Work Permit First, Immigration Permission Second: How Ireland's Two-Step System Works Today
Coming to Ireland to work means two separate approvals: an employment permit and an immigration permission. Until a single application procedure arrives, here is exactly how the current two-step journey works.
Moving to Ireland for work runs on a two-step system, and understanding that shape early saves a lot of stress later. You need two separate approvals from two different bodies: an employment permit from the Department of Enterprise, and an immigration permission from the Department of Justice. The Government has agreed to merge these into a single application procedure, but until that is built, the two-step journey below is what applies.
Step one: the employment permit
Almost everyone starts with an employment permit from the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment (DETE). The two most common types are the General Employment Permit and the faster Critical Skills Employment Permit, which is aimed at in-demand roles.
DETE works through applications in strict date order, and it publishes the current processing dates so you can gauge the wait. We keep a running read on those dates in our . The single biggest thing within your control is submitting a complete application the first time, because every missing document sends you to the back of the queue.
