IRP, visa and employment permit: what’s the difference?

The short answer

EU, EEA, Swiss and UK citizens don’t need any of them.

Check what you need

Choose your citizenship, why you’re coming and for how long. You’ll see which of the four you need, in order.

The visa: permission to travel

ISD describes a visa as a form of pre-clearance. It lets you travel to Ireland during the dates printed on it and ask an immigration officer to let you in. It doesn’t give you permission to enter or to live here.

• A short stay (C) visa is for up to 90 days: a holiday, a family visit, business or a short course. You can’t work on it, paid or unpaid, unless it’s a business, performance or atypical employment visa.
• A long stay (D) visa is for coming to live here: to work, study or join family.
• You apply from the country you live in, up to 3 months before you travel. Your passport should be valid for at least 6 months after you plan to leave Ireland.

Only some nationalities need a visa. ISD’s travel path tells you if yours does.

The employment permit: permission to work

Most people from outside the EU, EEA, UK and Switzerland need an employment permit to work here. It comes from the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, not from ISD, and it’s for one employer, one job and the locations named on it.

• You or your employer apply on Employment Permits Online, at least 12 weeks before the job starts.
• The permit is issued to you, and your employer gets a certified copy.
• There are nine types, the main ones being the Critical Skills and General Employment Permits.
• If your nationality needs a visa, the permit comes first: ISD refuses an employment visa without one.
• Short-term work of up to 90 days is usually covered by ISD’s Atypical Working Scheme instead.

Not everyone needs a permit to work: people on Stamp 4, and on Stamp 1G as a graduate or as the partner of many permit holders, can work without one.

The stamp at the border: permission to land

When you arrive, an immigration officer decides whether to let you in and for how long, whatever your visa says, and stamps your passport. That stamp is your first permission, usually for up to 3 months.

The IRP card: proof you’ve registered

If you’re staying more than 90 days, you register your permission with ISD. Your Irish Residence Permit (IRP) card comes by post afterwards. It’s credit-card sized and shows:

• your name, signature, photo, date of birth and registration number;
• a short description of your permission, including your stamp number;
• a microchip with a copy of your photo, fingerprints and personal details.

It usually costs €300. Your stamp, not the card itself, sets what you can do here: work, study, run a business. ISD says the card doesn’t give you any new rights.

• It lets you travel and come back. With an in-date card, visa-required nationals don’t need a re-entry visa.
• It isn’t an ID card, but it proves you’re here legally. Carry it, and show it if asked.
• It doesn’t let you travel to or live in other EU countries.
• Children under 16 don’t register, so they don’t have one. They register once they turn 16.

How they fit together

If you need a visa and you’re coming to work, you get all four, always in this order:

1. Employment permit from the Department of Enterprise;
2. Long stay (D) employment visa, once the permit is granted;
3. Stamp at the border when you arrive;
4. Registration and an IRP card with Stamp 1, within 90 days.

After that, they run separately. Your employment permit and your IRP card have their own expiry dates and are renewed separately: the permit with the Department of Enterprise, your permission with ISD.

Common mix-ups

Common questions

Sources