General Employment Permit

Who it’s for

The General Employment Permit covers far more jobs than any other permit. Every occupation is eligible unless it’s on the Department’s Ineligible List of Occupations, and jobs on the Critical Skills Occupations List can also use it.

You need a job offer from an employer that is registered with Revenue (and with the Companies Registration Office, where that applies) and is trading in Ireland. You must be employed and paid directly by that employer, and have the qualifications, skills or experience the job needs. Either you or your employer can apply, and the permit is issued to you.

Minimum salary

Only basic salary and qualifying health insurance payments count towards the threshold.

The Labour Market Needs Test

In most cases the employer must first show that the job couldn’t be filled from within the EEA. The job is advertised on the Department of Social Protection’s JobsIreland/EURES service and on at least one other online jobs platform, both for 28 days in a row. The adverts must give the job description, the employer’s name, the minimum annual pay, the location and the hours. The permit application then has to be made within 90 days.

The test isn’t needed where:

• the job is on the Critical Skills Occupations List;
• the salary is €68,911 or more;
• Enterprise Ireland or IDA Ireland recommends the job for one of their client companies;
• the applicant has been caring for someone with exceptional medical needs who now depends highly on them;
• the applicant held a General Employment Permit and was made redundant in the last six months, and told the Department within four weeks.

The 50:50 rule

When you apply, at least half of the employer’s staff must be EEA nationals. There are two exceptions: start-ups registered as an employer in the last two years with a letter of support from Enterprise Ireland or IDA Ireland, and employers with no staff yet, where the permit holder will be the only employee.

How long it lasts, and the fees

The first permit is issued for up to two years and can be renewed for up to three more. A renewal can be applied for in the four months before the permit expires.

If an application is refused, 90% of the fee is refunded. An employer can’t deduct the fee from your pay.

Changing employer

You’re normally expected to stay with your first employer for nine months. After that you can change employer, as long as the new job is in the same type of occupation and your current permit has at least two months left to run. The new job can’t start until the permit has been reissued. Earlier moves are only possible in exceptional cases, such as redundancy.

Family

Spouses, partners and children of General Employment Permit holders can apply to join them through Immigration Service Delivery, but the permit holder must meet income requirements: for a spouse or partner, gross income above €30,000 in the previous year. These rules were updated on 12 June 2026. Family members aren’t eligible for a Dependant/Partner/Spouse permit and need their own permit to work.

After five years

If you’ve held General Employment Permits for five years in a row and worked lawfully throughout, you may not need a permit any more: you can apply to the Department of Justice for Stamp 4, which lets you work without one. If you’ve been with the same employer for five years, a renewal can be issued with no end date and no fee.

How we help

• We check the job, the salary and the employer against the rules before anything is submitted, so you don’t pay a fee on an application that can’t succeed.
• We plan and check the Labour Market Needs Test adverts with the employer.
• We prepare the application on Employment Permits Online, with every document checked.
• We deal with the Department’s queries and follow up if a decision is delayed.