If you are an Irish employer trying to fill a role you cannot recruit domestically, you are almost certainly asking the same question before anything else: what is this actually going to cost me?
The honest answer is that the total cost of hiring an overseas worker in Ireland in 2026 is higher than most employers expect on day one, but considerably more predictable than they fear once they understand the process. This guide breaks down every cost, line by line, so you can budget accurately before you commit.
The scale of the problem driving international recruitment
Ireland’s construction sector alone faces a shortfall of approximately 50,000 skilled workers by 2030, according to the Construction Industry Federation. The ESRI estimated in June 2025 that Ireland needs up to 80,000 additional construction and infrastructure workers to meet housing and National Development Plan targets. A further February 2026 report from Property Industry Ireland put the figure as high as 111,000. Against a current construction workforce of approximately 177,600 (CSO, 2025), those numbers represent a structural deficit that domestic training alone cannot close.
For employers in construction, manufacturing, engineering, and healthcare, international recruitment is no longer a last resort. It is an operational necessity.
The two permit types and what they cost
Ireland’s employment permit system routes most hires through one of two pathways.
The General Employment Permit (GEP) covers skilled tradespeople and operational roles that do not appear on the Critical Skills Occupations List: electricians, plumbers, carpenters, welders, bricklayers, pipe fitters, steel fixers, and most manufacturing operatives. The permit fee is €1,000 for a permit valid up to 24 months, confirmed on the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE) fee schedule.
The Critical Skills Employment Permit (CSEP) covers higher-level professional roles including civil engineers, quantity surveyors, senior IT professionals, and healthcare specialists. The CSEP fee is also €1,000 per the DETE schedule, but CSEP holders progress to long-term residency on an accelerated timeline, making it the more advantageous permit for workers in scope.
A 90% refund applies to both permit types if an application is refused or withdrawn before a decision, which provides some protection, but a refused application means restarting the process from scratch, typically adding three to four months to your hire timeline.
The March 2026 salary thresholds
Both permit types carry minimum salary thresholds that increased on 1 March 2026 under DETE regulations. The GEP minimum rose to €36,605 per year, up from €34,000, a 7.6% increase. The CSEP minimum rose to €40,904, up from €38,000.
There are sector-specific variations worth knowing. Healthcare assistants and home carers qualify at a lower GEP threshold of €32,691. Recent Irish graduates at Level 8 or above qualify at €34,009. If the salary you are offering falls below the applicable threshold, the application will be refused regardless of the candidate’s qualifications or your urgency to hire.
Irish Residence Permit registration
Once a worker arrives in Ireland and begins employment, they must register with their local immigration registration office and obtain an Irish Residence Permit (IRP). The fee is €300 per person, confirmed by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service. This is payable per registration and per renewal. Many employers cover this cost as part of the onboarding package, both as a practical gesture and because it directly supports the worker’s legal status in the country.
The Labour Market Needs Test: what it costs and how long it takes
Before submitting most GEP applications, the employer must complete a Labour Market Needs Test (LMNT). This is the formal requirement to demonstrate that you genuinely attempted to fill the role from within Ireland and the wider EEA before turning to international recruitment.
The LMNT requires advertising the vacancy simultaneously for a minimum of 28 consecutive days on two platforms: the Department of Enterprise’s JobsIreland.ie portal (which feeds into the EU-wide EURES network) and at least one additional commercial job platform such as Indeed, IrishJobs.ie, or LinkedIn. Print advertising is no longer required following the Employment Permits Act 2024.
Both advertisements must be identical and must include the job title, duties, required qualifications, salary, and work location. Any amendment to the advertisement during the 28-day window restarts the clock. Following the advertising period, you must retain records of every application received and document in writing why each applicant was not progressed.
Direct cost of the LMNT is typically between €0 and €500 depending on the platforms used. The real cost is time: the 28-day window must be completed before the permit application can be submitted.
Applications must be submitted within 90 days of the first advertisement being published. Missing this window means repeating the LMNT from the beginning.
Processing times in 2026
As of March 2026, the DETE Employment Permits Online system (EPOS) is processing new GEP applications in approximately 9 to 11 weeks from submission. New CSEP applications are processing in approximately 5 to 6 weeks. Renewals are running at 10 to 11 weeks.
These timelines sit on top of the 28-day LMNT period. A GEP hire from initial decision to worker start date therefore realistically takes four to five months. Employers who underestimate this timeline and then find themselves with critical vacancies are the ones who pay the most: in delayed projects, overtime premiums, and subcontractor costs.
DETE recommends submitting applications at least 12 weeks before the proposed start date. Sama Talent Group recommends starting the process no later than 16 weeks before the role is needed.
Visa fees
Workers from non-visa-exempt countries (which includes the Philippines) must also apply for an entry visa to Ireland. Visa fees are €60 for a single-entry visa and €100 for a multiple-entry visa, confirmed by INIS. The visa application runs separately from the employment permit and must be carefully timed to avoid the worker holding a valid permit but no entry clearance, which is a more common administrative failure than employers expect.
Legal and professional fees
Many employers use an immigration solicitor to manage GEP and CSEP applications, particularly for the first hire. Solicitor fees in Ireland for employment permit work range from approximately €1,000 to €3,000 per application depending on complexity.
Working with Sama Talent Group removes a significant portion of this cost. We manage the LMNT compliance process, prepare and submit the EPOS application, coordinate document collection from the employer and the candidate, and monitor the application through to decision. Our fee structure is transparent, two-stage, and disclosed in full before any commitment is made.
Relocation costs
Relocation packages for international hires vary by employer. A standard package for a skilled tradesperson from the Philippines typically includes flights (€700 to €1,500), two to four weeks of temporary accommodation (€800 to €2,000), and in some cases a contribution to the IRP registration fee. Employers who invest in structured onboarding report higher retention rates and faster integration onto live sites.
Research from international recruitment consultancies consistently finds that the cost of a failed hire, accounting for lost productivity, re-recruitment, re-permit fees, and onboarding costs, regularly exceeds €45,000 per role. Getting the placement right the first time is not just good practice. It is significantly cheaper.
Complete cost summary for a single GEP hire
Permit fee: €1,000. LMNT advertising: €200 to €500. IRP registration: €300. Visa fee (Philippines): €60 to €100. Sama Talent Group recruitment fee: disclosed separately, structured in two stages. Immigration solicitor (if engaged separately): €0 to €3,000. Relocation support: €1,500 to €4,000 depending on package.
The permit, immigration, and relocation costs in isolation typically sit between €2,100 and €5,900 per hire, against a minimum salary of €36,605 per year and a role that would otherwise remain unfilled for months.
Why Sama Talent Group
Sama Talent Group is an Irish-incorporated, Dublin-based international recruitment and staffing company placing skilled workers from the Philippines and South Africa into Irish and UK businesses. Our exclusive sourcing partner is ABD Overseas Manpower Corporation in Manila, a DMW-accredited agency with over 35 years of deployment experience, a verified track record of 50,000 plus workers placed globally, and a structured candidate vetting process covering trade skills verification, English language assessment, medical clearance, and pre-departure documentation.
We are not a directory. We manage the process end to end, from identifying the right candidate in Manila to the worker arriving on your site in Cork or Dublin, compliant, documented, and ready to work.
Contact our Dublin team today to discuss your workforce requirements and get a transparent cost breakdown for your specific role.
