The short answer
Yes. Refrigeration and air-conditioning engineers are not on the ineligible list kept by DETE, the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, so the job can be considered for a General Employment Permit.
Plan your start date around the F-gas certificate. Your engineer needs one to install, service or leak-check refrigeration and air-conditioning equipment, and Ireland's F-gas Regulations make no provision for certificates issued outside the EEA.
Checked against DETE pages on 11 November 2026. DETE's application portal is offline as we write. Get in touch and we will check the current position for your role before you spend anything.
Which occupation code your HVAC role falls under
DETE's ineligible list is set out by occupation code, called the SOC code, not by job title. We checked the titles contractors use against the live Ineligible List of Occupations on 10 November 2026:
- Refrigeration engineer, air-conditioning engineer, refrigeration technician: SOC 5225, air-conditioning and refrigeration engineers. Not on the ineligible list.
- Mechanical engineer (degree level): SOC 2122. Not on the ineligible list, and on the Critical Skills list.
- "HVAC technician" or "HVAC engineer": describe the duties, because they decide the code.
That third line is the one to watch. SOC 5249, other electrical and electronic trades, is on the ineligible list, and we do not want a refrigeration job read as general electrical work.
So write the duties out plainly in the advert and the application. Name the equipment (chillers, VRF systems, split units, cold rooms) and the work (installation, commissioning, fault-finding, refrigerant recovery, leak checks). That makes it plain the job is refrigeration and air-conditioning engineering.
General Employment Permit or Critical Skills permit?
A trade-level refrigeration or air-con engineer goes on a General Employment Permit. A degree-qualified engineer may qualify for the Critical Skills route.
General Employment Permit. DETE's General Employment Permit page puts the minimum at €36,605 a year. Only two things count towards it: basic salary, and health insurance you pay to a registered health insurer. Overtime, allowances and bonuses are not on that list, so build the offer from basic pay. You also run a Labour Market Needs Test first (see the steps below).
Critical Skills Employment Permit. The Critical Skills Occupations List includes mechanical engineers (SOC 2122) and electrical engineers (SOC 2123). DETE's Critical Skills page sets the minimum for listed roles at €40,904, with a relevant degree or higher. Any eligible role paying over €68,911 also qualifies. No Labour Market Needs Test is needed.
If your building services engineer holds a mechanical degree, check this route first. One caution: the entry for SOC 2121 on DETE's Critical Skills Occupations List names civil, structural and site engineers. So present a building services engineer on the mechanical or electrical engineering duties they actually do. Our guide to hiring overseas engineers on a Critical Skills permit covers that route in full, and you can check other titles in our Critical Skills list check.
Both permits carry the 50:50 rule: at least half your employees must be EEA nationals when you apply. DETE can waive it for some start-ups. Our 50:50 rule guide covers who counts.
The F-gas certificate: the step that sets the start date
Anyone who installs, services, repairs or leak-checks refrigeration, air-conditioning or heat pump equipment containing F-gas refrigerants must be certified. That is EU law, and Ireland applies it through the European Union (Fluorinated Greenhouse Gas) Regulations 2016.
This is not only the engineer's problem. Under Regulation 13, it is an offence for an employer to use uncertified people on work that needs certification.
For an overseas hire, it comes down to where the certificate was issued:
- Certificate from another EEA country: it can be used here. Regulation 12 lets the holder do the work it covers, as long as it is in English or comes with an official English translation.
- Certificate from outside the EEA (the Philippines, India, South Africa, the Gulf): the Irish Regulations make no matching provision. The EU rules on mutual recognition cover certificates issued in Member States only. Plan for your engineer to certify after arrival.
In Ireland, the refrigeration award listed in the Regulations is the QQI Special Purpose Award in Handling F-gas Refrigerants (award code 5S0108), or an equivalent. Book the course before your engineer lands. Until they are certified, keep them on work that does not need the certificate.
Write this into the job description too: ask for "F-gas certification, or willingness to certify in Ireland", so you do not screen out overseas candidates.
If your engineers also make the electrical connections on the units they install, raise it at the start so the electrical side is planned too.
Hiring an overseas HVAC engineer: steps and timeline
- Check the role and your workforce. Confirm the duties fit SOC 5225 or a Critical Skills code, the pay clears the right floor, and your staff meet the 50:50 rule.
- Advertise first (General Employment Permit only). The Labour Market Needs Test means listing the job with the Department of Social Protection's employment service and EURES for at least 28 continuous days, through JobsIreland, plus a second online jobs board for the same 28 days. You then have 90 days from the first advert to apply.
- Shortlist and test. Use the advert period to check certificates and run a technical interview or practical test.
- Apply for the permit. DETE took its Employment Permits Online portal offline after a security incident. Its portal service page says applications already submitted are still being processed and that temporary arrangements for new applications are being finalised. Check that page before you file.
- Visa, travel and F-gas. Check whether your engineer needs an entry visa, then book the F-gas course.
DETE works through applications in date order of receipt. On 10 November 2026, its processing dates page showed new General Employment Permit applications received on 8 October 2026 being processed, and Critical Skills applications received on 28 October 2026.
For a General Employment Permit hire, the DETE queue comes on top of the 28-day advert. A Critical Skills hire skips the 28-day advert, and on 10 November its queue was working on more recent applications. Check the latest processing times before you plan a start date.
Costs and what CA Recruitment handles
DETE's fee for a General Employment Permit is €1,000 for a permit of more than six months and up to 24 months, or €500 for six months or less. A Critical Skills permit costs €1,000, with 90% refunded if the application fails. If you are the applicant, section 55 of the Employment Permits Act 2024 stops you deducting that fee from your engineer's pay or asking them to repay it. For the rest of the budget, see our full cost guide.
Send Monette the job, the equipment your team works on and the certificates you need. Ask her to check the code, the pay and your 50:50 ratio before you spend anything.
Before you sign with any agency, read its replacement terms, including our guarantee terms.
Hiring for plumbing and heating as well? Read our guide to hiring an electrician or plumber from overseas. For other trades, see our construction recruitment page.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes. Air-conditioning and refrigeration engineers are SOC code 5225, and that code is not on DETE's Ineligible List of Occupations. So a trade-level refrigeration or air-con engineer can be hired from outside the EEA on a General Employment Permit, after a 28-day Labour Market Needs Test and at a salary of at least €36,605 a year.
It depends on the duties, not the title. Written as refrigeration and air-conditioning work, it fits SOC 5225, which is eligible. SOC 5249, other electrical and electronic trades, is on the Ineligible List, so write the refrigeration duties out in full.
Only if it was issued in another EEA country. Ireland's F-gas Regulations let a person with an EEA-issued certificate do the work it covers, if the certificate is in English or comes with an official English translation. There is no matching provision for certificates from outside the EEA, so plan for your engineer to certify after arrival.
A degree-qualified mechanical engineer can. Mechanical engineers (SOC 2122) are on the Critical Skills Occupations List, with a minimum salary of €40,904 and a relevant degree. Any eligible role paying over €68,911 also qualifies. A trade-level refrigeration engineer without a degree goes on a General Employment Permit.
For a General Employment Permit hire, add up four waits: the 28-day advert, the DETE processing queue, the entry visa if your engineer needs one, and travel. On 10 November 2026, DETE was processing new General Employment Permit applications received on 8 October 2026. Add time after arrival for F-gas certification if your engineer's certificate was issued outside the EEA.