General Employment Permit (Ireland)

DETE calls the GEP the State's main permit for occupations with a labour or skills shortage. Unlike the Critical Skills Employment Permit, which lists eligible jobs, the GEP treats every occupation as eligible unless it is on the Ineligible List, and all Critical Skills occupations are also eligible. It can be issued for a 12-month contract, where the Critical Skills permit needs two years.

The permit is issued to you, with a certified copy to the employer, and allows work for that employer in the occupation and locations named on it.

• €36,605 a year is the general minimum.
• €32,691 a year, and at least €16.12 an hour, applies to health care assistants and home support workers (SOC 6145), among others.
• €34,009 applies if you earned a relevant degree from an Irish college in the previous 12 months.

Only basic salary and health insurance payments count towards the threshold. Most GEP applications also need a Labour Market Needs Test: the employer advertises the job before applying. DETE waives it for jobs on the Critical Skills Occupations List and for pay of at least €68,911. At least 50% of the employer's staff must be EEA nationals, with limited exceptions.

1. Get a job offer from an employer registered with Revenue and trading in Ireland, with a contract signed by both sides.
2. The employer completes the Labour Market Needs Test if it applies.
3. You or the employer apply on Employment Permits Online at least 12 weeks before the start date, using DETE's GEP checklist.
4. Once granted, apply for an entry visa if you need one, travel, and register your Stamp 1 permission with Immigration Service Delivery.

A first GEP lasts up to 2 years and can be renewed for up to 3 more. New permits cost €500 for six months or less and €1,000 for up to 24 months; renewals cost €750 or €1,500. DETE refunds 90% if the application is refused.

ISD says people registered on Stamp 1 on a GEP for at least 57 months can apply for Stamp 4. Doctors working as non-consultant hospital doctors on a two-year Multi-Site GEP are registered on Stamp 1H, which ISD says carries conditions similar to the Critical Skills permit, with a Stamp 4 route after 21 months.

Since 15 May 2024, ISD registers spouses and partners of GEP holders who are granted family reunification on Stamp 1G, so they can work without their own permit.

• The 9-month rule. A new permit for another employer is not considered until 9 months after you started, except for redundancy, doctors on 6-month rotations and some other cases.
• Redundancy. Tell DETE within 4 weeks; you then have up to 6 months to find another job.
• Leaving the job. The permit must be returned to DETE within 4 weeks.