The short answer
Yes, an Irish employer can hire a welder from outside the EEA. Welding is not on the ineligible list kept by DETE (the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment), so a welding job can be considered for a General Employment Permit.
When we see a welding hire go wrong, the permit itself is rarely the cause. It is usually a job description that reads like machine operation, a pay offer built on overtime, or a certificate that does not match the welds you need.
Checked against DETE pages on 4 November 2026. Get in touch and we will confirm the current position for your role before you spend anything.
Can a welder get a work permit in Ireland?
DETE sorts the jobs on its ineligible list by a numbered occupation code, called the SOC code. Welders are SOC 5215, welding trades. That code does not appear on the Ineligible List of Occupations, and an occupation that is not on that list can be considered for a General Employment Permit.
Welding is not on the Critical Skills Occupations List either.
Two metalworking codes are on the ineligible list:
- SOC 8125, metal working machine operatives
- SOC 8132, assemblers (vehicles and metal goods)
If the role is mostly loading a welding robot, tacking parts on a jig or assembling frames, ask us to check it against those two codes before you advertise. Your General Employment Permit application has to say what qualifications, skills or experience the job needs. Write the duties out honestly: the processes (MIG, TIG, stick), the materials, the positions and the drawings the welder works from.
What you have to pay an overseas welder
DETE's General Employment Permit page puts the minimum at €36,605 a year.
Build the offer from basic pay. DETE's list of what counts towards the threshold has two items: basic salary, and health insurance you pay for the worker to a registered health insurer. Overtime, shift allowances and bonuses are not on that list.
Building contractors have one more check: a pay order for their sector. Under that order, the Construction Sector Sectoral Employment Order, the minimum for qualified trades is €23.74 an hour from 1 August 2026. Its list of example trades names bricklayers, carpenters and joiners, plasterers and other trades, but not welders. If you employ welders on building sites, ask us to check whether the order applies before you set the pay.
Coded welders and weld tests
If you make structural steel, the steel parts that hold up a building, you need IS EN 1090 certification before you can put the CE mark on them. The CE mark is the label you need to legally sell those parts in the EU. A government information note for steel fabrication firms is clear: welders need a qualification under IS EN ISO 9606, the standard for qualifying welders. A welding procedure is the written method for a weld. Any welder who works to one of your procedures must hold that IS EN ISO 9606 qualification. The note lists what that qualification covers: product type (plate or pipe), type of weld (butt or fillet), filler material grouping, welding positions and dimensions.
So read any certificate earned abroad against the welds you actually need:
- Ask for copies of every certificate before you shortlist, and check each one against your procedures.
- Plan a weld test to your own procedure, before the offer if you can and in the first week if you cannot.
- Budget for re-qualification in Ireland if the overseas certificate does not match your work.
Write the certification you need into the job advert and the permit application. That protects you on the skills question, and it filters out candidates who cannot pass your test.
Hiring an overseas welder: the steps, in order
- Check the role and your workforce. Confirm the duties are skilled welding, not machine operation or assembly. Then count your staff: at least 50% must be EEA nationals when you apply, under DETE's 50:50 rule. Our 50:50 rule guide covers who counts.
- Advertise first: the Labour Market Needs Test. List the job with the Department of Social Protection's employment service and EURES for at least 28 continuous days, through JobsIreland. Run a second advert on another online jobs platform for the same 28 days. Each advert must show the job description, your business name, the minimum annual pay, the location and the hours.
- Shortlist and test. Use the 28 days to collect certificates and arrange weld tests, so you have a welder ready when the advert closes.
- Apply within 90 days. The permit application must be made within 90 days of the date the first advert was published.
- Plan the visa and travel. Use the country check in our work permit guide for your welder's nationality.
One more hurdle right now: DETE's application portal is down. DETE took its Employment Permits Online portal offline after a security incident and said on 2 November 2026 that it would not reopen on 3 November as planned. Applications already submitted are still being decided. DETE says alternative arrangements for new applications are being progressed, so check its latest updates page before you file.
How long it takes to hire a welder from overseas
Add up four waits: the 28-day advert, the DETE processing queue, the entry visa if your welder needs one, and travel.
On 3 November 2026, DETE was processing new General Employment Permit applications received on 25 September 2026. Check DETE's current processing dates page or our processing times tracker before you plan a start date.
Costs you carry
The General Employment Permit fee is €1,000 for a permit of up to 24 months, or €500 for six months or less. If you are the applicant, you cannot take that fee back from the welder's wages or ask them to repay it. Section 55 of the Employment Permits Act 2024 rules that out.
For the rest of the budget, including recruitment fees and the first weeks after arrival, see our full cost guide.
What CA Recruitment handles
Send Monette the job, the welding processes and the certificates you need. We will check the role's code, your 50:50 ratio and the pay before you spend anything, and if the role qualifies we can run the advert, source the welder and prepare the permit application. See our manufacturing recruitment page for the other roles we fill.
Hiring for a production line as well? Read the manufacturing hiring guide. For site trades, read the guide to hiring a carpenter or joiner.
Short of a welder? Start with a free call.
Tell us the role and we will check it against DETE's rules. No obligation.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Welding trades (SOC code 5215) are not on DETE's Ineligible List of Occupations, so an Irish employer can hire a welder from outside the EEA on a General Employment Permit. You run a 28-day Labour Market Needs Test first, offer at least €36,605 a year, and meet the 50:50 workforce rule. The employer is normally the one who applies.
No. No welding occupation appears on DETE's Critical Skills Occupations List, so a welder is hired on a General Employment Permit, with the Labour Market Needs Test that goes with it.
The General Employment Permit minimum is €36,605 a year. DETE's list of what counts towards it has two items: basic salary, and health insurance paid to a registered insurer. Overtime, shift premiums and bonuses are not on that list, so build the offer from basic pay.
Not if the job is really machine operation or assembly. Metal working machine operatives (SOC 8125) and assemblers of vehicles and metal goods (SOC 8132) are both on DETE's Ineligible List. The job has to be skilled welding work, and the application has to set out the qualifications, skills or experience it needs.
Add up four waits: the 28-day advert, the DETE processing queue, the entry visa if your welder needs one, and travel. On 3 November 2026, DETE was processing new General Employment Permit applications received on 25 September 2026.