Everything you need to know about hiring overseas workers — employment permits, costs, timelines, candidate quality, and what happens if things don't go to plan. If your question isn't here, WhatsApp us directly.
The process starts with a free consultation where we get a clear picture of your role, your business, and whether hiring overseas workers is a realistic option for your situation. If it is, we source and vet candidates from the Philippines, present you with a shortlist, and you interview and select the person you want.
From there, we manage the employment permit application — including the Labour Market Needs Test advertising if required — and coordinate the visa once the permit is approved. We then support the worker's pre-departure preparation and arrival.
Your side of it: the job offer, the employment contract, and showing the worker around on day one. We handle everything else. See a full breakdown of how the process works.
Not always — and we'll tell you honestly if it isn't. We'd rather have that conversation up front than waste your time.
Overseas recruitment makes the most sense when you have genuine, ongoing difficulty filling roles locally; when the role meets the salary threshold for a permit (from €36,605 per year for a General Employment Permit); and when you can realistically plan 6–8 months ahead. It is not a quick fix for a short-term gap.
For businesses in agriculture, care, hospitality, and construction where local supply has consistently dried up, it has become a practical and increasingly common long-term solution. The first consultation is free — get in touch and we'll give you an honest assessment.
Yes. We handle Irish employment permit routes — both the Critical Skills Employment Permit and the General Employment Permit — and the UK Skilled Worker visa route. Wherever your business is based, we know the rules and manage the process end to end. You are not left figuring out the differences between jurisdictions on your own.
Our recruitment fee is discussed at your initial consultation and depends on the role type and volume. Separately, government permit, visa and travel costs are paid by you, the employer, and we give you a full breakdown of all expected costs before anything is agreed.
Separately, there are government permit fees set by DETE. These are fixed by the Department and vary by permit type and duration. We give you a clear breakdown of all expected costs — our fee and the government fees — before anything is agreed. No surprises.
There's no consultation fee, retainer, or deposit for CA Recruitment's own service. The government permit fee (currently €1,000, paid directly to DETE) is payable upfront, and CA Recruitment's recruitment fee is agreed as a fixed quote at your consultation.
The main ongoing cost is the worker's salary. This must meet the permit minimum — from €36,605 per year for a General Employment Permit — plus standard employer PRSI contributions. The government permit fee is a one-off payment at application stage. There are no ongoing fees to CA Recruitment after placement.
Under Irish law, the employer pays the permit fee. It is illegal to recover this cost from the worker — passing permit costs on to a non-EU worker is a criminal offence under the Employment Permits Acts. We'll give you the exact DETE fee for your permit type at consultation so you can budget accurately.
They are two separate authorisations, issued by two different bodies.
An employment permit is issued by DETE (the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment) and authorises a specific non-EEA national to work in a specific role with a specific employer in Ireland. A visa — typically a D-visa for long-stay employment — is issued separately by Immigration Service Delivery (ISD) and gives the worker permission to enter Ireland.
The permit comes first. Once it is approved, the worker applies for their visa. Both are needed before the worker can travel. We guide you through both processes and manage most of it on your behalf.
Under Irish law, either the employer or the worker can make the permit application. In practice, when hiring from overseas, it is typically done by the employer — or by CA Recruitment on the employer's behalf. We prepare and submit the application, liaise with DETE, and handle any queries that come back during processing. You are kept informed throughout but you are not left dealing with it on your own.
The two main permit types for hiring non-EEA workers are:
Critical Skills Employment Permit (CSEP) — for higher-skilled roles on the CSEP Occupations List. Minimum salary of €40,904 per year (or €68,911 for roles not on the list). No Labour Market Needs Test required.
General Employment Permit (GEP) — applies to a broader range of roles. Minimum salary of €36,605 per year (or €32,691 for certain roles such as healthcare assistants and horticulture workers). A Labour Market Needs Test is required before applying.
We'll tell you at consultation which permit type applies to your role and what the specific requirements are. Learn more in our Work Permit Guide for Irish employers.
The Labour Market Needs Test (LMNT) is an advertising requirement that applies to General Employment Permit applications. Before you can apply, you must demonstrate that you made a genuine effort to fill the role locally.
This means advertising the role for a minimum of 28 consecutive days on Jobs Ireland — the Department of Social Protection's employment service, which also satisfies the EURES European jobs network requirement — and on at least one additional online jobs platform.
We manage this process for you, including the advertising, documentation, and the record-keeping that DETE requires for the application. You are not left figuring out the compliance requirements on your own.
No. The LMNT is only required for General Employment Permits. Critical Skills Employment Permits are exempt — you can apply without any prior advertising of the role. We'll confirm which applies to your role and what the process involves during your consultation.
The 50/50 rule requires that at least 50% of your total workforce must be EEA nationals before you can hold a General Employment Permit for a non-EEA employee. It applies across your entire business — not just one site or department.
The recognised exceptions are: (1) the non-EEA worker will be the sole employee of the business, or (2) the business is less than two years old and holds a formal letter of support from Enterprise Ireland or IDA Ireland. There is no general exemption based on company size alone — a small headcount does not automatically qualify.
We'll assess your situation at consultation and tell you exactly where you stand. Read our full explanation of the 50/50 rule.
It depends on the permit type.
Workers on a Critical Skills Employment Permit can apply for their spouse, partner, and dependent children to join them in Ireland under the Dependant/Partner/Spouse Employment Permit. This allows family members to live and work here.
Workers on a General Employment Permit are in a different position. Their spouses, partners, and dependants are not eligible for the Dependant/Partner/Spouse Employment Permit. Family members who want to work in Ireland would need to apply for their own employment permit in their own right.
We can talk through the specifics for your worker's situation during consultation.
Permit eligibility depends on the role, the salary, and your current workforce. We assess all of this at your initial consultation — free of charge, no commitment required.
No obligation.
We manage the full process from start to finish:
What is left for you: the job offer, the employment contract, and welcoming the worker on their first day.
Your main responsibilities are straightforward. You agree the terms of employment — salary, role, location, start date. You sign the employment permit application as the sponsoring employer. You have a valid employment contract ready before the worker arrives.
During the permit process, DETE communicates with us directly. We keep you informed at each stage. Beyond that, you treat the worker like any other employee: pay them on time, provide a safe workplace, give them the same employment rights. We help you understand exactly what is required before you commit to anything. Read our employer guide for the full picture.
Yes. We present you with a shortlist of pre-vetted candidates. You interview them and you make the offer. The hiring decision is entirely yours — we don't place anyone without your agreement. We facilitate the process; you choose the person.
Yes. We present a shortlist of pre-vetted candidates and you interview before making any offer. Interviews are typically done by video call. You remain in full control of the hiring decision throughout, and there is no charge or commitment required at the interview stage.
We stay involved through the first 90 days. That includes check-ins with both you and the worker, onboarding guidance, and support with any questions that come up. You are not left on your own once the person arrives.
We place workers across agriculture, construction, hospitality, healthcare, care and social services, logistics and warehousing, manufacturing, accounting and finance, retail, food production, childcare, security, and more. If your sector is not listed here, give us a call — we very likely cover it. Our focus is on sectors where Irish employers consistently struggle to fill roles locally.
All our candidates are from the Philippines. CA Recruitment was founded by Monette, who is Filipino and based in Tipperary. She has direct networks in the Philippines built over years — this means candidates are assessed in person by people who know them, not just reviewed from a remote database. We know the candidates we are presenting to you.
Yes. We don't put people in front of you who are not ready to work. Every candidate has their qualifications verified and references checked before we present them. We only put forward people we'd hire ourselves. The specific experience level depends on the role — we match candidates to what you actually need, not just to what is available.
Yes. English is an official language of the Philippines and the primary medium of instruction in Philippine schools and universities. Most of our candidates are comfortable working in English from day one — this is not a barrier.
For client-facing roles where communication is critical, we assess English fluency as part of our vetting process and only put forward candidates whose English is genuinely fit for the job.
Filipino workers have built a strong reputation in Ireland and the UK in sectors like healthcare, hospitality, agriculture, construction, and care. High English proficiency, a strong work ethic, and adaptability are consistent traits across the candidates we place.
The Philippines also has a long and well-established culture of overseas employment. Many of our candidates have worked internationally before and adapt quickly to a new workplace and country. They tend to commit long-term — which is exactly what Irish employers in labour-short sectors need.
Beyond the candidate quality, CA Recruitment was founded by Monette — Filipino, based in Tipperary, and familiar with the Irish permit system from both sides of it. That gives us a level of access and trust with candidates that most agencies cannot replicate.
It depends on the permit type.
For a Critical Skills Employment Permit, the end-to-end process typically runs around 6–8 months from initial consultation to the worker's first day. There is no mandatory advertising period, so the application can be submitted once the candidate is selected.
For a General Employment Permit, the Labour Market Needs Test adds a mandatory 28-day advertising window before the application can be submitted. This brings the typical end-to-end range to 6–8 months.
These are realistic estimates, not guarantees. DETE processing times vary and are updated regularly — we will give you a current, honest timeline at your consultation based on live conditions. You can also check DETE's current processing dates at enterprise.gov.ie.
The most common causes of delay are:
Thorough preparation upfront cuts the risk of unnecessary delays significantly. We manage the documentation process carefully to avoid preventable errors. Most delays we see on other applications could have been avoided with better preparation at the start.
As the sponsoring employer, your core obligations are:
We help you understand all of these requirements before you commit to anything. You are not left figuring out compliance on your own.
For a General Employment Permit, yes — you must run a Labour Market Needs Test first. This means advertising the role for at least 28 consecutive days on Jobs Ireland and at least one additional online platform before the permit application can be submitted.
For a Critical Skills Employment Permit, no advertising is required. You can move straight to the application once the candidate is selected.
We manage the LMNT advertising and documentation as part of our service — you don't have to figure out the platforms, the timing, or the record-keeping requirements.
If a worker leaves before their permit expires, both the employer and the permit holder must notify DETE within 4 weeks, and a copy of the permit must be submitted to the Department. The permit cannot be transferred to another worker — a new application would be required for any replacement hire.
Refusals happen — and we won't pretend otherwise. The most common reasons are: the role doesn't meet the salary threshold, the Labour Market Needs Test wasn't properly conducted, or the employer doesn't satisfy the 50/50 rule.
When a permit is refused, DETE issues a notice setting out the grounds. Applicants have 28 days to request a review of the decision, which is considered by a more senior official within DETE. If the underlying issue can be resolved, a new application can be submitted.
We work carefully at the preparation stage to identify potential issues before anything is submitted. This is one of the main reasons employers use an experienced agency rather than applying independently — a refused application costs time and money that proper preparation can avoid.
Contact us. Most issues in the first weeks are settling-in issues, and our check-ins are designed to catch them early. The replacement guarantee itself applies where the worker leaves or has to be dismissed for gross misconduct — see our guarantee terms. Outside those situations, we will still work with you — our reputation depends on the quality of our placements, and we want every one of them to work.
Beyond 90 days, speak to us. We want to support you and will do what we reasonably can.
Yes. If the worker leaves within the first 90 days — or has to be dismissed for gross misconduct — we source a replacement and waive our recruitment fee. Government permit fees for the replacement application are not included. Full details are on our guarantee terms page. We don't disappear after placement day.
Workers on both GEP and CSEP permits must complete 9 months with their initial sponsoring employer before they can legally change employer in Ireland. After that period, changing employer requires a formal application process through DETE.
We focus on getting the match right and on retention — workers placed via an employment permit have relocated specifically for the role, so they tend to stay. If a placement runs into difficulty in the early weeks, contact us and we'll advise on your options.
We give straight answers. Call us, WhatsApp us, or leave your details and we'll come back to you. There's no obligation.