Business Immigration
Update
|
Emma
Flanagan
Senior Manager
Human Capital |
It is important for employers to
be aware of the immigration requirements when employing
or seconding non-EEA nationals to work in Ireland.
The main immigration requirements for Ireland are
summarised below. When applying for entry visas and
work permits, employers and employees alike should
be mindful that the processing times can be significant
(up to 10 weeks).
Entry visas
Nationals of
non-EEA countries require entry visas, which must
be obtained prior to travelling to Ireland. There
are various categories of entry visas and the category
of visa issued will depend on the purpose of the trip
to Ireland (e.g. study, business, employment, etc).
Non-EEA nationals should therefore ensure that they
hold the category of entry visa intended for the purpose
of their visit to Ireland. In general, if an incorrect
visa is obtained, it can be very difficult to change
it while in Ireland. It may be necessary for the individual
to leave Ireland and re-apply for the correct category
of visa before re-entering Ireland.
Work permits
In order to work legally in Ireland,
a non-EEA national must hold one of the following:
• work permit;
• intra-company transfer concession;
• work authorisation/work visa scheme.
Work
permits
 A
work permit is permission issued to a registered employer
to employ a non-EEA national in a specified job, for
a specified period not exceeding one year. Only an
employer can apply for a work permit. In general,
the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment
will not consider new work permit applications from
employers except where the employer is seeking to
employ a highly skilled or qualified individual. The
Department does not define ‘highly skilled’
or ‘qualified’ individual for the purposes
of granting a work permit, but advise that where the
employer believes the job requires an individual with
specific skills and they can verify a shortage of
such skilled individuals in the labour market, then
an application should be made for consideration. The
Department has issued a list of job types that are
ineligible for work permit purposes (i.e. under no
circumstances will a work permit be issued for this
job type).
If the vacancy is eligible for work permit purposes,
the employer must advertise the vacancy on the website
of FÁS Jobs Ireland (Irish Government employment
agency). If no suitable Irish or EEA national is identified
for the job through this advertisement process, the
employer can then proceed with making an application
for a work permit, but only when a specific individual
has been identified to fill the vacancy.
Intra-company
transfer concession
An intra-company transfer concession is a category
of work permit designed specifically to facilitate
the transfer of highly skilled senior management and
key personnel from an overseas branch of a multinational
corporation to an Irish branch of the same organisation,
to fulfill a specific short-term role. A work permit
and intra-company transfer concession are mutually
exclusive. There are no concessions or preferential
procedures in relation to moving from an intra-company
transfer concession to a work permit.
There is no application form for
an intra-company transfer concession since such concessions
are issued further to a written case being presented
to Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment
for consideration.
Work
authorisation/work visa scheme
A work authoristion/work visa is a category of work
permit issued to a non-EEA national who has sought
employment in Ireland within a designated skills category.
The individual seeking employment must make the application
and in doing so must have a valid contract of employment
from an Irish organisation within the designated skills
category permitted under the scheme.
Spousal Employment
Permit Scheme
In February 2004, the Spousal Employment
Permits Scheme was introduced to facilitate spouses
of non-EEA nationals to obtain permission to work
legally in Ireland. These new arrangements are designed
to give ease of access to employment in Ireland for
eligible spouses. Eligible spouses are non-EEA nationals
of:
• individuals working in Ireland on a work authorisation/work
visa;
• certain intra-company transferees;
• certain academics and researchers on work
permits;
• certain registered medical professionals on
work permits.
 This
new scheme does not generally cover the spouses of
individuals working in Ireland on foot of work permits.
In addition, the new arrangements do not remove the
requirement for a work permit for eligible spouses.
Rather, they give greater ease of access to employment
for such spouses by:
- not requiring the employer in
question to advertise the job with FÁS in
advance of making a work permit application;
- accepting applications for jobs
in categories that would otherwise be ineligible
for work permits;
- exempting the application from
the work permit fee.
The existing employee and eligible
spouse must be married and have a legally recognised
marriage certificate. The spouse of the existing employee
must be resident in Ireland. An application for an
employment permit under this scheme cannot be made
from abroad.
Residence permits
On arrival in Ireland, non-EEA nationals
who intend residing in Ireland for longer than 90
days must obtain an Irish residence permit.
Immigration and
Residence Bill
 The
Immigration and Residence Bill will shortly be published
with a view to streamlining the work permit and visa
application processes. The Minister for Justice, Equality
and Law Reform has published a discussion document
in advance of the Bill and has invited comments and
feedback from the public on the issues involved. The
closing date for comments is 31 July 2005. A future
edition of this newsletter will discuss the implications
of the Bill once published by the Minister.
|
