Irish Immigration 2026: Key Changes for Employers

2026 has brought significant change to Irish immigration law, including new salary thresholds for employment permits, proposed citizenship reforms and a pilot to combine the employment permit and visa processes.

Latest Salary Thresholds for Employment Permits

With effect from 1 March 2026, the employment permit thresholds increased as follows:

1. Critical Skills Employment Permit: €40,904 with a relevant degree (up from €38,000), or €68,911 without a relevant degree but with relevant experience.
2. General Employment Permit and Intra-Company Transfer (trainees): €36,605 (up from €34,000).
3. Intra-Company Transfer (key personnel or senior management) and Contract for Services Permits: €49,523 (up from €46,000).
4. Specified sectors (meat processing operatives, horticulture workers, healthcare assistants, home carers and care workers): €32,691 (up from €30,000).
5. Recent graduates (Level 8 or above, graduated within the 12 months before the application): €34,009 for General Employment Permits (graduates of Irish institutions) and €36,848 for Critical Skills Employment Permits (graduates of any recognised third-level institution) where the qualification is relevant to the role.

The new thresholds apply to new applications and renewals submitted on or after 1 March 2026 and to Labour Market Needs Test advertisements published from that date. For existing permit holders, the salary must meet the threshold in force at the time of renewal.

Changes to hours or pay during a permit’s term should still be checked against the threshold. Employers relying on a graduate threshold should consider whether the salary will be sufficient at the time of renewal.

A further increase is expected in January 2027, although the amount has not yet been announced. From 2027 to 2030, the Minister will review the thresholds annually and where the average weekly earnings have risen, an increase at the same rate will be introduced. The lower rates for specified sector roles will rise until they align with the standard thresholds by 2030.

Irish Nationality and Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2026

Government approval for the priority drafting of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2026 was announced on 9 September 2026 and the General Scheme was published on 21 September 2026.

Currently, applicants need one year’s continuous residence immediately before applying for citizenship, plus four years in the preceding eight years (five years in total).
Spouses of Irish citizens need three years’ reckonable residence. Up to 70 days’ travel is allowed in the final 12 months and there is no statutory language or financial self-sufficiency test.

The key proposed changes are:

1. Longer residence: Applicants would need two years’ continuous residence immediately before applying, plus six years in the preceding 10 years (eight years in total).
2. Self-sufficiency: At the time of applying and throughout the process, applicants would need at least a minimum level of income and must not receive prescribed social welfare or housing supports. The income level has not yet been set; it would be prescribed by the Minister having regard to CSO data on earnings, labour costs and the cost of living, and should not be assumed to match the employment permit thresholds.
3. Language and civics: Applicants would need to demonstrate proficiency in English, Irish or Irish Sign Language and knowledge of Irish civics, society and politics.
4. Spouses of Irish citizens: Applicants would need two years’ continuous residence immediately before applying and three years’ residence in the preceding five years.

Applicants will need to keep meeting the key conditions until a decision is made. For current applicants, the only express transitional protection is that the changes to the calculation of reckonable residence would not apply to applications already submitted before commencement. However, the legislation must be formally drafted and will go through both Houses of the Oireachtas however and the content may change over the coming months.

It is also expected that a new single permit procedure will be introduced in Ireland in the coming months. It is anticipated that the procedure will combine the employment permit and visa applications into a single procedure and will initially be tested on the process for Critical Skills Employment Permit applications. Detailed eligibility criteria have not been published as yet so employers should continue to plan for both processes if submitting an application in the coming weeks.

How the Maples Group Can Help

The Maples Group’s Dublin Employment team regularly advises employers on employment permit compliance and application processes, right to work issues and workforce planning for international talent.

If you have any questions on the matters discussed in this update, please contact a member of our team.