Ireland
Employment permit fees in Ireland: what each permit costs, who pays, and when there is no fee
The Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment sets one fee per permit type, paid with the application. This is its table, with the rules around it, as published.
Checked against the official pages listed below on 27 September 2026.
Who pays
The Department's page puts it in one sentence: "The fee for an employment permit must be paid by the applicant, that is, the employer/employee/connected person or contractor, or their authorised agent." In practice, for the trades and driving roles we place, the employer applies and pays. A licensed agency in Ireland may not charge the candidate for finding them the job, and Sama never does; the government fee is recharged to the employer at cost and shown on our prices page.
The fee table
| Permit | First application | Renewal |
|---|---|---|
| General Employment Permit | €1,000 up to 24 months; €500 for six months or less | €1,500 up to 36 months; €750 for six months or less |
| Critical Skills Employment Permit | €1,000 up to 24 months | Not applicable (the holder applies to the Department of Justice for Stamp 4 instead) |
| Dependant/Partner/Spouse Employment Permit | No fee | No fee |
| Intra-Company Transfer Employment Permit | €1,000 up to 24 months; €500 for six months or less | €1,000 up to 24 months; €500 for six months or less; €1,500 up to 36 months |
| Contract for Services Employment Permit | €1,000 up to 24 months; €500 for six months or less | €1,500 up to 36 months; €750 for six months or less |
| Reactivation Employment Permit | €1,000 up to 24 months; €500 for six months or less | €1,500 up to 36 months; €750 for six months or less |
| Sport and Cultural Employment Permit | €1,000 up to 24 months; €500 for six months or less | €1,500 up to 36 months; €750 for six months or less |
| Exchange Agreement Employment Permit | No fee | Not applicable |
| Internship Employment Permit | €1,000 up to 12 months; €500 for six months or less | Not applicable |
Figures as published on the Department's fees page on the date at the top of this guide. For a two-year General Employment Permit, the sum to budget is €1,000; a renewal for a further three years is €1,500.
If the application fails
The Department's permit pages state that where an application is unsuccessful, 90% of the fee is refunded. The 10% is the cost of a refusal, on top of the time lost, which is why the application is worth getting right first time.
When there is no fee
- Applications where the employer or connected person has charitable status confirmed by the Revenue Commissioners (a letter from Revenue is required unless a fee-free permit issued on that basis in the previous 12 months).
- Applications in respect of a non-EEA national married to, or in a civil partnership with, an EEA national (passport pages and the marriage or civil partnership certificate are required).
- General Employment Permit renewal applications in respect of unlimited permits.
How the fee is paid
Business applicants pay by electronic funds transfer. The Department's page describes the sequence: the completed application is submitted, passes an initial pre-check, is given an Application ID, and an email then issues asking for the fee by transfer, quoting the amount, the account and the Application ID to use as the reference. Individual applicants may still pay by cheque, bank draft or postal order drawn on an Irish institution, or by transfer in the same way.
How long the application then takes
The fee does not buy speed: the Department processes applications in date order of receipt of the fully completed application and fee. The current dates, by type, are on our processing times page, updated every day from the Department's own page.
Sources
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General information for employers, not legal advice. Checked against the official pages above on 27 September 2026. The rules and figures change; the official pages are the authority, and we confirm the current position before anything is submitted.