If you live in the UAE and hold, or are close to, a job offer in Ireland, the Critical Skills Employment Permit (CSEP) is the permit to understand first. It covers Ireland’s shortage occupations and leads to permit-free work far sooner than the General Employment Permit. We are writing this now because two things changed this year: the salary thresholds rose on 1 March 2026 to €40,904 and €68,911, and the Critical Skills Occupations List was reissued on 13 May 2026. Any application filed from Dubai or Abu Dhabi today is judged against those figures and that list.
At a glance
- Two salary routes as at August 2026: €40,904 with a relevant degree in a listed occupation, or €68,911 in almost any occupation with a degree or equivalent experience. Graduates of the last 12 months: €36,848.
- Job offer of at least 2 years. No Labour Market Needs Test. You or the employer applies online at least 12 weeks before the start date; fee €1,000, 90% refunded on refusal.
- The 50:50 rule: no permit unless at least half the employer’s staff are EEA nationals (waiver only for supported start-ups).
- Spouse, partner and children can apply to join immediately; a spouse or partner receives Stamp 1G and can work without a permit.
- After 21 months in the job you can apply for Stamp 4 and work without any permit; citizenship by naturalisation is possible after 5 years of legal residence.
Which occupations and which salary
The Critical Skills Occupations List is Schedule 3 of the Employment Permits Regulations; the current version took effect on 13 May 2026 under SI 213 of 2026. It is organised by SOC 2010 codes, and many entries are narrowed to “employments with specific skills”, so a job in the broad category without the named specialism may not qualify. The entries we check most often for UAE clients are software developers (2136), civil and structural engineers (2121), medical practitioners (2211), registered nurses (2231), quantity surveyors (2433) and construction project managers (2436).
The Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment publishes three thresholds:
- €40,904 for a listed occupation, with a degree or higher in the relevant field.
- €36,848 for a listed occupation where the relevant degree was obtained within the 12 months before applying.
- €68,911 for any occupation other than those on the Ineligible List of Occupations; without a degree you must have the necessary level of experience.
Nurses and midwives need a qualification accepted by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland. We read every offer letter against the remuneration rule before anything else: only basic salary and health insurance payments to a registered insurer count, and the Department’s checklist excludes bonuses, shift allowances and overtime.
The thresholds come from the Roadmap for Minimum Annual Remuneration published on 2 December 2025. The 1 March 2026 rise was 7.66%, with further increases phased through to 2030; the January 2027 CSEP figures are listed as “to be determined”, so we advise anyone filing in 2027 to check the figure again first.
The job offer, the employer and the application
The employer must be based and trading in Ireland and registered with the Revenue Commissioners. You must be employed and paid directly by that employer; Citizens Information notes that offers from recruitment agencies and other intermediaries are not acceptable. The contract must run for at least 2 years, and you are expected to stay with the first employer for 9 months.
We raise the 50:50 rule with the employer before any paperwork is drafted, because it applies at the time of application: a permit will not be granted unless 50% or more of the firm’s employees are EEA nationals. The only waiver is for start-ups registered with Revenue within the last 2 years and supported by Enterprise Ireland or IDA Ireland.
Either you or the employer applies through Employment Permits Online, at least 12 weeks before the proposed start date. If the employer applies, section 55 of the Employment Permits Act 2024 prohibits it from recovering any cost of the application from you. The fee is €1,000 for a permit of up to 24 months; 90% is refunded if the application fails. On 27 August 2026 the Department was processing CSEP applications received on 19 August 2026, against 22 July 2026 for General Employment Permits.
What the permit gives you
An employment permit is not a residence permission, and we treat the two as separate steps. On arrival you register with immigration and receive an Irish Residence Permit, which costs €300.
Family. Immigration Service Delivery lists CSEP holders among the sponsors whose spouse, civil partner, de facto partner and unmarried children under 18 may apply to join them immediately, subject to the financial thresholds in the non-EEA family reunification policy. A spouse or partner registers on Stamp 1G, which carries the right to work without an employment permit.
Stamp 4. After 21 months from the start of employment on a CSEP, you may apply online to Immigration Service Delivery for Stamp 4, which lets you live and work without any employment permit. It is issued for 2 years and is renewable. Citizens Information states that after 5 years of legal residence you can apply for citizenship by naturalisation.
Changing jobs. Since 2 September 2024 a move to a new employer within the same occupation classification no longer needs a fresh application once the 9 months have passed. If you are made redundant, notify the Department within 4 weeks; you then have 6 months to find another eligible role.
CSEP versus the General Employment Permit
Where an offer falls below €40,904, or the role sits outside the list, we look instead at the General Employment Permit (GEP).
| Feature (as at August 2026) | Critical Skills Employment Permit | General Employment Permit |
|---|---|---|
| Eligible occupations | Critical Skills Occupations List, or any eligible occupation at €68,911+ | All occupations except the ineligible list |
| Minimum annual remuneration | €40,904 (degree, listed occupation); €36,848 (recent graduate); €68,911 (other occupations) | Generally €36,605; €32,691 for certain care, horticulture and meat-processing roles; €34,009 for recent Irish graduates |
| Labour Market Needs Test | Not required | Required in most cases (waived where the occupation is on the Critical Skills Occupations List, the role pays €68,911 or more, or in a few other listed cases): 28 continuous days’ advertising on DSP/EURES and a second online platform |
| Job offer | Minimum 2 years | Initial permit up to 2 years, renewable for up to 3 more |
| Fee | €1,000 (up to 24 months) | €1,000 new (up to 24 months); €1,500 renewal (up to 36 months) |
| Family reunification | Immediately | After 1 year of legal work in Ireland |
| Working without a permit | Stamp 4 after 21 months | Long-term residency route after 5 years |
| 50:50 rule | Applies | Applies |
For a European comparison, the Dutch highly skilled migrant permit requires EUR 5,942 gross per month for applicants aged 30 or over and an employer on the IND register of recognised sponsors, while the German EU Blue Card starts at €50,700, or €45,934.20 in shortage occupations. Ireland’s €40,904 entry point is lower than either and the working language is English (see our Ireland page).
The visa step for UAE residents
Citizens of the UAE are on the list of nationalities that do not need a visa to enter Ireland. Citizens of India, Pakistan, the Philippines, Egypt and most other non-EEA countries are not on it, so they must obtain a long stay employment visa after the permit issues; family members apply for their own visas or, for de facto partners, preclearance.
You apply from your home country or the country where you are legally resident, so a UAE residence visa lets you apply from the UAE. Apply up to 3 months before travel through the online AVATS system; the summary form tells you where to submit the papers. The fee is €60 for single entry or €100 for multiple entry and is not refunded on refusal. Documents include a passport valid for 12 months after arrival, copies of previous passports, two recent photographs, an application letter, the employment permit, an employer letter on headed paper and evidence of finances, as originals with certified translations where needed. Decisions take approximately 8 weeks from receipt, and a refusal can be appealed free of charge within 2 months.
From the UAE: what this means for you
We start with the degree. For the €40,904 route the qualification must be in the relevant field and at degree level or higher, and the application asks how it relates to the role. For the €68,911 route, gather reference letters from former employers and payslips that show the level and duration of your experience.
If your occupation is regulated in Ireland, the application asks for your registration or licence number. Nurses need a qualification accepted by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland, so that registration belongs at the front of the timeline.
We then check the offer letter against the remuneration rule: the threshold is measured on basic pay alone, so the allowances that make up much of a UAE package do not count. On timing from Dubai or Abu Dhabi, the permit application goes in at least 12 weeks before the start date, the visa takes about 8 weeks, and family visas are processed separately. Our advice is not to resign your UAE role until the permit has issued and, if you need one, the visa is in your passport.
Frequently asked questions
Can I apply for a CSEP without a job offer?
The permit is tied to a named employer, a 2-year contract and a specified location, so an offer comes first. If an Irish employer invites you to interview for a listed role, Citizens Information describes a Highly Skilled Job Interview Authorisation allowing a stay of up to 90 days.
Does my UAE salary or experience count?
The threshold is measured on the basic pay in the Irish offer, not your UAE earnings. Experience matters on the €68,911 route, where it can replace a degree; it cannot substitute for the relevant degree on the €40,904 route.
Can my spouse work in Ireland?
A CSEP holder’s spouse or partner can apply to join immediately, subject to the family reunification financial thresholds, and on arrival registers on Stamp 1G, which allows work without an employment permit.
What to do next
If you have an Irish offer or work in a listed occupation, request a free eligibility assessment, call our Dubai office on 04 357 7796, or book a 20-minute review through our contact page. We do not promise outcomes; decisions rest with the Department and Immigration Service Delivery. More country guides are in our guides library.
Sources
- Critical Skills Employment Permits – Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment — accessed 27 Aug 2026
- Critical Skills Employment Permits (links to the Critical Skills Occupations List) – DETE — accessed 27 Aug 2026
- Critical Skills Employment Permit Checklist (PDF) – DETE — accessed 27 Aug 2026
- Government unveils roadmap for gradual increase in employment permit salary thresholds – DETE — accessed 27 Aug 2026
- Employment Permits Minimum Annual Remuneration: Outcome of the Roadmap Review 2025 – DETE — accessed 27 Aug 2026
- General Employment Permit – DETE — accessed 27 Aug 2026
- Labour Market Needs Test – DETE — accessed 27 Aug 2026
- Fees for employment permits – DETE — accessed 27 Aug 2026
- Current processing dates for employment permits – DETE — accessed 27 Aug 2026
- Information on Stamp 4 upgrades for Employment Permit and Hosting Agreement holders – Immigration Service Delivery — accessed 27 Aug 2026
- Employment visa – Immigration Service Delivery — accessed 27 Aug 2026
- Preclearance and entry visas fees – Immigration Service Delivery — accessed 27 Aug 2026
- Joining a non-EEA/non Swiss national – Immigration Service Delivery — accessed 27 Aug 2026
- Critical Skills Employment Permit – Citizens Information — accessed 27 Aug 2026
- Visa requirements for entering Ireland – Citizens Information — accessed 27 Aug 2026
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