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What does it take to move to Ireland? Processing, cost, job offer and permanent residence

This permit is commonly searched as the Green Card. The authority states that it replaces the Green Card.

2 pathways verified against an official source. Facts on this page come from those records — not from unsourced scores or blurbs.

Verified 2026-08-15 against Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment (Employment Permits Section; pages still branded DETE); Immigration Service Delivery, Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration.

What language evidence and skills assessment does Ireland name?

  • Language evidence: Official Critical Skills and Third Level Graduate Programme pages opened for this file do not publish an English-test requirement or an accepted-test list.
  • Credential assessment: Critical Skills (Critical Skills Occupations List track): a relevant degree qualification or higher, or for nurses and midwives a third-level degree or diploma accepted by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland. Third Level Graduate Programme: a Level 8 or Level 9 award from a recognised Irish awarding body (Irish universities, RCSI, Institutes of Technology, or QQI).

How long do these Ireland routes take, what do they cost, and do they lead to permanent residence?

Every cell is a sourced value or an explicit statement that nothing is stored. Amounts stay in the published currency.

Which Ireland routes do not lead to permanent residence on their own?

Do I need a job offer for these Ireland routes?

The authority says a job offer is required

The authority does not state whether a job offer is required

The verified record does not state whether a job offer is required. Absence of the field is not a no — check the official source below.

What these authorities do not publish

Union of the absences recorded on this destination's routes. Each row quotes the reason stored on that record.

Processing time

Minimum education

  • Critical Skills Employment Permit

    A relevant degree is required only for the Critical Skills Occupations List track at the €40,904 (or recent-graduate €36,848) threshold. The €68,911 track allows “the necessary level of experience” instead of a degree. Nurses and midwives may use an NMBI-accepted diploma. Old stored value “bachelor” as a blanket minimum has been removed from the program fields.

    Not yet verified against an official source

Compare across countries: all comparisons · How long these routes take · Which routes grant permanent residence on grant · Which routes lead to permanent residence later · Do I need a job offer

Verified pathways

Critical Skills Employment Permit

Work Permit

Employment permit issued by the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment for a job offer of at least two years. It is not a visa and not a residence stamp. After grant, a visa-required national applies separately to ISD for a long-stay employment visa; after arrival the holder registers residence permission (typically Stamp 1) and pays the IRP registration fee. The permit is tied to the named employer, occupation and location; a new permit for a different employer cannot be considered until nine months have elapsed since the holder first commenced employment in the State (Employment Permits Regulations 2024, section 18), except redundancy or a fundamental unforeseen change in the employment relationship. Remuneration thresholds in force from 1 March 2026 (S.I. No. 643/2025): €40,904 a year for occupations on the Critical Skills Occupations List with a relevant degree (or €36,848 where that Level 8 or higher qualification was obtained in the 12 months before the application); €68,911 a year for other eligible occupations not on the Ineligible List. Public-sector roles bound by a public-sector pay agreement use that agreement’s rate. A Labour Market Needs Test is not required. Immediate family reunification is applied for to ISD, not to the permit department. The permit itself does not grant permanent residence.

Source: Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment (Employment Permits Section; pages still branded DETE) · verified 2026-08-15

Third Level Graduate Programme (Stamp 1G)

Post-study work

Residence permission, recorded as Stamp 1G on an IRP card, for legally resident non-EEA graduates who hold a Level 8 or Level 9 award from a recognised Irish awarding body. It is a stamp (a permission condition), not a visa and not an employment permit. ISD: the purpose is to seek graduate-level employment and then apply for a general employment permit, a Critical Skills Employment Permit, or a research hosting agreement. Level 8: twelve months, subject to a seven-year aggregate cap on Stamp 2 plus Stamp 1G. Level 9 or above: twelve months initially, renewable for a further twelve months (eight-year student-condition cap) if the graduate shows steps toward graduate-level work. Holders may work full time and are exempt from holding an employment permit, but may not operate a business or be self-employed. Apply while holding current Stamp 2, within six months of written notification of the award. This is not a settlement route.

Source: Immigration Service Delivery, Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration · verified 2026-08-15

Not yet verified

These names appear in searches. We have not checked them against an official source, so this page states no fees, timelines, or settlement outcomes for them.

  • Ireland — General Employment Permit

    Unverified

    An Irish employment permit for roles that are not on the Critical Skills Occupations List.

    Not yet verified against an official source