Employment permits and the right to work in Irish hospitality

Irish hospitality depends on people from all over the world. A Dublin restaurant kitchen might have a Brazilian student on the pass, an Indian chef on a permit, a Polish sous chef and a Kerry kitchen porter. Before anyone works a shift, you need to know they're allowed to work, and you need a record that shows it. This guide explains who can work without a permit, the student hour limits, what's possible for chefs and other roles, and the records a WRC inspector will ask for.

Who can work without an employment permit

Citizens Information confirms that citizens of the EEA, Switzerland and the UK can live and work in Ireland without an employment permit. Northern Ireland is part of the UK and follows UK rules; this guide covers the Republic only.

For everyone else, the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment says that under the Employment Permits Acts an employer must not employ a non-EEA national except in line with an employment permit, unless the person has immigration permission from the Minister for Justice that allows them to work without one.

Stamp 4 and Stamp 1G

Stamp 4 is the most flexible permission. Immigration Service Delivery says a Stamp 4 holder can take up employment without an employment permit. People get Stamp 4 for many reasons, for example as the spouse or partner of an Irish citizen, after years on employment permits, or with refugee or subsidiary protection status.

Stamp 1G lets people work without a permit for the length of the permission. It's given to graduates of Irish colleges under the Third Level Graduate Programme, and to spouses and partners of Critical Skills Employment Permit holders and some researchers.

Check the expiry date on the IRP card and diarise it. Permission that has expired isn't permission.

Students on Stamp 2: the hour limits

Many hospitality venues employ international students. Immigration Service Delivery sets the limits for Stamp 2 students on a course on the Interim List of Eligible Programmes:

• 20 hours a week of casual employment during term
• 40 hours a week during holidays
• holidays are June, July, August and September, and 15 December to 15 January (ISD's student FAQ)

Stamp 2A holders (courses not on the list, such as a semester abroad) must not work at all.

If a student works over the limit, they're breaking the conditions of their permission, and ISD says that can mean it isn't renewed. Often it's the roster that put them over. A few habits help:

• Note on the staff file that the person is on Stamp 2 and the date their permission expires.
• Check weekly hours on the roster before you publish it during term.
• Watch the changeover dates: the week of 15 January and the start of October drop back to 20 hours.
• Count all their hours with you, including extra shifts added after the roster was published.
• Remember they may work elsewhere too, which also counts against their limit.

Employment permits for hospitality roles

For a non-EEA national without a stamp that allows work, you need an employment permit from the Department of Enterprise before they start.

The General Employment Permit

The Department's rules for a General Employment Permit include:

• All occupations are eligible unless they're on the Ineligible Occupations List.
• A minimum annual remuneration, generally €36,605.
• A Labour Market Needs Test in most cases: advertising the job with the Department of Social Protection's employment services and EURES, plus an online advert, before applying.
• The 50:50 rule: at the time of application, at least half of your employees must be EEA nationals.
• If the permit holder stops working for you, the Department must be notified and a copy of the permit returned within 4 weeks. An employer or permit holder who doesn't comply is guilty of an offence.

Chefs and restaurant roles

The Department has a specific policy for restaurants and take-aways:

• In general, occupations connected to restaurants and take-aways are currently ineligible for Critical Skills, General, Intra-Company Transfer and Contract for Services permits.
• The exception is executive chef, head chef, sous chef, chef de partie and commis chef, which may be considered for a Critical Skills, General or Intra-Company Transfer permit.
• For any restaurant or take-away application, you must supply utility bills for the premises dated within the two months before the application.
• For a chef application, the person making the job offer must confirm the chef will work in an establishment other than a fast food outlet.

For hotel and pub roles, check the current Ineligible Occupations List on the Department's website before you offer a job that depends on a permit. The list is reviewed from time to time.

Timing

Permits take time, and the person can't start until it's granted. Plan recruitment for the summer season well before the season starts. Our guide to the 5-day statement covers what a new starter needs once they begin.

A right to work check, step by step

1. Ask for the original passport or national ID card before the first shift, and for non-EEA staff, the IRP card.
2. Check the photo matches the person in front of you.
3. Check the nationality and, for non-EEA staff, the stamp type and the expiry date.
4. For Stamp 2, note the hour limits and whether they're in term or holidays.
5. For a permit holder, check the permit names your business and the job you're offering.
6. Take a copy, date it, and note who checked it.
7. Set a reminder a month before any permission or permit expires.

Records to keep

WRC inspectors are also authorised officers under the Employment Permits Acts, and they check that foreign nationals have valid permission to work. For a full inspection, the WRC asks for copies of employment permits or permission to work for non-EEA nationals, or evidence that a permit or permission isn't needed (passport and immigration stamp), for everyone employed in the past 12 months. Unannounced inspections, often outside normal hours, also focus on employment permits.

So for every employee, keep:

• a copy of their passport or national ID card
• for non-EEA staff, a copy of the IRP card showing the stamp and expiry date, or the employment permit
• the date you checked, and who checked it
• a reminder set before the permission or permit expires
• for Stamp 2 students, their weekly hours

Our WRC inspection guide covers the other records inspectors ask for.

How ShiftComplete helps

ShiftComplete is a roster and operations app, not an immigration checker, and it doesn't verify anyone's permission to work. It helps with the part that goes wrong most often in hospitality: hours. Staff set their availability on their phones, you build the roster, and you see each person's hours on the roster before you publish, so you can keep a Stamp 2 student under 20 hours in term. With clocking in switched on, you can download actual hours per person as a spreadsheet to check against the limit.

It costs €1.99 per active staff member per month, free for 60 days, with no card and no contract.

This guide is general information, not immigration or legal advice. Rules change: check the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment and Immigration Service Delivery before relying on any rule for a particular person.