Ireland: direct work access granted for spouses/partners of ICTs and General Employment Permit Holders!
15 May 2024Permits Foundation is delighted to share the fantastic news that in Ireland, spouses and partners of Intra-Corporate Transferees and General Employment Permit Holders will now have direct access to employment.
This follows an announcement made today by the Minister for Justice Helen McEntee TD, and the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Peter Burke TD.
Minister McEntee said: “Many spouses are skilled workers who have left significant jobs and roles to join their families here and wished to continue their careers in Ireland. Fundamentally, I saw this as a missed opportunity, which risked making Ireland less attractive for workers while limiting a person’s ability to contribute to the economy and provide for their family.”
This means that spouses and partners of these work permit holders currently in Ireland under a Stamp 3 permission will now be able to work immediately, they will not need to attend an immigration office to change their permission. Going forward, spouses and partners will be granted a stamp 1G permission, as is the case for spouses and partners of Critical Skills Employment Permit holders.
The decision, which takes immediate effect, has been jointly supported by the Department of Justice and the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment as part of their commitment to making Ireland’s economic migration arrangements fair, efficient and responsive.
Ireland is a priority country for Permits Foundation and in recent years and months, we have been working with a number of organisations in our sponsor network and with policy makers in Ireland to recommend change. This includes via our evidence based submissions to government, round tables in Dublin and in coordinating messages and company letters of support. Particular thanks go to Deloitte, Fragomen and Newland Chase.
This is a wonderful development that we look forward to sharing at our Conference and a fitting example of what we can achieve when we partner for progress.
Further details about the changes in Ireland are available on the Department of Justice website.
Permits Foundation’s work in Ireland is available here
