General Employment Permit Ireland: The Complete 2026 Guide

You have a job offer in Ireland, but the role is not on the Critical Skills list. That means you need a General Employment Permit — and the process is more demanding than most employers expect. The application is digital, the standards are strict, and a single administrative error can set you back three months.

Here is a full walkthrough of the General Employment Permit (GEP) framework as it stands in 2026, including the salary rules that changed in March, the Labour Market Needs Test your employer must pass, and what happens once the permit lands.

What the General Employment Permit Actually Is

The GEP is Ireland's main pathway for non-EEA nationals coming to fill roles that are not on the Critical Skills occupation list. Under the Employment Permits Act 2024, the system works on a "negative list" principle: every occupation is eligible for a GEP unless it appears on the Ineligible List of Occupations. This means the permit covers a much wider range of roles than the Critical Skills route — from healthcare assistants and skilled tradespeople to chefs, site supervisors, and meat processing operatives.

The permit does not apply to EEA citizens, Swiss nationals, or UK nationals, who can work in Ireland freely. It is specifically for citizens of countries outside that group — India, the Philippines, Brazil, South Africa, Nigeria, and many others.

The key trade-off compared to the Critical Skills permit: the GEP comes with more restrictions. Your permission is tied to a specific employer, you must complete a Labour Market Needs Test before applying, and the path to unrestricted work status (Stamp 4) takes 57 months rather than 21 months.

Salary Thresholds Effective March 2026

The minimum salary your offer must meet depends on the role. As of 1 March 2026:

These figures apply to gross basic salary only. Bonuses, commissions, healthcare benefits, pension contributions, and accommodation allowances do not count toward the threshold. If your contract includes fewer than 39 hours per week, the annual salary requirement stays the same — meaning the hourly rate must increase proportionally.

The thresholds are indexed to CSO wage data and increase annually. Check the current figures before submitting, because applying with an offer that was valid six months ago may now fall short.

Who Can Apply

To be eligible for a GEP, both the employer and the role must qualify.

The role must:

• Not appear on the Ineligible List of Occupations (which excludes general hospitality staff, retail assistants, entry-level construction laborers, and many low-skill roles)
• Be full-time (typically 39 hours per week minimum)
• Be offered on a contract of at least 12 months
• Pay at or above the relevant salary threshold

The employer must:

• Be registered with Revenue and the Companies Registration Office (CRO)
• Hold a current Tax Clearance Certificate
• Have a workforce where at least 50% are EEA nationals (the "50/50 rule")
• Not be using an employment permit to fill a role they could have filled from the local labor market without a proper search

There is a limited exemption to the 50/50 rule for early-stage startups that are clients of Enterprise Ireland or IDA Ireland, but this requires a support letter from the relevant agency and attracts close scrutiny.

The Labour Market Needs Test

The Labour Market Needs Test (LMNT) is the procedural step that most applications stumble over. Before your employer can apply for a GEP on your behalf, they must prove they made a genuine effort to hire from the local labor market and found no suitable EEA candidate.

The test requires advertising the role simultaneously on three platforms for 28 consecutive days:

1. Jobs Ireland — the Department of Social Protection's official jobs portal (mandatory)
2. EURES — the EU job mobility network (the Jobs Ireland ad usually feeds into this, but your employer must confirm it is live there)
3. A third online platform — a site whose principal purpose is publishing job vacancies, such as IrishJobs.ie, Indeed Ireland, LinkedIn, or the website of a national newspaper

Every advertisement must include the employer's full registered name, a detailed job description, the exact annual salary, the work location, and the number of hours per week. A salary range is not sufficient — the ad must state a specific figure at or above the threshold.

The 28-day clock is strict. An ad that ran for 27 days is invalid. If anything changes on the ad during the 28-day window — the salary, the hours, the job title — the clock resets to zero.

Once the 28 days are complete, the permit application must be submitted within 90 days of the first ad's publication date. After that, the LMNT expires and the whole process must start again.

One important exception: if the offered salary is €68,911 or above, the employer is exempt from the LMNT. At that income level, the State assumes the market has already been tested by the salary itself.

If you want a full breakdown of the LMNT requirements from the employer's perspective, see our post on the Labour Market Needs Test employer requirements.

The EPOS 2.0 Application Process

Since April 2025, all GEP applications go through EPOS 2.0 — the Employment Permits Online System. The platform uses a joint application model where the employer and the employee each maintain separate verified accounts, which are then linked to a single application.

Employer account setup: The employer registers once, uploading their CRO number, Tax Clearance Certificate, and Revenue documentation. This creates a company profile that does not need to be re-submitted on every future application.

Employee account setup: The applicant registers using their passport details and uploads their own qualification certificates, CV, and personal documents.

Submitting the application:

1. The employer and employee link their accounts to one application ID
2. Both parties upload all supporting documents
3. The €1,000 application fee is paid online (for a standard 24-month permit)
4. Both parties provide electronic signatures to submit

If the application is refused, 90% of the fee is refunded. The remaining 10% (€100) is kept as an administrative charge.

Current processing time for GEP applications is 9 to 11 weeks from submission. If a DETE processor needs more information, they issue a Request for Further Information (RFI) through the portal. You typically have 28 days to respond — failure to do so results in the application being rejected as incomplete.

For a step-by-step walkthrough of the EPOS submission process for GEP applications, see our Ireland work permit application guide.

After the Permit: Visa and Arrival Steps

Applicants from visa-required countries — which includes India, Nigeria, the Philippines, and many others — need a Long Stay 'D' Employment Visa in addition to the permit. This is a separate application to the Department of Justice, processed through the Irish embassy or consulate in your home country. Processing takes 4 to 8 weeks in most cases (though the Abuja office for Nigerian applicants currently runs at 8 to 12 weeks with a higher refusal rate).

Once the visa and permit are both issued and you arrive in Ireland, you must register with Immigration Service Delivery within 90 days to get your Irish Residence Permit (IRP) card. Registration takes place at the Burgh Quay Registration Office in Dublin (or at local Garda registration offices outside Dublin). The IRP registration fee is €300.

After IRP registration, apply for your PPS number — Ireland's equivalent of a national insurance number — so your employer can run payroll correctly.

Key Restrictions to Understand

Employer lock-in: For the first 9 months of your permit, you must stay with the sponsoring employer. Under the Employment Permits Act 2024, this was reduced from the previous 12-month requirement, but it still applies. If you need to leave before 9 months for reasons of exploitation or employer insolvency, the Minister has discretion to waive the period.

Same-occupation restriction on job changes: After 9 months, you can change employers — but only to a role within the same occupational classification (defined by a 4-digit SOC code). Moving to a different type of work requires a new permit and a new LMNT.

No freelance or self-employment: A GEP only covers employment with the specific company named on the permit. You cannot take on freelance work or become self-employed while on a GEP.

Family reunification delay: Unlike Critical Skills holders, GEP holders must wait 12 months before applying for family members to join them. Since May 2024, spouses of GEP holders can often obtain Stamp 1G permission, which allows them to work without their own employment permit.

The Road to Stamp 4

The GEP is a long-term pathway, not a quick route. After completing 57 months of continuous employment on a valid permit, you can apply for Stamp 4 permission — which allows you to work for any employer without an employment permit, or to become self-employed.

Every month spent on a Stamp 1 IRP card counts toward the 57-month total. Gaps between permits, time on a student visa, and periods without a valid permit do not count. This is why keeping records of every permit you hold and every renewal application is critical from day one.

For the full breakdown of the Stamp 1 to Stamp 4 journey and what to do at the 57-month mark, see our post on the Stamp 1 to Stamp 4 pathway for GEP holders.

How the GEP Compares to the Critical Skills Permit

If your role is on the Critical Skills list and you meet the salary requirements, the CSEP is the better option. It does not require an LMNT, allows employer changes without the 9-month restriction, and leads to Stamp 4 in 21 months rather than 57. Family members also join you sooner.

The GEP is for roles that do not qualify for the CSEP — either because the occupation is not on the Critical Skills list or because the salary is below the CSEP threshold. For a direct comparison of both permits, see our post on General Employment Permit vs Critical Skills in Ireland.

Practical Timeline

For an applicant coming from India or the Philippines, plan for a total of 6 to 7 months from starting the LMNT to your first day at work:

• Month 1: LMNT advertising (28 days minimum) and candidate selection
• Month 2: EPOS application preparation and submission
• Months 3–5: DETE processing queue (9–11 weeks)
• Month 6: D-Visa application at the embassy (4–8 weeks)
• Month 7: Arrival, IRP registration, and PPS number

Last-minute international hiring is not possible under this system. Employers need to start the process at least 6 months before the intended start date.

The Ireland General Employment Permit Guide covers the full process end to end — including the LMNT compliance checklist, EPOS 2.0 document specifications, the 50/50 rule tracking worksheet, and the 57-month Stamp 4 roadmap. Get the complete guide if you want the full document set without needing to piece it together from government PDFs.

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