Critical Skills Employment Permit
Residency route facts
Identity
| Official name (local) | Critical Skills Employment Permit as of 2026-08-11[1][2] Commonly abbreviated CSEP. It replaced the Green Card employment permit. English is an official language of Ireland; no Irish-language official name appears in the sources read. |
|---|---|
| Official name (English) | Critical Skills Employment Permit as of 2026-08-11[1][2] |
| Legal basis | Employment Permits Act 2024, as amended; Employment Permits Regulations 2024 as of 2026-08-11[1][2][4] |
| Instrument type | Recorded at the source, but not reducible to a single value as of 2026-08-11[1][2] |
Who can apply
Permit terms
| Initial duration | Not established from a qualifying source |
|---|---|
| Renewable | Not established from a qualifying source Not stated in those terms. DETE states that holders whose permit and immigration registration card are due to expire "will not be required to apply for a renewal permit" and instead apply directly to the Department of Justice for a Stamp 4 — which records that renewal is not the expected path, not that renewal is unavailable. |
| Work rights | employment only as of 2026-08-11[1][2] The permit allows employment in the State by the named employer, in the occupation and at the location(s) specified on the permit. A new employment permit for a different employer cannot be considered until nine months have elapsed since the holder first commenced employment in the State under an employment permit (Employment Permits Regulations 2024, s. 18), except on redundancy or where unforeseen circumstances fundamentally change the employment relationship. Citizens Information records that since 2 September 2024 a change of employer after nine months does not require a new permit but must be within the profession. DETE records that the Act allows promotion and internal transfer within the same company where the same skills are used. |
Permanent residence and citizenship
Requirements
| Job offer required | Yes as of 2026-08-11[1][2] A job offer of at least two years' duration from a bona fide employer trading in Ireland and registered with the Revenue Commissioners and, where applicable, the Companies Registration Office. For job offers of less than two years DETE directs the applicant to the General Employment Permit. |
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| Salary threshold |
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| Labour-market test | No as of 2026-08-11[1][2] "Because the skills are identified as being in short supply, a Labour Market Needs Test is not required." |
| Qualification requirement | degree, equivalent experience, regulated profession as of 2026-08-11[2] Alternatives, not cumulative: a relevant degree qualification or higher for the restricted set of Critical Skills Occupations List roles at the EUR 40,904 threshold; the necessary level of experience instead of a degree where the remuneration is over EUR 68,911; and, for a nurse or midwife, a third-level degree or diploma accepted by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland as sufficient for registration to practise in the State. |
| Employer sponsorship | Yes as of 2026-08-11[1][2] Either the prospective employee or the employer may apply, but the permit is tied to a named employer and to the occupation and location(s) specified on it. An employment permit will not issue unless at least 50% of the employees in the firm are EEA nationals at the time of application (the 50:50 rule). It is waived for start-ups registered as an employer with Revenue within the last two years and supported by Enterprise Ireland or IDA Ireland, and where the foreign national will be the employer's sole employee. |
| Job-search route | No as of 2026-08-11[2] Not a job-search instrument: a job offer is a condition of the permit. |
Process
| Where to apply from | either as of 2026-08-11[1][2] |
|---|---|
| Statutory processing time | Not established from a qualifying source No statutory decision period is stated. DETE requires an application to be received at least 12 weeks before the proposed employment start date, and describes up to three stages (queueing by employer type, processing by a decision maker, and an optional review within 28 days by a more senior official). |
| Observed processing time | Not established from a qualifying source |
| Fees |
|
Physical presence
| none stated | to keep the permit as of 2026-08-11[2] No minimum-presence day count and no maximum-absence rule is stated. The stated conditions are employment with the named employer in the named occupation, notification of redundancy within four weeks, and return of the permit within four weeks of cessation of employment. This records the absence of a stated rule, not a sourced statement that no rule exists. |
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Family inclusion
| Family members may be included | Yes as of 2026-08-11[1][2][5] DETE: "Permit holders can apply for immediate family reunification from the Immigration Service Delivery (ISD)." ISD classes a CSEP holder as a Category B sponsor, who may be joined by a spouse, civil partner, de facto partner or (for a minor) parent immediately, and by other family members after two years in the State on an eligible permission. See the ie-join-family-non-eea route for the conditions. |
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| Eligible relations | spouse, registered partner, unmarried partner, minor child as of 2026-08-11[1][6] Immediate reunification under Category B covers the spouse, civil partner, de facto partner and — where the applicant is an unmarried minor child under 18 — the parent. Other family members are covered only after two years. Dependent adult relatives are governed by the separate thresholds in the ie-join-family-non-eea route. |
| Family may apply at the same time | Not established from a qualifying source |
| Family members' work rights | Recorded at the source, but not reducible to a single value as of 2026-08-11[1][3] |
Your next step
Read the requirements above considering your own situation: the income multiple, the absence limits, who you can bring. Check the country record for the reference figure those amounts are calculated from, and for anything that has changed recently.
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Verification
| Sources cited | 7 |
|---|---|
| of which official (tier 1) | 7 |
| Oldest as-of date | 2026-08-11 |
| Newest as-of date | 2026-08-11 |
| Reviewed on | 2026-08-17 |
| Schema version | 1.1 |
Sources
- [1] Types of employment permits
Citizens Information Board · official guidance · Tier 1 · Published 2026-03-02 · Accessed 2026-08-11 - [2] Critical Skills Employment Permits — eligibility, remuneration, fee, renewals
Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-11 - [3] Dependant/Partner/Spouse Employment Permit — eligibility, duration, fee
Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-11 - [4] Types of employment permits — the nine permit types under the Employment Permits Act 2024
Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-11 - [5] Financial Thresholds for Non-EEA Family Reunification
Immigration Service Delivery, Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2026-06-12 · Accessed 2026-08-11 - [6] Join non-EEA family member — sponsor categories, application, processing time, supporting documents
Immigration Service Delivery, Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-11 - [7] Long Term Residency — conditions and eligibility
Immigration Service Delivery, Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2025-02-06 · Accessed 2026-08-11