Skilled work
Critical Skills Employment Permit (CSEP)
Ireland's premium work permit for occupations in short supply. No labour market needs test, immediate family reunification, and, when the 2-year permit expires, Stamp 4 permission to live and work without an employment permit.
Path to settlementWhen the 2-year permit expires, holders apply directly to the Department of Justice for Stamp 4 permission to live and work without an employment permit (General Employment Permit holders renew the permit instead). Long Term Residency can be applied for after 60 months of residence permission.
Requirements and sources
- Tier 1: minimum EUR 40,904/yr (from 1 March 2026) for occupations on the Critical Skills Occupations List, with a relevant degree or higher.
- Reduced to EUR 36,848 where the qualification was obtained in the 12 months before applying — the recent-graduate rate.
- Tier 2: minimum EUR 68,911/yr for any occupation not on the Ineligible List of Occupations.
- Job offer of at least 2 years; you must stay with the initial employer for the first 9 months.
- Fee EUR 1,000, with 90% refunded if the application is unsuccessful. No Labour Market Needs Test.
- Employer must normally meet the 50:50 EEA/non-EEA staffing rule (waived for some Enterprise Ireland/IDA-backed start-ups).
- How the degree matters
- Tier 1 requires a relevant degree and an occupation on the Critical Skills Occupations List (ICT, engineering, health, science, finance). Tier 2 substitutes a high salary for the list.
Sources: Critical Skills Employment Permit (enterprise.gov.ie) · Employment permit salary roadmap, Dec 2025 (enterprise.gov.ie)
Skilled work
General Employment Permit (GEP)
The broader work permit for occupations not on the Critical Skills list. Lower salary threshold but a Labour Market Needs Test usually applies. Since May 2024, spouses and partners who are granted family reunification get a Stamp 1G permission, which lets them work without their own employment permit.
Path to settlementLong Term Residency (Stamp 4) after 5 years on eligible permit stamps.
Requirements and sources
- Standard minimum salary EUR 36,605/yr from 1 March 2026 (up from EUR 34,000).
- Reduced rates: EUR 32,691 for horticulture workers, meat processor operatives, health care assistants and home support workers; EUR 34,009 for recent graduates of an Irish college.
- Labour Market Needs Test required in most cases (advertise via DSP/EURES plus an online platform); waived if salary is EUR 68,911 or more.
- Occupations on the Ineligible List of Occupations are excluded regardless of salary.
- Fee EUR 500 (up to 6 months) or EUR 1,000 (6-24 months); 90% refund if unsuccessful.
- Issued for up to 2 years, renewable for up to a further 3 years.
- How the degree matters
- No degree requirement as such, but the occupation must not be on the Ineligible List; a degree earned in Ireland in the previous 12 months unlocks the lower EUR 34,009 threshold.
Sources: General Employment Permit (enterprise.gov.ie) · Stamp 1G for spouses and partners of General Employment Permit holders (irishimmigration.ie)
After studying there
Third Level Graduate Programme (Stamp 1G)
Ireland's post-study work permission. It lets non-EEA graduates of Irish institutions stay on and look for, and take, graduate-level work without an employment permit while they arrange one.
Path to settlementNone directly — Stamp 1G is a bridge to a Critical Skills or General Employment Permit, which then counts toward Long Term Residency.
Requirements and sources
- Level 8 award: 12 months' permission. Level 9 or above: 12 months, renewable for a further 12 (24 months total).
- You must currently hold Stamp 2 and apply within 6 months of being notified of your award.
- The award must be from a recognised Irish awarding body, notified on or after 1 January 2017.
- Full-time employment is permitted; self-employment is not.
- Subject to an overall cap on student permission (7 years, or 8 years for Level 9+ pathways). Fee EUR 300.
- Level 9+ renewal requires evidence of genuine efforts to find graduate-level employment.
- How the degree matters
- Duration is set by the NFQ level of the award: Level 8 (honours bachelor's) gets 12 months, Level 9+ (master's/PhD) up to 24 months.
Sources: Third Level Graduate Programme (irishimmigration.ie) · Immigration permission stamps: Stamp 1G employment conditions (irishimmigration.ie)
Youth mobility
Working Holiday Authorisation
Ireland's youth mobility scheme, open to 11 partner countries. South Africa is not one of them, so this route is not available to South African passport holders.
Path to settlementNot applicable to South Africans.
Requirements and sources
- Eligible countries: Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, USA and Taiwan.
- South Africa has no bilateral working holiday agreement with Ireland.
- Stay is up to 1 year (2 years for Canadians).
- Other routes open to South Africans include the employment permits and study in Ireland followed by the Stamp 1G graduate permission.
- How the degree matters
- Not applicable — the scheme is nationality- and age-based.
Sources: Working holidays in Ireland (irishimmigration.ie)
General information, not immigration advice: confirm current rules with the official sources. Ireland overview →
