Employers and candidates in Ireland often discover there are two non-EEA work permit routes only after picking the wrong one — and redoing a rejected application costs weeks. The Critical Skills Employment Permit (CSEP) and the General Employment Permit (GEP) share the same application system and the same government department, but they differ in almost every practical way that matters: who clears the salary bar, whether the job has to be advertised to the Irish labour market first, and how fast each route reaches long-term residency. This guide lays out the contrast directly — for CSEP basics alone, see our Critical Skills Employment Permit guide.
This is general preparation information, not legal advice. Salary thresholds and processing dates are reviewed periodically by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE) — always confirm current figures on enterprise.gov.ie before you apply.
The core difference in one line
CSEP is Ireland’s permit for roles the state has already decided are in short supply, so no proof of local unavailability is needed. GEP is the general-purpose permit for everything else, and the tradeoff for its broader scope is a mandatory Labour Market Needs Test — proof the employer tried to fill the role from the EEA labour pool first.
Side-by-side comparison
| Critical Skills Employment Permit (CSEP) | General Employment Permit (GEP) | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum salary | €40,904/yr (Critical Skills Occupations List, degree-level) · €36,848/yr (recent graduate) · €68,911/yr (any other eligible occupation) | €36,605/yr (general floor) · €34,009/yr (recent graduate from an Irish third-level institution) · €32,691/yr for a short list of occupations (horticulture, meat processing, healthcare assistants, home support workers) |
| Labour Market Needs Test | Not required — the occupation is presumed to be in short supply | Required in most cases: job advertised for a minimum of 28 continuous days on the DSP/EURES JobsIreland network and a second online platform |
| Occupation list used | Critical Skills Occupations List (must match, except at the €68,911 tier) | Checked only against the shorter Ineligible Occupations List (most roles qualify by default) |
| Minimum contract | 2 years | 12 months |
| Processing snapshot (6 Nov 2026) | Applications received up to 24 Oct 2026 being processed — roughly a 2-week queue | New applications received up to 2 Oct 2026 being processed — roughly a 5-week queue |
| Route to Stamp 4 | Direct application after 21 months, no renewal cycle | Standard Long Term Residency route needs 5 years (60 months) of qualifying residence, with the permit renewed along the way |
| Family permit fee | Spouse/partner permit issued free of charge | Standard permit fee applies to dependants’ own permits |
Sources: General Employment Permit and Critical Skills Employment Permit pages (DETE); Labour Market Needs Test; current processing dates, snapshot dated 6 November 2026.
The Labour Market Needs Test is the real fork in the road
For most candidates, this test — not the salary figure — decides which permit is realistic. Per DETE’s published rules, a General Employment Permit employer must advertise the vacancy for 28 continuous days on the DSP/EURES JobsIreland network and separately on another qualifying online platform, stating the role, employer name, minimum remuneration, location, and hours. The permit application then has to be lodged within 90 days of the advert’s first publication (120 days if the employer is a recognised third-level institution). Vacancies can’t be edited or extended mid-advert — doing so restarts the clock.
A General Employment Permit is exempt from this test only if: the role is actually on the Critical Skills Occupations List (in which case CSEP is the better fit anyway), the offered salary is at least €68,911, the hire has an Enterprise Ireland or IDA Ireland recommendation, or a narrow carer or redundancy exemption applies. Outside those cases, budget the 28-day advert plus review time into your timeline before a GEP application can even be filed — it’s an added month-plus that CSEP candidates skip entirely.
Salary thresholds, in practice
Both permits set a salary floor, but they solve different problems. CSEP’s thresholds (€40,904 / €36,848 / €68,911) are about identifying which roles the state wants to fast-track; GEP’s thresholds (€36,605 / €34,009 / €32,691) are a wage floor applied across a much wider set of occupations, with a lower bar for a short list of in-demand but non-“skilled” roles like home support work and meat processing. Note that clearing the GEP salary floor doesn’t exempt you from the Labour Market Needs Test unless you clear the much higher €68,911 figure — the two requirements are independent.
Which permit should you pick?
- Occupation is on the Critical Skills Occupations List, or you can offer €68,911+: apply for CSEP. It’s faster, skips the advertising requirement, and reaches Stamp 4 in 21 months instead of up to five years.
- Occupation isn’t listed, salary is below €68,911, and it isn’t on the Ineligible Occupations List: General Employment Permit is your route — plan for the 28-day advertising period as a fixed cost of the timeline, not an optional step.
- Occupation is on the Ineligible Occupations List: neither permit applies; that route is closed regardless of salary.
- Unsure which list your occupation sits on: check the current Critical Skills Occupations List and Ineligible Occupations List directly on enterprise.gov.ie before committing — list placements are reviewed periodically and misjudging this is the single most common reason employers start the wrong application.
Once your permit is approved, the destination for both routes converges on the same long-term goal — see our Stamp 4 and long-term residency guide for how the 21-month and 5-year clocks actually work, and our broader Ireland work visa overview for how employment permits fit into the wider system. If you’re preparing a Critical Skills application specifically, our CSEP document checklist walks through what to gather before you file.
FAQ
Can an employer apply for a General Employment Permit instead of running the Labour Market Needs Test? Only if the role qualifies for an exemption — it sits on the Critical Skills Occupations List (which usually means applying for CSEP instead), the salary offered is at least €68,911, the hire carries an Enterprise Ireland or IDA Ireland recommendation, or a narrow carer/redundancy exemption applies. Otherwise the 28-day advertising requirement is mandatory for a General Employment Permit; there’s no fee-based way to skip it.
If my occupation isn’t on the Critical Skills Occupations List, can I still get a fast permit? Yes, through the Critical Skills Employment Permit’s €68,911 salary route, which is open to occupations not on the Ineligible List regardless of whether they appear on the Critical Skills list, provided you have the relevant experience. That route also skips the Labour Market Needs Test. Below that salary and off the Critical Skills list, the General Employment Permit with its advertising requirement is usually the only option.
Does the General Employment Permit ever lead to Stamp 4 as quickly as Critical Skills does? No. Critical Skills Employment Permit holders can apply for Stamp 4 after 21 months. General Employment Permit holders normally need five years (60 months) of qualifying residence under the standard Long Term Residency route before Stamp 4 becomes available, with permits renewed along the way. Confirm current eligibility windows with Immigration Service Delivery, since rules are reviewed periodically.
Matching an occupation to the right permit, tracking a 28-day advertising window, and keeping salary documentation aligned with the correct threshold is exactly the kind of multi-step, deadline-sensitive process that’s easy to get wrong manually. Join the VisaMet waitlist for AI-assisted eligibility screening built for Ireland’s employment permit system.