This "Brief Guide" give information on work permits / employment permits and Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) cards (or Immigration Cards).

1. Brief Guide to Employment / Work
Permits
(This is a brief guide only and should not be considered as a comprehensive guide to
Employment / Work Permits)
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2. Prepared by
CollierBroderick Management Consultants
Tel: +353 1 8666426
Fax: +353 1 8666457
E-mail: enquiries@collierbroderick.ie
Web: www.collierbroderick.ie
Disclaimer
Whilst every care has been taken by CollierBroderick Management Consultants to ensure that the information
contained in this guide is accurate and up-to-date, as the guide is for information purposes, the contents of these
pages should not be relied upon as a substitute for your own independent HR or legal advice. We recommend that
you always consult a suitably qualified HR or legal professional on any specific matter before relying on any
information in this guide.
No responsibility or liability is accepted by or on behalf of CollierBroderick Management Consultants or anyone
associated with its production for any errors or omissions in the guide, nor for any use the information may be put to.
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3. A Guide to Employment / Work Permits
Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) Stamps
Issued to a non-EEA national who has received an employment permit,
Stamp number 1 a business permission or a working holiday authorisation. From 1 July
2009 it is issued to all non-EEA doctors.
Issued to a non-EEA national student who is permitted to work for up to
20 hours a week during term and up to 40 hours a week during holidays.
Stamp number 2
(The student must be attending a full-time course of at least a year which
is recognised by the Department of Education and Science).
Stamp number 2A Issued to a non-EEA national student who is not permitted to work.
Issued to a non-EEA national who is not permitted to work, such as, a
Stamp number 3 visitor, a retired person of independent means, a minister of religion or the
spouse or dependant of an employment permit holder.
Issued to the following categories of people, all of whom are permitted to
work without needing an employment permit or business permission:
• Spouses of Irish nationals
• Family members of EEA nationals
• People who have permission to remain on the basis of parentage
Stamp number 4 of an Irish child
• Convention and Programme refugees
• Former asylum-seekers granted leave to remain
• Non-EEA nationals on intra-company transfer
• Non-EEA nationals who have working visas or work
authorisations.
Issued to non-EEA national family members of EU citizens who have
exercised their right to move to and live in Ireland under the European
Communities (Free Movement of Persons) Regulations 2006.
Stamp number 4
(EU FAM)
People holding this stamp are permitted to work without needing an
employment permit or business permission, and they can apply for a
residence card under the Regulations.
Issued to non-EEA nationals who have lived in Ireland for at least 8 years
and who have been permitted by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law
Reform to remain in Ireland without condition as to time.
Stamp number 5
People holding this stamp are permitted to work without needing an
employment permit or business permission.
Can be placed on the foreign passport of an Irish citizen who has dual
citizenship, and who wants their entitlement to remain in Ireland to be
endorsed on their foreign passport.
Stamp number 6
This stamp certifies that the holder of the passport is permitted to remain
in Ireland without condition.
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4. Types of Employment Permit
From 1 February 2007 under the Employment Permits Acts 2003 and the Employment Permits
Act 2006 there are 4 types of employment permit:
1. Work Permit: Work permits are available for occupations with an annual salary of
€30,000 or more. A labour market needs test (see below) is required with all work permit
applications.
2. Green Card Permit: The Green Card permit is an employment permit for most
occupations with annual salaries of over €60,000 or certain occupations where there are
skill shortages (and have salaries between €30,000 and €59,999). There is no
requirement for a labour market needs test. Holders of a Green Card permit can have
their spouses and families join them immediately.
3. Intra-Company Transfer Permit: Since 1 February 2007 a new intra-company transfer
scheme has been introduced. This scheme allows senior management, key personnel
and trainees who are foreign nationals working in an overseas branch of a multi-national
company to transfer to the Irish branch. The employee must be earning at least €40,000
a year and have been working for the company for a minimum of 12 months. An intra-
company transfer permit may be granted for a maximum of 2 years initially and may be
extended to a maximum of 5 years.
4. Spousal / Dependant Permit
Who Needs an Employment Permit?
A non-EEA national, except in the cases listed below, requires an employment permit to take up
employment in Ireland (the EEA comprises the Member States of the European Union together
with Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein). It should be noted that it is an offence under the
Employment Permits Acts 2003 and 2006 for both an employer and an employee if a non-EEA
National is in employment without an appropriate employment permit.
Employment permit holders can only work for the employer and in the occupation named on the
permit. If the holder of an employment permit ceases, for any reason, to be employed by the
employer named on the permit during the period of validity of the permit, the original permit and
the certified copy must be returned immediately to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and
Employment.
Citizens of non-EEA countries who do not require Employment Permits include:
• Non-EEA nationals in the State on a Work Authorisation/Working Visa
• Van der Elst Case The European Court of Justice delivered a judgement on the Van der
Elst Case (Freedom to Provide Services) on 9 August, 1994. The Court ruled that in the
case of non-EEA workers legally employed in one Member State who are temporarily sent
on a contract to another Member State, the employer does not need to apply for
employment permits in respect of the non-nationals for the period of contract.
• Non-EEA nationals who have been granted permission to remain in the State on one of
the following grounds:
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5. permission to remain as spouse or a dependent of an Irish/EEA national;
permission to remain as the parent of an Irish citizen;
temporary leave to remain in the State on humanitarian grounds, having been in the
Asylum process.
explicit permission from the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform to
remain resident and employed in the State
appropriate business permission to operate a business in the State
• A non-EEA national who is a registered student (Swiss Nationals: In accordance with the
terms of the European Communities and Swiss Confederation Act, 2001, which came into
operation on 1 June, 2002, this enables the free movement of worker between Switzerland
and Ireland, without the need for Employment Permits).
On 17 December 2008, the Government announced its decision that, from 1 January 2009, it
would continue to restrict access to the Irish labour market for nationals of Bulgaria and
Romania.
What Countries are in the EEA / Who is an EEA-National?
The EEA is an area of free trade and free movement of peoples comprising the member states
of the European Union, in addition to Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. Therefore, those who
do not require employment permits to work in Ireland are include:
• Norway
• Iceland
• Liechtenstein
• Austria
• Belgium
• Denmark
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Ireland
• Italy
• Luxembourg
• The Netherlands
• Portugal
• Spain
• Sweden
• United Kingdom
• Cyprus
• Czech Republic
• Estonia
• Hungary
• Latvia
• Lithuania
• Malta
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6. • Poland
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
Key Changes to Employment Permits in 2009
Changes to applications for new work permits include:
No new work permits for jobs paying under €30,000 per annum;
Increase in ineligible occupational categories listing to include work riders, domestic
workers (i.e. Carers in the Home and Childminders) and HGV drivers;
Strengthening of labour market needs test by doubling EURES/FAS advertisement of the
job vacancy to 8 weeks and national press advertisement to 6 days;
Spouses and dependants of future principal work permit holders have to apply for
permits in their own right subject to the standard eligibility criteria and fees for Work
Permits;
Where the foreign national’s first time work permit application was received on or after 1st
June 2009, work permit applications will be subject to a labour market needs tests at
both first application and renewal stages;
Not necessary for those who have been working lawfully and who have held an
employment permit for 5 consecutive years to have an employment permit to remain in
employment - will apply to those made redundant after 5 years working on a permit and
to those still in employment;
Increase in the 3 month "breathing space" to 6 months for workers who lose their job in
order to allow them to secure further employment for any worker who has held an
employment permit for less than 5 years.
Employment Permit Fees
€1,500 for up to a 24-month permit; €2,250 for up to 36 months
Glossary of Immigration Terms
A person who is seeking to be recognised as a Convention refugee
Asylum seeker
under the Geneva Convention 1951
Written permission from the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform
to a non-EEA national to allow you to become established and engage in
business in Ireland. Business permission usually lasts for 1 year initially.
Business A visa-required national will still need a visa as well as the business
permission permission.
If you hold a business permission, you will have residence stamp number
1 endorsed on your passport.
The type of visa that allows a visa-required national to come to Ireland
with a view to staying a maximum of 90 days (3 months). It cannot be
C Visa
renewed and the holder must leave the State on or before expiry of the
visa.
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7. A person who is recognised as being a refugee under the criteria set down
in the 1951 Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, as
implemented by legislation in Ireland.
Convention
refugee A Convention refugee will receive residence stamp no. 4 and will be
permitted to work in Ireland without needing an employment permit or
business permission.
A visa that allows a visa-required national to come to Ireland with a view
D Visa to staying more than 90 days (3 months). The holder must register with the
relevant immigration registration officer.
A citizen of one of the member states of the European Economic Area
(EEA). The EEA is made up of the EU member states (see EU national
below) together with Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. There are similar
arrangements for Swiss nationals so the term EEA national is often used
to cover EEA and Swiss nationals.
EEA national No residence stamp is placed on the passport of an EEA national on
arrival in Ireland.
In general an EEA national (other than certain Bulgarian and Romanian
nationals) does not need an employment permit or business
permission to work in Ireland.
A document which non-EEA nationals (and certain Bulgarians and
Romanians) must have in order to be allowed to work in Ireland. This term
originally referred to work permits, working visas and work
authorisations.
Employment
permit Since 1 February 2007 there are 3 categories of employment permit:
Green Cards, work permits, and intra-company transfer. If you hold a
Green Card or a work permit, you will have residence stamp number 1
endorsed on your passport.
A citizen of the European Union. The members of the EU are: Austria,
Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia,
Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal,
Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
EU national or EU
No residence stamp is placed on the passport of an EU national on
citizen
arrival in Ireland.
An EU national (apart from certain Bulgarian and Romanian nationals) will
be permitted to work in Ireland without needing an employment permit or
business permission.
Garda National The Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) is responsible for all
Immigration immigration-related Garda operations in the State. It issues the
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8. Bureau immigration certificate of registration or GNIB card (see below) to non-
EU nationals.
GNIB card Another name for the immigration certificate of registration.
A new type of employment permit for occupations in Ireland where there
are skills shortages. Skills relate to a restricted list of occupations in the
annual salary range from €30,000 to €60,000 and for occupations in the
Green Card
annual salary range above €60,000. Since 1 February 2007 it replaced the
working visa and work authorisation. If you hold a Green Card permit
you will have residence stamp number 1 endorsed on your passport.
A card issued by the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) to all
legally resident non-EEA nationals who stay in Ireland for more than 3
months. Possession of this Certificate of Registration verifies that the
person has registered with their local immigration registration officer.
The card is a credit-card sized document. It includes the person’s photo,
Immigration the number of the relevant residence stamp (see below), date of expiry
certificate of and the GNIB reference number.
registration
Sometimes called a GNIB card or a residence permit, the card may also
be called a Green Book. It was also known as an Aliens Book.
There are several different versions of the GNIB card, depending on the
person’s status. These different types of card are described below. There
is a fee of €150 for the card (with exceptions).
Immigration officers are appointed under statute by the Minister for
Justice, Equality and Law Reform. Their functions include interviewing
those arriving in the State to establish whether they are foreign nationals,
Immigration
and if so, whether they have the correct documents and whether they
officer
should be given permission to land or be in the State. This permission
generally takes the form of a stamp on the passport. It is usually known as
a residence stamp or it may be a landing stamp only.
A member of the Garda Síochána who is responsible for the registration of
non-EEA nationals who stay in Ireland for more than 3 months.
In the Dublin metropolitan region this function resides with the GNIB at
Immigration
registration officer Burgh Quay. Outside this area, the local immigration registration officer is
the Superintendent at the local Garda district headquarters. In certain
districts, there are local arrangements. For example, people who live in the
catchment areas of Blessington Garda Station, Co. Wicklow and
Maynooth Garda Station, Co. Kildare can register at these local stations.
The type of GNIB card issued to a non-EEA national family member of an
EU citizen who has lived in the State for 5 years. The card will record the
fact that the family member’s permission to remain is residence stamp
Permanent
no. 4 EU-FAM. Even if the holder is a visa-required national, they will
residence card
not need a re-entry visa when returning to Ireland after a stay abroad.
Application form EU 3 is used to apply for this type of GNIB card. There is
no fee.
Permanent A letter issued to an EU citizen who has lived in Ireland for 5 years or
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9. residence more.
certificate
Application form EU 2 is used apply for this certificate. There is no fee.
A a non-EEA national dependant (or partner) of an EU citizen who is not
a qualifying family member (see below). They have completed an
application form EU1 and have been approved as a permitted family
member by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) under
Permitted family the European Communities (Free Movement of Persons) Regulations
member 2006.
A permitted family member will receive residence stamp no. 4 EU-FAM
and will be permitted to work in Ireland without needing an employment
permit or business permission.
A person who has been invited to Ireland by the government, usually in
response to a humanitarian crisis and at the request of the United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees. In general, they have the same rights
Programme as Convention refugees.
refugee
A Programme refugee will have residence stamp no. 4 on their passport
and will be permitted to work in Ireland without needing an employment
permit or business permission.
The non-EEA national spouse or dependent relative of an EU citizen who
has exercised the right to move to and live in Ireland under the European
Communities (Free Movement of Persons) Regulations 2006.
Qualifying family A person who has been approved by INIS as a qualifying family member
member and has completed an application form EU1 will receive residence stamp
no. 4 EU-FAM and will be permitted to work in Ireland without needing an
employment permit or business permission. The certificate of
registration card will be 4 EU-FAM (which is the residence card of a
family member of a EU citizen)
A type of GNIB card that is issued to a non-EEA citizen who is a
qualifying family member or permitted family member of an EU citizen
under the European Communities (Free Movement of Persons)
Residence card
Regulations 2006.
Form EU 1 is used to apply for this card. There is no fee.
The type of GNIB card issued to non-EEA national dependants of
citizens of Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland under the
European Communities (Aliens) Regulations 1977 and the European
Communities (Right of Residence for Non-Economically Active Persons)
Regulations 1997.
Residence
document
Formerly issued to non-EEA dependants of citizens of all the EEA and
Switzerland, it is no longer issued to non-EEA dependants of EU citizens,
who qualify for residence cards.
The holder of a residence document will receive residence stamp no. 4
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10. EU-FAM and will be permitted to work in Ireland without needing an
employment permit or business permission. EU 1 form is now used to
apply for this as well. There is no fee.
An endorsement placed on the passport of a non-EEA national permitting
them to remain in Ireland. It specifies the duration for which the person is
Residence stamp permitted to remain and the conditions under which they may remain (for
or permission to example, whether they are allowed to work or not). This stamp must be
remain kept up to date at all times.
The different types of stamp are explained below.
Temporary A document issued by the Refugee Applications Commissioner to
residence asylum-seekers. It contains personal details and a photograph of the
certificate person who is seeking asylum. It is not an identity document.
An Irish visa is a certificate stating that the foreign national identified in it is
permitted by the government to be present at the frontier of the state for
the purpose of seeking permission to enter the state. A visa is valid only if
affixed to a passport or travel document.
Visa The granting of a visa only a form of pre-clearance. A visa merely permits
a person to travel to the state during the validity period of the visa. The
visa does not grant permission to enter or reside in the State. This
permission is given by the immigration officer at the point of entry, who
has the authority to grant or deny such admission. Applicants’ passports
should be valid for at least 6 months after the intended date of departure
from Ireland following visits.
A person who needs a visa if travelling to Ireland. The states whose
nationals do not require a visa are listed in Schedule 1 of the current Visas
Visa-required
Order. The list of states can change at any time and a new Order is issued
national
in this case. EEA nationals do not require visas. There are about 60 other
states listed in the Order, whose nationals do not require a visa.
A type of permission to work given to non-EEA nationals who do not
require a visa to enter Ireland, and who have been offered employment in
a specific category where skill shortages are particularly acute. Since 1
February 2007, the work authorisation scheme has been replaced by the
Green Card permit.
Work
Work authorisations were issued by an Irish embassy or consulate abroad.
authorisation
They last for 2 years and could be renewed by an immigration
registration officer. They relate to a particular employment sector, but
the holder may change employers within that sector.
If you hold a work authorisation, you will have residence stamp number
4 endorsed on your passport.
A type of employment permit issued for occupations in the annual salary
range from €30,000 to €60,000 and for a very few employments with
Work permit annual salaries below €30,000. Some occupations are ineligible for work
permits and the employer must have shown that the relevant vacancy
could not be filled from within the EEA (or Switzerland). It lasts for 2 years
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11. and is renewable. If you hold a work permit you will have residence
stamp number 1 on your passport.
A type of permission to work given to non-EEA nationals who require a
visa to enter Ireland, and have been offered employment in a category of
employment where skill shortages are particularly acute. Since 1 February
2007 the working visa has been replaced by the Green Card permit.
Working visas were issued by an Irish embassy or consulate abroad. They
Working visa
last for 2 years and could be renewed by an immigration registration
officer. They relate to a particular employment sector, but the holder may
change employers within that sector.
If you hold a working visa, you will have residence stamp number 4
endorsed on your passport.
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12. For
Consultation Services relating to HR, Employment Law, Contract of Employment,
Policies and Procedures and Employee Handbooks
Contact
Helena Broderick
Managing Consultant
Tel: +353 1 8666426
Mob: + 353 87 9074843
E-mail: hbroderick@collierbroderick.ie
Services are available nationwide through our team of experienced HR
practitioners and employment law consultants
Web: www.collierbroderick.ie
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