Immigration Central: Indians get highest number of Irish Employment Permits in Q1 of 2023

Between January 1 and March 31, 2023, the Irish Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment issued 7,264 work permits to third-country citizens - of these, 2,894 went to Indian nationals. (Photo by Luciann Photography via Pexels)

In the first quarter (Q1) of 2023, Indian nationals bagged the highest number of Irish work permits - approximately 40 percent of all work permits issued to third-country citizens.

According to data published by the Irish Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, between January 1 and March 31 of this year, a total of 7,264 work permits were issued to third-country citizens, 2,894 of which to were given to Indian nationals. In January alone, 2,525 permits were issued, out of which Indians accounted for 1,059 permits.

India was followed by Brazil and the Philippines in the second and third spot, respectively. Pakistan figured in the top 10 list, bagging the sixth spot with 292 work permits.

During this period, the highest number of work permits were issued for jobs in Health & Social Work Activities (2,428) followed by Information & Communication Activities (1,095).

If you wish to work in Ireland, you need to have an Employment Permit which is issued by Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE). There are different types of employment permits issued by DETE including Critical Skills Employment Permits and Work Permits. You can apply for an Employment visa (Permits, etc.) up to 3 months before your date of travel to Ireland.

Types of Employment Permits in Ireland

Critical Skills Employment Permit: The Critical Skills Employment Permit replaces the Green Card type employment permit. This Permit is designed to attract highly skilled people into the labour market with the aim of encouraging them to take up permanent residence in the State. Eligible occupations under this type of permit are highly demanded and highly skilled, and in significant shortage of supply in Ireland’s labour market. Occupations such as ICT professionals, professional engineers and technologists are covered under this type of employment permit.

Dependant/Partner/Spouse Employment Permit: This Permit allows the dependants, recognized partners (recognized by the Department of Justice and Equality), civil partners and spouses of Critical Skills Employment Permit holders (formerly Green Card employment permit holders) and of Researchers on Hosting Agreements to apply for an employment permit to work in the country. Once the dependant of a Critical Skills Employment Permit Holder has been offered an eligible job, they can then apply for a Dependant/Partner/Spouse Employment Permit. When an employment permit has been granted, the foreign national applies to have their immigration status changed to a Stamp 1 permission.

Generally, it is illegal for spouses and dependants of employment permit holders to be employed in Ireland without a valid employment permit.

Intra-Company Transfer Employment Permit: This Permit is designed to facilitate the transfer of senior management, key personnel or trainees who are foreign nationals from an overseas branch of a multinational corporation to its Irish branch. The Intra-Company Transfer Employment Permit can be invaluable in the initial establishment of a foreign direct investment company. This employment permit facilitates the temporary placement of corporate or headquarter personnel in the Irish affiliate while providing for such employees to stay on the foreign payroll.

General Employment Permit: It is an employment permit which permits the holder to be employed in the country in a broad range of occupations. Unlike Critical Skills Employment Permits, where eligible occupations are specified, General Employment Permits assume all occupations are eligible unless otherwise specified.

Contract for Services Employment Permit: This Permit replaces the Contract Service Provider type of Work Permit and is designed for situations where a foreign undertaking (Contractor) has won a contract to provide services to an Irish company (Relevant Person) on a contract and to facilitate the transfer of their non-EEA (European Economic Area) employees to work on the Irish contract in Ireland.

Reactivation Employment Permit: This Permit replaces the old type of Work Permit Employment Permit which were routed through the Migrant Rights Centre Ireland. This permit is designed to permit a non-EEA national who entered the State on a valid Employment Permit but who fell out of the system through no fault of their own or who has been badly treated or exploited in the workplace, to work legally again.

Internship Employment Permit: It replaces the old Internship type of Work Permit and is designed to facilitate the employment in the State of non-EEA nationals who are full-time students, studying in a discipline relevant to the occupations included on the Critical Skills Employment Permit and enrolled at a third-level institution outside the country, for the purposes of gaining work experience.

Sport and Cultural Employment Permit: This Permit replaces the old sports professional type of Work Permit and will also allow for employment permits for the entertainment sector. This permit is designed to facilitate the employment of non-EEA nationals with the relevant qualifications, skills, experience or knowledge for the development, operation and capacity of sporting and cultural activities.

Exchange Agreement Employment Permit: It replaces the old Exchange Agreement type of Employment Permit and will also cater for employment permits for international reciprocal agreements. It is designed to facilitate the employment in the State of non-EEA nationals pursuant to prescribed agreements or other international agreements to which the country is a party.