eligible for Employment Permits and Increased Salary Thresholds, Among Other Changes

January 25, 2024

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Country / Territory

At a Glance

  • The Irish government has announced the largest ever expansion of the employment permits system, resulting in a number of changes to immigration law and policy.
  • Effective December 20, 2023, occupations added to the Critical Skills Occupation list and other, formerly ineligible roles, have been made eligible for an Employment Permit.
  • Additionally, on January 17, 2024, a number of changes will go into effect including:
    • An increased salary requirement for most Employment Permit categories;
    • An increased salary requirement for horticultural workers and meat processors; and the
    • Extension of existing quotas for dairy farm assistants, butchers/deboners, meat processors and horticultural workers.

The situation

The Irish government has announced the largest ever expansion of the employment permits system, resulting in a number of changes to immigration law.

Key changes include:

 

Change

Details

Impact

Occupations added to Critical Skills Occupation List and made eligible for the General Employment Permit

 

  • Effective December 20, 2023, 11 occupations were added to the Critical Skills Occupation List including: professional forester; resources modeling, earth observation and data analyst; meteorologist; operational forecaster; chemical engineer; project engineer; Building Information Modelling (BIM) manager; BIM coordinator/ technician; optometrist; commercial manager; and estimator.
  • Additionally, 32 occupations became eligible for an Employment Permit, including, among others: social care worker; HGV mechanic; electrician/ electrical contractor/ electrical engineer; skilled metal, electrical and electronic trades supervisors; textile process operatives; wood machine operatives; and metal plate workers and riveters.

 
  • Additional individuals are now able to apply for a Critical Skills Occupation Permit, which is the preferred Employment Permit category for Non-European Economic Area (EEA) Nationals seeking employment in Ireland.
  • Similarly, with the removal of occupations from the Ineligible Occupations List, more individuals will be able to apply to obtain an Employment Permit to work in these occupations in Ireland, which was previously not possible. These occupations were likely moved to the Eligible Occupations category due to skills shortages in Ireland leading to insufficient numbers of Irish/European Economic Area workers being able to fill such positions.

Increased salary requirement for General Employment Permit (GEP)

 

  • Effective January 17, 2024, the minimum salary requirement for GEPs will increase to EUR 34,000, up from EUR 30,000.
  • Additionally, the salary threshold exemption for graduate positions and language skills specialists will be removed.

 
  • Employers seeking to hire individuals for these positions will need to ensure this minimum salary threshold is met if they intend to obtain an Employment Permit for a Non-EEA candidate.

Increased salary requirement for Critical Skills Employment Permit (CSEP)
  • Effective January 17, 2024, the minimum salary requirement for CSEPs will increase to EUR 38,000, up from EUR 32,000 for candidates requiring a relevant degree.
  • However, the minimum salary requirement will remain at EUR 64,000 for those individuals exempt from the relevant degree requirement.
  • Employers seeking to hire individuals for these positions will need to ensure this minimum salary threshold is met if they intend to obtain an Employment Permit for a Non-EEA candidate.

Increased salary requirement for Intra-Company Transfer Employment Permit

(ICT)

 

  • Effective January 17, 2024, the salary requirement will increase to EUR 34,000, up from EUR 30,000 for trainee transferees and to EUR 46,000, up from EUR 40,000 for all other transferee categories.

 
  • Employers seeking to send individuals on international assignment to Ireland for these positions will need to ensure this minimum salary threshold is met if they intend to obtain an Employment Permit for a Non-EEA candidate.

Increased salary requirements for healthcare assistants, home carers, horticultural workers and meat processors

 

  • Update January 25, 2024: The government has reversed its decision to raise the minimum salary for healthcare assistants and home carers. The minimum salary will remain EUR 27,000. 
  • Effective January 17, 2024, the salary requirements for new Employment Permits for healthcare assistants and home carers will increase to EUR 30,000, up from EUR 27,000, and horticultural workers and meat processors to EUR 30,000, up from EUR 22,000.

 
  • Employers seeking to hire individuals for these positions will need to ensure this minimum salary threshold is met if they intend to obtain an Employment Permit for a Non-EEA candidate. 

Extension of existing quotas for dairy farm assistants, butcher/deboners, meat processors and horticultural workers

 

  • Effective January 17, 2024, the government will extend existing quotas as follows: 1,000 GEPs for meat processing operatives; 350 GEPs for butcher/deboners; 350 GEPs for dairy farm assistants; and 1,000 GEPs for horticultural workers.
  • These are one-off quotas that are not renewed annually.

 
  • Eligible individuals can continue to apply for Employment Permits to work in these occupations.

Labor Market Needs Test (LMNT) required for General Employment Permit applications and will need to reflect revised thresholds

 

  • GEP applications which will be filed on or after January 17, 2024, will need to adhere to the new salary thresholds and ensure that any supporting LMNT also reflects these higher salary requirements.

 

 

  • LMNT advertisements posted on or after December 20, 2023 may no longer be effective in supporting a GEP application if the salary for the employment advertised does not meet the new higher thresholds.
  • Employers should review their LMNT to ensure they comply with the new thresholds.

 

Ireland is facing a strong demand for Employment Permits to fill labour shortages due to very low unemployment rates among the local population. Some categories of Employment Permits have not seen a change to the minimum salary thresholds in almost a decade, with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE) noting that this lack of change had not kept pace with inflation or economic growth.

The DETE has published a ‘roadmap’ for increasing the salary thresholds for all types of Employment Permits in the coming years, with indications that the thresholds may rise by a further EUR 5,000 – 7,000 by July 2025.

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 [email protected].

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