Global News Brief

Effective June 1, 2009, eligibility requirements for work permits and Green Card applications in Ireland are being revised with the result that the qualifying conditions for non-European Economic Area nationals are likely to become much stricter.  

Key details

The following changes have been introduced to Irish work permit regulations:

• More classifications of workers, including domestic workers and heavy goods vehicles drivers, will not be eligible to apply for work permits.
• Work permits for jobs that pay under EUR 30,000 (USD 41,888) per annum will no longer be eligible for work permits.
• The Green Card list, which covers professions with salaries between EUR 30,000 (USD 41,888) and EUR 59,999 (USD 83,774) a year, has been revised to exclude certain occupations in healthcare, financial services and marketing.
• Work permit renewals will be tougher to acquire – higher fees will be instituted, as well as the requirement for a labor market needs test to be carried out.
• Tougher labor market needs tests will be required for all future work permit applications and renewals to ensure that vacancies are filled by Irish or EEA nationals if possible – for instance, vacancies must be advertised on the national Irish employment agency Web site (EURES/FAS) for eight weeks and in the national press for six weeks.
• Spouses and dependants of work permit holders will have to apply for their own permit to be eligible to work, subject to the standard eligibility criteria and fees.