Work permits for spouses and dependants of employment permit holders

Rules

Who can apply

In order to be eligible to apply for a spousal/dependant work permit the following criteria must be met:

(a) The applicant and the employment permit holder must be married or in a civil partnership and have a legally recognised marriage or civil partnership certificate. Spousal work permit arrangements apply only to spouses or civil partners legally resident in Ireland. You cannot apply for a spousal work permit if you and your non-EEA partner are neither married nor civil partners. A dependant must be a family member who is unmarried and aged under 18 - see 'Dependants' below.

(b) The employment permit holder must have one of the following:

• A valid Green Card permit
• A valid work permit of 12 months or more duration where the first work permit application was received by the Employment Permits section before 1 June 2009
• A valid employment permit or hosting agreement in respect of a researcher position
• A valid Intra-company transfer permit (pdf) of 12 months or more duration where the first application was received by the Employment Permits section before 1 June 2009
• A valid working visa or work authorisation issued before 31 December 2006

(c) The employment permit holder must still be working within the terms of his or her permit.

Former employment holders with Stamp 4 permission

Some people who formerly held employment permits have now been given Stamp 4 permission to live and work in the State. Their spouses, dependants and civil partners are eligible to apply for spousal/dependant work permits. The former employment permit holders, known as primary workers, must have been given Stamp 4 permission for one of the following reasons:

• They have been granted long-term residence and do not require a work permit
• They were holders of a Green Card permit for 2 years which has expired
• They have worked on a work permit for 5 years and no longer require a work permit

Application procedures

Applications for spouses, civil partners or dependants living outside Ireland must go through the normal work permit procedures.

The following employment permit arrangements apply to the spousal/dependant work permit:

• Either the employer or employee can apply for the work permit, based on an offer of employment.
• The work permit is granted to the employee and includes a statement of the employee's rights and entitlements
• A copy of the work permit is sent to the employer
• The employer is prohibited from deducting recruitment expenses from the employee's pay or retaining the employee's personal documents

Job offer

The spouse, civil partner or dependant must have a job offer and must have the qualifications, skills and experience required for the job. They must be directly employed and paid by their employer in Ireland. Job offers from recruitment agencies and other intermediaries are not acceptable under the scheme. The employer must be trading in Ireland, registered with the Revenue Commissioners and with the Companies Registration Office. A work permit will not be issued to companies where the granting of the permit would mean that more than 50% of the employees would be non-EEA nationals.

Dependants

Dependant work permits are available only to dependent unmarried children aged under 18, who are resident in Ireland as family members of the employment permit holder. In exceptional cases work permits may be available to dependants aged over 18, who became legally resident in Ireland before the age of 18.

Duration and renewal of work permit

It is normally issued for the period up to the expiry date of the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) registration card of the employment permit holder or primary worker. It can then be renewed - see 'How to apply' below. If you have completed 5 consecutive years’ work on an employment permit you will no longer need a permit to work in Ireland. You should contact your local immigration officer to change your immigration permission.

Changing job

Someone working on a spousal or dependant work permit is expected to stay with the original employer for 12 months (unless there are exceptional circumstances). After that it is possible to change job provided a new application for a spousal/dependant work permit is made.