WORKING VISA & WORK AUTHORISATIONS FOR EMPLOYMENT
IN IRELAND
For full information please see the Working
Visas/Authorisations Information Leaflet.
SKILL SHORTAGES IN IRELAND
The growth of the Irish economy in recent years is resulting
in shortages of skilled employees in some sectors such as
information and computing technologies, construction professionals
and across a broad range of medical, health and social care
professions (including Medical Practitioners, nurses, speech
and language therapists, occupational therapists, radiographers,
physiotherapists, social workers)
Information on skill shortages and job vacancies in Ireland
is available from Internet websites of FAS,
the State Training and Employment Authority, and of Forfás,
a State body which promotes industrial and technological
development.
Newspaper websites with information on job vacancies are
those of the:
To facilitate the recruitment of suitably qualified people
from non-EEA* countries for designated sectors of the employment
market where skill shortages are particularly acute, a Working
Visa and Work Authorisation scheme has been introduced.
This makes it possible for prospective employees with job
offers from employers in Ireland to obtain immigration and
employment clearance in advance from Irish Embassies and
Consulates. (The issue of a Working Visa or Work Authorisation
does not give the holder an automatic right to enter Ireland
as Immigration Officers retain discretion in specified circumstances
to refuse entry to any non-national.)
(*European Economic Area comprises EU member States, Iceland,
Liechtenstein, Norway and Switerland.)
APPLICATIONS
Applications for Working Visas and Work Authorisations are
accepted from persons outside the country only. Applications
must normally be made through the Irish
Embassy/Consulate in the applicant's country of permanent
residence and applicants may be required to attend for personal
interview. If there is no Irish Embassy/ Consulate in the
country in question, the application may be made through
any Irish Embassy/Consulate, through the applicant's reference
in Ireland or direct by post to the Visa Office, Department
of Foreign Affairs, 13-14 Burgh Quay, Dublin 2, Ireland.
At present the designated categories are:
Queries regarding the Working Visa and Work Authorization
scheme should be directed to the Economic Migration Policy
Unit, Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Room
207, Davitt House, 65a Adelaide Road, Dublin 2 (tel: +353
1 6313186; e-mail: workingvisas@entemp.ie)
the Visa Office, Department of Foreign Affairs, 13-14 Burgh
Quay, Dublin 2 (tel: +353 1 6331000, 6331018; e-mail : visa@iveagh.irlgov.ie),
or to any Irish
Embassy or Consulate.
APPLICATION FORMS ARE AVAILABLE FROM IRISH EMBASSIES
& CONSULATES
The Working Visa/Work Authorisation scheme does not replace
but is a faster alternative to the Work Permit Scheme, which
continues to be available to employers in Ireland. Applications
for work permits are processed by the Work Permits Section,
Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Room 105,
Davitt House, 65a Adelaide Road, Dublin 2 (telephone 6313308
or 6313333); or by e-mail workpermits@entemp.ie,
www.entemp.ie.
WORKING VISA
A visa-required national, ie: the holder of the passport
of a country not on the list in Section V, who has an offer
from an employer in Ireland of employment in one of the
designated sectors may be given a Working Visa by an Irish
Embassy/Consulate.
WORK AUTHORISATION
The holder of the passport of a country on the list in Section
V, who has an offer from an employer in Ireland of employment
in one of the designated sectors, may be given a Work Authorisation
by an Irish Embassy or Consulate.
PERIODS OF VALIDITY
A Working Visa or Work Authorisation is usually valid for
two years - three months in the case of a Candidate Nurses.
MOBILITY WITHIN THE IRISH LABOUR MARKET
Holders of Working Visas or of Work Authorisations are allowed
to change their employers within the same skills category
after arrival in Ireland as long as they continue to have
permission to work and reside in the country.
Note: The following contents have been taken
from the website of Irish Department of Enterprise, Trade
and Employment
