Irish employers must factor for salary increases for employment permit holders

To work in Ireland, migrants from outside of the EEA, Switzerland and the UK must obtain immigration permission which enables them to work. There are various categories of employment permit available, which have skill and salary thresholds for the type of work permitted. Increases in the salary thresholds for employment permits were announced in 2023 with increases planned over two years, but an updated roadmap document now sets out changes up to at least 2030.

Louise Shaw, a Dublin-based expert in employment law at Pinsent Masons, said: “All applications for employment permits filed on or after 1 March 2026 must meet the new salary thresholds. This means that it is important for employers to ensure that permit renewal applications meet the salary thresholds applicable at the time of renewal.”

“Further increases in the salary thresholds are expected in 2027. The minimum salary thresholds are based on a 39-hour working week. There is therefore an associated minimum hourly rate of pay. This means that employers must be careful to ensure that both pay thresholds will be met.”

“The roadmap also indicates that the lower thresholds for roles such as in the healthcare sector are to be phased out by 2030. This means that the salary thresholds in certain sectors are going to be increasing at a faster pace and employers will need to ensure that they keep up with these.”

Prior to the increases in 2023, the permit salary thresholds had remained the same for nearly a decade. Earnings for permit holders now need to keep pace with average earnings as measured by the Central Statistics Office.

The first increases were January 2024, then January 2025 and now 1 March 2026. From 1 March, the minimum annual salary for general employment permit-holders and intra-company transfer trainees will increase from €34,000 to €36,605. Minimum salaries for meat processors, horticultural workers, healthcare assistants and home carers will increase from €30,000 to €32,691, however, these exceptions to the general threshold are to be phased out by 2030.

The critical skills employment permit (CSEP) salary threshold will rise from €38,000 to €40,904 for those with a degree relevant to their job, compared to an increase to €68,911 for those with no relevant degree.

Intra-company transfer and contract for services permit salary thresholds will increase from €46,000 to €49,523, while the new graduate level threshold for those who graduated in the last 12 months will be €34,009 for a general employment permit holder who recently graduated from an Irish institution or €36,848 for a critical skills permit holder who recently graduated with a degree related to a role on the critical skills list.

Shaw said: “For some employers the return of the graduate category will be particularly useful. It applies to graduates in the first year after they graduate with a qualification at national qualification framework level eight or above, which broadly is a bachelor’s degree or higher.”

“The intention behind the general permit graduate threshold is to retain graduates’ skills where they have studied in Ireland. This is a recognition that they are at the start of professional careers and that salaries are likely to increase relatively quickly in the first few years,” she said.

“Employers need to take particular care if they are relying on the graduate threshold and consider if the increased salary will be realistic at the point of renewal.”