Dependant/Partner/Spouse Employment Permit
Residency route facts
Identity
| Official name (local) | Dependant/Partner/Spouse Employment Permit as of 2026-08-11[1][3] DETE's own page is headed "Dependant Employment Permits" while the permit-types page and Citizens Information name it Dependant/Partner/Spouse Employment Permit. English is an official language of Ireland; no Irish-language official name appears in the sources read. |
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| Official name (English) | Dependant/Partner/Spouse Employment Permit as of 2026-08-11[1][3] |
| Legal basis | Employment Permits Act 2024, as amended; Employment Permits Regulations 2024 as of 2026-08-11[3][4] |
| Instrument type | Recorded at the source, but not reducible to a single value as of 2026-08-11[3] |
Who can apply
Permit terms
| Initial duration | Not established from a qualifying source Relational rather than numeric: the permit issues only to the expiry of the primary permit holder's employment permit, or the expiry of the researcher's or former Green Card/CSEP/Hosting Agreement holder's immigration stamp, subject to a maximum of two years. |
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| How the initial term is set | matches the sponsor's permit |
| Renewable | Yes as of 2026-08-11[3] A renewal may be submitted up to four months before expiry and up to one month after expiry. Renewal is on the same relational basis, subject to a maximum of three years. A holder who separates from the primary permit holder is no longer eligible to renew. |
| Renewal duration | Not established from a qualifying source Relational, as for the initial grant: tied to the primary permit holder's or researcher's permission, subject to a maximum of three years. No fixed renewal term is stated. |
| Maximum total duration | 2 years as of 2026-08-11[3] |
| Work rights | employment only as of 2026-08-11[3] Employment in the State by the named employer in the occupation and location(s) specified on the permit. All jobs are eligible except that of domestic operative. The nine-month rule applies as for other permit types, with redundancy and fundamental change of the employment relationship as exceptions. |
Permanent residence and citizenship
| Counts toward permanent residence | Yes as of 2026-08-11[3][5] DETE: a non-EEA national who has held valid Dependant Employment Permits consecutively for five years or more and worked lawfully throughout may no longer require an employment permit and should contact the Department of Justice to apply for a temporary Stamp 4; the Long Term Residency scheme's stated eligibility is 60 months as the holder of an employment permit issued by DETE. |
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Requirements
| Job offer required | Yes as of 2026-08-11[3] "In order to take up employment in Ireland they must have a job offer and then apply for a Dependant Employment Permit." |
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| Salary threshold |
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| Labour-market test | No as of 2026-08-11[3] "The prospective employer is not required to undertake a Labour Market Needs Test, that is, advertise the position." |
| Employer sponsorship | Yes as of 2026-08-11[3] Tied to a named employer, occupation and location(s). The normal employer criteria apply, including the 50:50 EEA rule with the sole-employee exception. A letter from the primary permit holder's employer dated within the preceding three months, confirming that they remain in employment and their job title, is required. |
| Job-search route | No as of 2026-08-11[3] Not a job-search instrument: a job offer is a condition of the permit. |
Process
| Where to apply from | in-country only as of 2026-08-11[3] "Applications for Employment Permits for a dependant, residing outside the State will not be accepted." The permit issues only to a person already residing in the State as the dependant of the primary permit holder or researcher. |
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| Statutory processing time | Not established from a qualifying source No statutory decision period is stated. An application must be received at least 12 weeks before the proposed employment start date. |
| Observed processing time | Not established from a qualifying source |
| Fees |
Physical presence
| none stated | to keep the permit as of 2026-08-11[3] No day count or absence rule is stated. The permit's continuing conditions are residence in the State with the primary permit holder or researcher, not being in full-time education, and the primary holder remaining within the terms of their own permit or hosting agreement. This records the absence of a stated rule. |
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Family inclusion
| Family members may be included | Not applicable as of 2026-08-11[3] The route is itself a derived permission held by a family member of a primary permit holder; no separate family-inclusion rule attaches to it in either source read. |
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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.
The next step is your own case. That assessment is legal work. Create profile for our assistance in this.
Profile benefits
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Verification
| Sources cited | 5 |
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| of which official (tier 1) | 5 |
| 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] 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