News
Posted: 20 Jun 2023
If you come from a region outside the European Economic Area (EEA), you must comply with certain residency and visa requirements in order to work in Ireland. This article focuses on non-EEA students and graduates with IT skills who are in Ireland either
Depending on which category you are in, there may be restrictions on the type of work that you can do, the hours that you are allowed to work and how long you are allowed to continue to live and work in Ireland.
This permit is for non-EEA students who are studying at a third level institution outside of Ireland in a discipline relevant to the occupations on Ireland’s Critical Skills Occupations List.
If you are granted an Interim Employment Permit, it allows you to gain work experience with a company trading in Ireland provided that the work experience is relevant to your course of study.
Internship Employment Permits are issued for a 12-month period and are non-renewable. At the end of the Internship, you must leave Ireland and return to your third level institution to complete your studies.
You can find out more about Internship Employment Permits on the Department of Enterprise, Trade & Employment website.
If you are a full time student enrolled on a course on Ireland’s Interim List of Eligible Programmes, you are allowed to work up to 20 hours per week on a casual basis during term time and up to 40 hours per week on a casual basis during holidays. (The holiday periods are June-September and 15 December-15 January).
At the end of your studies, if you are awarded an eligible Level 8 or Level 9 award, you may be able to seek employment in Ireland for a certain period via the Third Level Graduate Programme (see below).
You can find out more about the immigration rules for full-time non-EEA students on the Citizens Information website.
This programme is for non-EEA graduates who have achieved an eligible Level 8 or Level 9 award from a recognised Irish awarding body.
If your award is at Level 8, the Third Level Graduate Programme allows you to remain in Ireland for a period of twelve months after your studies have ended provided you comply with the relevant conditions and have not already exceeded the limit on your permission to stay in Ireland as a non-EEA national student.
If your award is at Level 9 or above, you may be granted 12-month permission initially and then be able to extend your permission for a further 12 months provided you satisfy the relevant conditions and can demonstrate that you have tried to find suitable employment–for example, by registering with employment agencies and attending job interviews.
You can find out more about the Third Level Graduate Programme on the Department of Justice website.
In most of the scenarios outlined above, if your non-EEA spouse, partner or dependent children want to accompany you, they will need to make a separate application for permission to enter and live in Ireland. You can find more information on immigration permissions on the Department of Justice website.
As well as students and graduates, many other non-EEA nationals work in Ireland’s tech sector. Most of these workers initially hold a Critical Skills Employment Permit which is issued for a two-year period. In a previous Eolas Recruitment article, we discussed the options for changing your job if you hold this type of permit. We also explained how workers who want to remain in Ireland after their Critical Skills Employment Permit expires can request a Stamp 4 support letter from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. Stamp 4 allows you to live and work in Ireland without needing an Employment Permit.
Once you hold Stamp 4, one of the best way to find relevant opportunities is to develop a good relationship with Eolas Recruitment. We have an excellent network of contacts and pride ourselves on building lasting relationships with employers, job seekers and contractors at every level in the tech sector. Why not bookmark our website to keep up to date with the latest developments and check out our online reviews to see what the clients who use our services say about us.
Insert link to Eolas Recruitment article ‘When is the right time to change job if you are on a Critical Skills Employment Permit in Ireland?’
Previous Page