Green Card permits

Information
Rules
Rates
How to apply
Where to apply

Information
If you are a national from a country which is not in the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland, in general you will need an employment permit to work in Ireland. From 1 February 2007 under the Employment Permits Acts 2003 and the Employment Permits Act 2006 there are 4 types of employment permit: Green Card permit, work permit, spousal/dependant permit and intra-company transfer permit (see below).

Note: the European Economic Area comprises the European Union member states, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. People coming from Switzerland to work in Ireland do not need an employment permit. Nationals of Bulgaria and Romania may still need employment permits.

New Green Card permits from 1 February 2007 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. The Green Card permit replaces the working visa and work authorisation which have been discontinued.

The main features of the Green Card permit scheme are:

The Green Card permit is available for occupations with annual salaries of €60,000 or more
It is also available for a restricted list of occupations with annual salaries of €30,000 to €59,999 in the following sectors of employment: information and communications technology, healthcare, industry, financial services and research (see list of occupations below)
There is no requirement for a labour market needs test - see below
The Green Card permit is issued first for 2 years, and will normally lead to granting of long-term or permanent residence
Holders of a Green Card permit can have their spouses and families join them immediately.

Other employment permit changes (including Green Cards)

Either the employer or employee can apply for the employment permit, based on an offer of employment
It is granted to the employee and includes a statement of the employee's rights and entitlements
A copy of the employment permit is sent to the employer
The employer is prohibited from deducting recruitment expenses from the employee's pay or retaining the employee's personal documents

Employees working on employment permits are protected by employment legislation in exactly the same way as other employees.

Rules
Job offer
You must have a job offer from a company or employer who is registered with the Revenue Commissioners, trading in Ireland and registered with the Companies Registration Office. You must be directly employed and paid by your employer in Ireland. Job offers from recruitment agencies and other intermediaries are not acceptable under the scheme. The job offer must be for 2 years or more.

Labour market needs test
A labour market needs test is not required, that is the employer does not need to advertise the job with FÁS/EURES or in newspapers. However, an employment permit will not be granted to companies if the granting of the permit would mean that more than 50% of the employees would be non-EEA nationals.

Qualifications
You must have the relevant qualifications, skills and experience required for the job.Eligible occupations
There are two categories of eligible occupations as follows: (1) For jobs with annual salaries of €60,000 or more the Green Card permit is available for all occupations (other than those which are contrary to the public interest)

(2) For jobs with annual salaries of €30,000 – €59,999 Green Card applications may be made for the following occupations listed here:

Eligible occupations (annual salary between €30,000 – €59,999)

Economic Sector	Occupation	Job Titles
Information Technology	ICT professional	Computer systems managers, Computer analysts, Computer programmers, Computer testers
Healthcare	Health professionals	Registered nurses, Registered midwives, Medical practitioners, Specialist nurses, Pharmacists/Pharmacologists, Dental practitioners
Healthcare	Health associate professionals	Dieticians, Occupational therapists, Orthoptists, Medical physicists Psychologists, Speech and language therapists, Social workers, Medical scientists, Physiotherapists, ECG technicians, Neurophysiological measurement technicians, Cardiac catheterisation technicians, Vascular technicians, Respiratory technicians, GI function technicians, Audiologists, Biochemists, Medical radiographers
Industry	Professional engineers and technologists	Civil, Mining, Electrical, Software, Chemical, Design and Development, Planning and Quality Control, Network, Validation, Product Development, Process and Equality
Industry	Construction professionals	Architects, Quantity and other surveyors, Building managers
Education/Healthcare/ Industry	Researchers and natural scientists	Researchers, Chemists, Natural scientists, Biological scientists, Physicists, Material scientists
Financial	Business and financial professionals and associate professionals	Chartered and Certified Accountants, Actuaries, Economists, Statisticians, Management consultants, Business analysts, Underwriters, Claims assessors and analysts, Risk professionals, Security specialists, Fund and investment management specialists, Common law jurisdiction lawyers with experience of the financial services sector, Investment funds professionals, Fund accountants, Fund valuations professionals, Fund administrators, Custody specialists, Transfer agents, Hedge fund specialists, Compliance specialists, Risk specialists, Tax experts, Legal experts
Industry/Services	Specialist managers	Marketing and other specialist managers

Duration of permit and renewal
The Green Card permit is issued for 2 years initially and after that it will normally be renewed indefinitely – see “How to apply” below.

If you are a non-EEA national already working in Ireland on a valid work permit you may apply for a Green Card permit provided you meet the criteria. You must return your work permit with your new application for a Green Card permit. If you are not eligible for a Green Card permit you may apply to renew your work permit when it expires. Applications for work permit renewals will be processed under the new arrangements for work permits.

Intra-company transfer scheme
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.

Visas
If you have a passport from a country whose passport holders require a visa to enter Ireland you should apply for an entry visa from the Irish embassy or consulate in the country where you live.

You do not require a visa if you are a national of one of the countries listed below.

Andorra	Guatemala	Paraguay
Antigua and Barbuda	Guyana	Poland
Argentina	Honduras	Portugal
Australia	Hong Kong (SAR)	Romania
Austria	Hungary	Saint Kitts and Nevis
Bahamas	Iceland	Saint Lucia
Barbados	Israel	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Belgium	Italy	Samoa
Belize	Japan	San Marino
Bolivia	Kiribati	Seychelles
Botswana	Latvia	Singapore
Brazil	Lesotho	Slovak Republic
Brunei	Liechtenstein	Slovenia
Bulgaria	Lithuania	Solomon Islands
Canada	Luxembourg	South Africa
Chile	Macau (SAR)	South Korea
Costa Rica	Malawi	Spain
Croatia	Malaysia	Swaziland
Cyprus	Maldives	Sweden
Czech Republic	Malta	Switzerland
Denmark	Mauritius	Tonga
Dominica	Mexico	Trinidad and Tobago
El Salvador	Monaco	Tuvalu
Estonia	Nauru	United Kingdom and Colonies
Fiji	Netherlands	United States of America
Finland	New Zealand	Uruguay
France	Nicaragua	Vanuatu
Germany	Norway	Vatican City
Greece	Panama	Venezuela
Grenada

Registration and permission to remain
If you are not an EEA or Swiss national you must register with the Garda Síochána in the area where you intend to live when you arrive in the State. In the Dublin area, the registration is done at the Garda National Immigration Bureau. If you are living outside Dublin, you should register at your local Garda District Headquarters. This is in order to obtain permission to remain and to ensure you have the correct immigration status, that is, as an employee.

After you have been in Ireland for 2 years on a Green Card permit you can make an application for permanent residence to the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service – see “Where to apply” below.

Dependants
You may apply to have your spouse and/or minor dependent children join you once you have obtained your Green Card permit. You should apply for family reunification to the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service – see “Where to apply” below. Spouses and dependants of employees on employment permits may be able to obtain spousal/dependant work permits provided they are legally resident here.

Changing job
If this is your first employment permit in Ireland then you are expected to remain with your employer for 12 months (unless there are exceptional circumstances). After that you may change employer provided that a new application for a Green Card permit is made. If you have an indefinite Green Card permit you may change employment at any time.

Losing your job
If you lose your job through redundancy you have the right to remain and seek new employment for as long as your original employment permit remains valid.

Rates
The fees for a Green Card permit must be paid by the applicant and are as follows:

Permit	Fee	Duration
New	€1,000	Up to 2 years
Renewal	€1,500	Indefinite

The fees for an intra-company transfer permit are as follows:

Permit	Fee	Duration
New	€500	Up to 6 months
New	€1,000	Up to 2 years
Renewal	€1,500	Up to 3 years

How to apply
Applications for a Green Card permit should be made to the Employment Permits Section of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. Note: Irish embassies do not process applications for Green Card permits.

Either the employer or the employee can apply using the new employment permit application form.

When applying for a Green Card permit you should supply:

A completed application form for a Green Card
A job offer for 2 or more years on company headed paper, dated within the previous 60 days, including a description of the employment, the starting date, annual salary and information on the employee’s qualifications, skills or experience required for the job
Documentary evidence of the employee’s qualifications
The application fee of €1,000
Copy of the employee’s passport - the employee’s passport must be in date and valid for 3 months after the proposed expiry date of the Green Card.
Where applicable, copies of all visas, residency stamps and copy of the employee’s GNIB Registration card
If the employee is a medical professional, a copy of the registration with the appropriate medical body or a validation of qualifications from the Department of Health and Children. There is a list of registration and validation bodies for medical professionals in the Guide to Green Card Permits - see below. There are new arrangements for employment permit applications for doctors and nurses.

Renewal: either the employer or the employee can apply for a renewal of a Green Card permit using the renewal form for an employment permit and including:

A completed form stating it is a Green Card application with relevant documentation as above. The employee’s passport must be valid for 12 months
The renewal fee of €1,500
Copies of the employee’s P60s for each year of employment on a Green Card permit and copies of 3 recent payslips (dated within previous 3 months)

There is further information in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment's Guide to Green Card Permits.

Intra-company transfer permit: applications for an intra-company transfer permit should be made by the host organisation in Ireland using the application form for an intra-company transfer permit.

You should allow 2 to 3 months for a new application or renewal to be processed.

Where to apply
Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment,
Davitt House
65a Adelaide Road
Dublin 02
Ireland
Opening Hours: 9:30-13:00 & 14:00-17:
Tel: +353 1 631 3333/3308
Locall: 1890 201 616
Fax: +353 1 631 3268
Homepage: http://www.entemp.ie
Email: employmentpermits@entemp.ie

Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service
13/14 Burgh Quay
Dublin 2
Ireland
Tel: +353 1 616 7700
Locall: 1890 551 500
Fax: +353 1 616 7767
Homepage: http://www.justice.ie Email: citizenship_mail@justice.ie

The above information has been kindly provided by http://www.citizensinformation.ie

Moving to Ireland: Rights of Residence in Ireland, Introduction to the Irish System, Working in Ireland, Studying in Ireland, Practical issues when travelling to Ireland, Returning to Ireland.