If you receive permission to work in Ireland (ie. an Irish employment permit), you can apply for an Ireland work visa. A work visa is a type of Ireland long stay (D) visa, which allows the holder to enter Ireland with the purpose of staying longer than three months.
Where the DBEI issues Irish employment permits, it is INIS (the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service) who issues the actual work visa for Ireland.
The Ireland work visa is only a pre-entry requirement. This means that it allows the holder to travel to Ireland, but once you arrive at the port of entry (airport/seaport), you will have to go through Border Control.
The immigration officer at Border Control reviews your documents and they decide whether you are eligible to enter Ireland or not. They could send you back even if you are in posession of a valid Irish work visa.
Do I Need to Apply for an Irish Work Visa?
You only have to apply for an Ireland work visa if you are from a country whose nationals are subject to Irish visas:
- Afghanistan
- Albania
- Algeria
- Angola
- Armenia
- Azerbaijan
- Bahrain
- Bangladesh
- Belarus
- Benin
- Bhutan
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Burkina Faso
- Myanmar
- Burundi
- Cambodia
- Cameroon
- Cabo Verde
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- China
- Colombia
- Comoros
- Republic of the Congo
- Ivory Coast
- Cuba
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Djibouti
- Dominican Republic
- Ecuador
- Egypt
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Ethiopia
- Faroe Islands
- Gabon
- Gambia
- Georgia
- Ghana
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Haiti
- India
- Indonesia
- Iran
- Iraq
- Jamaica
- Jordan
- Kazakhstan
- Kenya
- Kosovo
- Kuwait
- Kyrgyzstan
- Laos
- Lebanon
- Liberia
- Libya
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Mali
- Marshall Islands
- Mauritania
- Mauritius
- Micronesia
- Moldova
- Mongolia
- Montenegro
- Morocco
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- Nepal
- Niger
- Nigeria
- North Korea
- North Macedonia
- Oman
- Pakistan
- Palau
- Papua New Guinea
- Peru
- Philippines
- Qatar
- Russia
- Rwanda
- Sao Tome and Principe
- Saudi Arabia
- Senegal
- Serbia
- Sierra Leone
- Somalia
- South Sudan
- Sri Lanka
- Palestine
- Sudan
- Suriname
- Syria
- Tajikistan
- Tanzania
- Thailand
- Timor-Leste
- Togo
- Tunisia
- Turkey
- Turkmenistan
- Uganda
- Uzbekistan
- Venezuela
However, keep in mind that whether you need an Ireland visa or not, if you are a non-EU/EEA national, you will still have to go through Border Control and request permission to enter from the immigration officers.
Ireland Work Visa Requirements
When you submit your application for an Ireland employment visa, you must have several supporting documents, such as:
- Ireland work visa application form.
- Your valid passport.
- Photos in accordance with the Ireland photo requirements.
- Proof of paid work visa fees.
- Proof of legal residence in the country from which you are applying.
- A letter that explains that your purpose of travel is gaining employment.
- Evidence that you have accommodation in Ireland. If your employer is providing you with accommodation, state the accommodation details.
- Details of previous visas (if applicable).
- Proof of sufficient funds, in the form of bank statements from the previous six months.
- The bank statements have to be in headed paper from the bank.
- They must show your name, address, account number and account type.
- They must show all transactions from the last six months. If there are any large or unusual transactions, provide an explanation.
- Proof you will return to your country.
- A self-addressed, pre-paid envelope.
- Your Employment Permit from the Department of Jobs, Enterprise & Innovation.
- Your work contract or details of job offer.
- A letter from your employer in Ireland, which:
- Confirms they have employed you and states the details of your employment and the work you will do.
- States the salary you will receive.
- Proof of qualifications (such as educational certificates or other qualifications).
- Details of previous work experience.
- Proof of medical insurance. You must take out private medical insurance in Ireland covering at least €25,000 for cases of accidents, disease and hospitalization.
In addition, there is a set of standard requirements everyone must have when they submit an Ireland visa application.
All the documents that you submit have to be originals, unless it is otherwise stated.
They must all be in English – if they are not they must be translated and notarized. You must include both the translation and the original in the submission.
You must make copies of all the documents you submit. The originals, such as your passport, work permit, and other essential documents will be returned to you, so you must include a return address. If you have any specific documents you want to be returned, you should include a list stating them.
How to Apply for an Ireland Work Visa?
You have to submit the application for an Ireland work visa online, via AVATS, the Irish online visa application facility.
Once you have accessed AVATS, you have to fill in the application form, print the completed summary of the application form, and submit the form along with the required documents to the address that will be specified on the summary.
The Ireland work visa processing time is eight weeks. However, if you have any missing documents or it is the peak travel time of year, the processing time could be delayed. Therefore, apply well in advance of your intended time of travel, but no earlier than three months.
You will also have to pay an Ireland work visa fee.
Ireland Work Visa Residence Permit
If the immigration officers at Border Control allow you to enter Ireland, they will put a stamp on your passport which shows the days you are permitted to stay in the country.
Before those days are up, you have to register with immigration and receive your Ireland residence permit. Everyone non-EU/EEA/Swiss national has to register with immigration if they want to stay in Ireland for longer than 90 days.
If you live in Dublin, you have to register at the Dublin registration office. If you live outside Dublin, you must register at the nearest registration office to you.
At the registration office, you will also receive a stamp on your passport, which shows you have permission to work, such as a Stamp 1 or 1A.
Ireland Work Visa Duration and Renewal
The Ireland work visa itself is only valid for a maximum of 90 days. However, the duration of the Ireland employment permits differs based on the specific permit.
Most employment permits are issued for 24 months initially, and can be renewed for up to five years, which is when you can apply for permanent residency in Ireland.
You can renew an Irish work permit through EPOS.
Can you go from an Ireland work visa to permanent residence?
Yes, after you have lived in Ireland with an employment permit (work visa), for five consecutive years, you can apply for an Ireland permanent residence permit.
If you live five out of nine years of “reckonable residence” in Ireland, you can also apply for Irish citizenship, provided you meet the criteria of course.