You have advertised for care assistants. You have tried agencies, Done Deal, local Facebook groups. The applications that come in are either unsuitable or the people do not show up. It has been four months. Your rosters are held together with overtime and agency shifts, and neither is sustainable.
Overseas recruitment through DETE's General Employment Permit process is how a growing number of Irish nursing homes are solving this. The route has defined steps, a predictable timeline, and hundreds of Irish employers use it every year. This guide covers exactly how it works for a nursing home — including the questions we hear most often, such as the HSE recruitment freeze and what NMBI registration actually requires.
Private nursing homes are not affected by the HSE freeze
The HSE recruitment moratorium announced in May 2026 covers public Health Service Executive posts. It affects HSE-employed staff and the filling of vacancies in the public health system.
Private nursing homes are independent employers. You are not part of the HSE, and you are not subject to the freeze. The same applies to private home care operators and disability service providers. If you have been uncertain about whether to proceed with overseas recruitment because of news coverage of the freeze, the short answer is: it does not apply to you.
Can a nursing home hire non-EU care workers?
Yes. Healthcare assistant and care assistant roles are explicitly listed in DETE's General Employment Permit framework as shortage occupations. This matters because it means the minimum salary threshold is lower than the standard GEP rate.
The minimum pay for a care assistant GEP is €16.12 per hour — €32,691 per year on a 39-hour week, or €33,529.60 on a 40-hour week. This is DETE's reduced rate for healthcare support roles, compared to the standard GEP minimum of €36,605. You need to be paying at or above the hourly rate for the permit to issue, and the figure must be basic pay: guaranteed premium payments can count towards it, but bonuses, shift allowances, and overtime cannot. Most nursing homes are already paying above this.
The 50/50 workforce rule also applies. At the time you submit your GEP application, at least 50% of your total employees must be EEA nationals — across all staff, not just care workers. For most established nursing homes, this is not a problem. If you have been hiring overseas workers for several years, check your current ratio before starting the process. A refused application wastes 28 days of advertising and the €1,000 DETE fee.
See our full guide to the 50/50 rule if you are close to the threshold or unsure how to count correctly.
The NMBI question — what it actually requires
This is probably the most common point of confusion for nursing home operators considering overseas recruitment.
NMBI registration — the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland — is required only for registered nurses and midwives who practise as nurses in Ireland. It is not required for healthcare assistants or care assistants, regardless of what qualification the worker holds.
Many Filipino workers who apply for care assistant roles hold a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) from a Philippine university. The BSN is a four-year degree, and BSN holders consistently meet DETE's qualification requirements for care assistant GEP applications in practice. But because the role is care assistant rather than registered nurse, NMBI registration is not part of the process.
This distinction matters practically. Several agencies confuse it, and some nursing home operators have been told they need to go through NMBI before they can hire — that is incorrect for care assistant roles. The DETE GEP route handles a care assistant hire from start to finish. NMBI only enters the picture if you specifically want to hire someone as a registered nurse in a nursing role.
Hiring a registered nurse? If you want to recruit a Filipino nurse into a registered nursing role, that is a separate process. The worker must apply to NMBI independently, and NMBI will assess their qualifications — this may include an adaptation period or examination. That route takes longer. Contact us to discuss it separately.
What the process involves
The full route from first conversation to a worker starting involves four stages. Each one is defined — there are no arbitrary delays if you manage the process properly.
Stage 1 — Labour Market Needs Test
Before applying for a GEP, you must demonstrate that no suitable EEA candidate was available for the role. This is the Labour Market Needs Test (LMNT): advertise the vacancy for 28 consecutive days on two platforms.
- Jobs Ireland (jobsireland.ie) — free, satisfies the mandatory DSP/EURES network requirement
- One additional commercial job platform (Indeed, LinkedIn, or a national newspaper job board)
You log every application received during the 28 days and document why EEA candidates were not selected. DETE checks this evidence at application stage. For most nursing homes, this process confirms what you already know — the local applicant pool does not cover your vacancies.
Candidate sourcing runs in parallel. While the LMNT advertising is live, we source and screen candidates in the Philippines. By the time the 28 days close, you typically have a preferred candidate identified and the application is ready to submit immediately.
Stage 2 — DETE GEP application
The GEP application goes to DETE through the Employment Permits Online portal. The employer provides: the signed job offer, LMNT records and advertising evidence, tax registration details, and current workforce figures for the 50/50 ratio check.
Current DETE processing time for new GEP applications is approximately 10 to 12 weeks from submission. Check the live processing dates at enterprise.gov.ie before planning your timeline — this figure updates regularly. The application fee is €1,000, paid at submission. If the application is refused, 90% is refunded.
We prepare and submit the full application. You sign documents and review the draft, but the paperwork management sits with us.
Stage 3 — Irish D-visa
Once DETE approves the permit, the worker applies for their Irish long-stay D-visa at the Irish Embassy in Manila. This is the worker's application — you provide a copy of the approved employment permit, but they submit it. Turnaround at the Manila embassy is typically 2 to 4 weeks.
The worker also needs their NBI clearance (Philippines' National Bureau of Investigation check — equivalent to a criminal background check) as part of both the DETE application and the visa process. We coordinate this with the worker alongside the permit stage so it does not create additional delays.
Stage 4 — Arrival and onboarding
On arrival in Ireland, the worker registers with Immigration Service Delivery (ISD) within 90 days to receive their Irish Residence Permit (IRP) card, which formalises their right to work. They also need a PPS number from a local Intreo office to get on your payroll — typically sorted within the first week if the appointment is booked in advance.
Garda vetting runs through Ireland's National Vetting Bureau and is processed after arrival. There is no fee to the employer. The worker's NBI clearance from the Philippines is a separate requirement and does not substitute for Garda vetting — both are needed. Allow a few weeks for Garda vetting to complete. Most nursing homes handle this as standard onboarding for any new hire.
Timeline and cost
| Stage | Duration | Who manages it |
|---|---|---|
| Eligibility check, 50/50 ratio, role classification | 1–2 days | CA Recruitment |
| Labour Market Needs Test | 28 days | CA Recruitment (employer signs off) |
| Candidate sourcing and shortlisting | Runs during LMNT — 2 to 4 weeks | CA Recruitment |
| DETE GEP application processing | 10–12 weeks (check live dates) | DETE |
| Philippine documentation (NBI clearance, medical certificate) | 2–4 weeks (runs during DETE processing) | Worker / CA Recruitment |
| Irish D-visa application | 2–4 weeks | Worker (Irish Embassy Manila) |
| Travel, IRP registration, PPS number, Garda vetting | 1–3 weeks | Worker / CA Recruitment |
Realistically, plan for about 6 to 8 months from first contact to the worker starting. The stages above overlap where possible — sourcing runs during the Labour Market Needs Test, and Philippine documentation runs during DETE processing — but in practice DETE queue times, embassy visa scheduling, and travel mean the full journey runs 6 to 8 months. The DETE processing window is the longest single stage, so starting early is the most effective thing you can do.
On cost: the DETE fee is €1,000. LMNT advertising on a commercial board typically runs €200 to €500. Garda vetting carries no employer fee. CA Recruitment's fee is agreed upfront, separate from these costs. For most nursing homes, the total process cost excluding salary runs between €1,200 and €2,000 per placement. The worker's pay must be at least €16.12 per hour (€32,691 per year on a 39-hour week). The D-visa application fee is paid by the worker.
Why Filipino care workers specifically?
Filipino workers have become a natural fit for Irish care settings for reasons that hold up in practice. Most applicants for care assistant roles are educated in English from primary school — communication with residents and families is not an issue. Many hold nursing degrees, which means clinical awareness and care protocols are understood from day one.
The Philippines also has a structured overseas employment system through the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW). Workers go through medical screening, documentation, and an orientation programme before departure. When a Filipino care worker arrives at your nursing home, they have been prepared for the move — this makes the onboarding period more predictable than many operators expect.
Filipino care workers are already working in nursing homes across Munster, Leinster, and Connacht. The fit with Irish care environments is established, not theoretical.
How CA Recruitment manages the process
Our founder Monette is Filipino, based in Tipperary. She manages both sides of the process — the Irish permit application and the Philippine departure process — with direct networks in the Philippines built over years in international recruitment. Most agencies operating in this space rely on a partner agency in the Philippines that they have limited oversight of. We do not.
What we handle for every nursing home placement:
- Eligibility check — 50/50 ratio, salary threshold, role classification
- Candidate sourcing and screening in the Philippines (nursing background, English proficiency, care experience)
- Labour Market Needs Test — advertising, record-keeping, documentation
- DETE GEP application — preparation, submission, all supporting documents
- Philippine documentation — NBI clearance, medical certificate, OEC coordination
- D-visa coordination and worker support through the Manila embassy process
- First 90 days support for employer and worker
If you run a nursing home and have care vacancies you cannot fill locally, WhatsApp Monette directly. She will tell you within a day whether a permit hire is viable for your situation and what the realistic timeline looks like for your specific vacancies.