The chef shortage is not going away
Most hospitality operators who contact us have been advertising the same chef role for months. They've posted on Indeed. They've tried agencies. They've raised wages. Good candidates haven't appeared. The kitchen is running short-staffed and they know they need to look further afield.
Overseas recruitment is the established solution. Overseas chefs are working in Irish hotel kitchens and restaurants right now, on General Employment Permits, earning at or above the minimum threshold. They trained in professional kitchen environments, worked high-volume service, and made a deliberate decision to build a career in Ireland. That level of commitment matters in a sector with chronic retention problems.
CA Recruitment handles the process from end to end. We confirm the permit route for your specific role, manage the Labour Market Needs Test, source and interview candidates, submit the DETE application, coordinate the visa, and support the chef through arrival. You choose the person. We handle everything else.
Which chef roles qualify for an Irish work permit?
DETE maintains a list of ineligible occupations that cannot be filled through the General Employment Permit. Most hospitality roles, including front-of-house, bar, and kitchen porter, are on that list. For chefs, the rules are specific.
The following grades qualify, subject to the experience requirements and provided the role is outside a fast food establishment:
Executive Chef
Minimum 5 years' experience required. Eligible for a General Employment Permit. Must be employed outside fast food establishments.
Head Chef
Minimum 5 years' experience required. One of the most commonly filled roles through overseas recruitment for Irish hotels and larger restaurants.
Sous Chef
Minimum 5 years' experience required. Strong demand from mid-size and larger hotel kitchens.
Chef de Partie
Minimum 2 years' experience required. The most in-demand grade from Irish operators trying to build out kitchen sections.
Commis Chef
Minimum 2 years' experience required. Must be outside fast food. CA Recruitment can confirm eligibility for your specific vacancy during the initial consultation.
If your role does not appear above, contact us before investing time in the process. Cooks, kitchen assistants, and all front-of-house, bar, and waiting staff are on the ineligible list and cannot be sponsored for a permit. We will tell you clearly what qualifies and what does not.
Work permit facts for hospitality employers
The route for overseas chefs is the General Employment Permit (GEP), issued by DETE. Here is what it requires for your role:
- Eligible occupation: The specific chef grade must qualify under DETE's rules. Experience minimums and the fast food exclusion both apply. CA Recruitment confirms this at the outset.
- Minimum salary: €36,605 per annum. This is the standard GEP threshold and applies to all eligible chef grades.
- Labour Market Needs Test: The role must be advertised for 28 consecutive days on the DSP Employment Services/EURES network (Jobs Ireland) and one additional online platform, with a full record of all applications received and outcomes documented.
- 50/50 rule: At least 50% of your total workforce must be EEA nationals at the time of the permit application. Two exemptions apply: start-up companies registered with Revenue within the last 2 years with a formal Enterprise Ireland or IDA Ireland support letter, and situations where the overseas worker will be your only employee.
- Permit fee: €1,000, paid by the employer to DETE at submission for a permit of up to 24 months. This fee cannot be recovered from the worker.
- Processing time: Currently approximately 10 to 12 weeks for new GEP applications. Check live processing dates at enterprise.gov.ie as this changes throughout the year.
After DETE approves the GEP, the chef applies for an Irish D-visa at the Irish Embassy in their home country. This typically takes 2 to 4 weeks. On arrival in Ireland, they register with Immigration Service Delivery to receive their Irish Residence Permit.
Read the full process in the Work Permit Guide for Irish Employers. For a deep dive on hiring chefs specifically, see our guide to hiring overseas chefs in Ireland.
Why overseas chefs work well in Irish kitchens
Professional kitchen training
Filipino culinary colleges and technical-vocational institutions run structured programmes aligned to international kitchen standards. Candidates we place have experience in high-volume hotel and restaurant kitchens, not just domestic cooking.
English proficiency
English is an official language of the Philippines and the medium of instruction throughout the education system. Communication in service, with management, and with the rest of the kitchen team is not a barrier from day one.
High-volume experience
Many of the candidates in our network have worked in hotels, resorts, and large restaurant groups with covers that match or exceed what Irish operations run. Speed and consistency under pressure are not things we have to develop during onboarding.
Committed to the move
A chef who has gone through the employment permit process has planned this carefully. They researched Ireland, prepared documentation, and accepted the role specifically. Turnover in the first year is much lower than you get from a local hire who found something closer to home two months in.
Filipino-owned agency
CA Recruitment was founded by Monette, a Filipino national now based in Co. Tipperary. She has community networks in the Philippines that no third-party broker can replicate. That is how we find candidates who are actually ready to move, not just registered on a database.
DMW-accredited recruitment
For a Filipino worker to legally depart the Philippines under the overseas employment programme, the placement must go through a DMW-accredited agency for Ireland. CA Recruitment holds this accreditation and manages both sides of the process directly.
How the hiring process works
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1
Free consultation and eligibility check
We assess your specific role and grade against DETE's eligibility rules, check your workforce composition against the 50/50 requirement, and confirm the realistic timeline. No obligation, no charge. If the role does not qualify, we tell you at this stage and explain why.
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2
Labour Market Needs Test
We manage the 28-day advertising requirement on Jobs Ireland/EURES and a second platform, maintain the application log, and document all outcomes as required by DETE. You do not post anything yourself. We source candidates from the Philippines in parallel, so you are not losing time while the test period runs.
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3
Candidate sourcing and vetting
We source candidates through Monette's direct networks in the Philippines. Candidates are interviewed, qualifications verified, and experience checked before they reach your shortlist. You receive a small number of people we would hire ourselves, not a stack of CVs from a database.
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4
DETE permit application
We prepare the full GEP application through DETE's Employment Permits Online system, including all supporting documentation. You review and sign. We submit and follow up. DETE liaises with us throughout the process, not with you directly.
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5
Visa coordination and pre-departure
Once DETE approves the permit, we coordinate the D-visa application from the Philippine end. We track the chef's documentation, including NBI clearance, medical certificate, and Overseas Employment Certificate, and make sure nothing holds up departure.
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6
Arrival and 90-day support
We support the chef through IRP registration, PPS number, and bank account setup in the first week. We stay in contact for the first 90 days.
Ready to hire an overseas chef? Let's talk.
WhatsApp Monette directly for a free eligibility check. She'll confirm whether your role qualifies, what the realistic timeline looks like, and what the process involves. No commitment required.
Why Irish hospitality businesses work with CA Recruitment
Filipino-owned, Ireland-based
Monette is Filipino, grew up in the Philippines, and now lives in Ballyporeen, Co. Tipperary. She built CA Recruitment because she understands both sides of the process from direct personal experience. That knowledge is not something a generalist agency with a Philippine partner can replicate.
End-to-end permit management
The GEP process has specific requirements at every stage: the Labour Market Needs Test format, the application documentation, the salary verification, the 50/50 check. We manage all of it. You sign documents and review your shortlist. That is the full extent of what falls on you.
Transparent, fixed fees
We agree a clear, fixed recruitment fee with you upfront. The €1,000 DETE permit fee, and any visa and travel costs, are billed to you at cost and paid directly to DETE where applicable — never marked up by us.
Reliable, long-term staff
We place hard-working people who are committed to building a long-term future with your business, not just filling a short-term gap.
Honest about eligibility
Not every hospitality role qualifies. Front-of-house, bar, and kitchen porter roles are on DETE's ineligible list. We tell you this at the first call, before you spend any time on the process. There is no value in starting a process that will be refused.
On-the-ground candidate assessment
We have contacts in the Philippines who assess candidates in person. Qualifications are verified, kitchen experience is checked, and candidates are assessed before they are shortlisted. You are choosing from people we have already vetted, not from an unseen database.
What Irish employers say
"We were sceptical that anyone could actually manage the permit process for us — it looked complicated and time-consuming. CA Recruitment took the whole thing off our plate. The workers they placed are outstanding."
"I'd tried two other agencies and got nowhere. CA Recruitment got us fully permitted Filipino workers within the timeline they promised. The process was straightforward once Monette and the team were running it."
Note: CA Recruitment serves multiple sectors. The testimonials above are from existing clients across agriculture and construction. Hospitality-specific client references are available on request during your consultation.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, but only for certain chef grades. Executive chefs, head chefs, and sous chefs with at least 5 years' experience qualify for a General Employment Permit. Chef de partie and commis chef roles qualify with at least 2 years' experience. All eligible roles must be outside fast food establishments. Front-of-house, bar, and kitchen porter roles are on DETE's ineligible list. CA Recruitment confirms eligibility for your specific role during a free initial consultation.
Overseas chefs require a General Employment Permit (GEP) issued by DETE. The employer applies for the permit, not the chef. The minimum annual salary is €36,605. After the GEP is approved, the chef applies for an Irish D-visa at the Irish Embassy in their home country before travelling to Ireland. On arrival, they register with Immigration Service Delivery to receive their Irish Residence Permit.
The end-to-end process typically takes 6 to 8 months from first call to the chef starting in your kitchen. This covers 28 days for the Labour Market Needs Test, approximately 10 to 12 weeks for DETE to process the GEP application (check live processing dates at enterprise.gov.ie), 2 to 4 weeks for the D-visa, and travel and onboarding. Running candidate sourcing in parallel keeps it towards the shorter end of that range.
The minimum annual salary for any chef on a General Employment Permit is €36,605. This is the standard GEP threshold. It applies to all eligible chef grades: executive chef, head chef, sous chef, chef de partie, and commis chef.
CA Recruitment has a recruitment fee that is agreed with you upfront and separate from government costs. The main external cost is the €1,000 DETE General Employment Permit application fee, paid directly to DETE at submission. This fee cannot be recovered from the worker. A full breakdown of all costs is provided at the free initial consultation. There is no obligation to proceed.
Yes. DETE requires at least 50% of your total workforce to be EEA nationals at the time of the permit application. This applies regardless of your business size. Two exemptions exist: start-up companies registered with Revenue within the last 2 years with a formal Enterprise Ireland or IDA Ireland support letter, and situations where the overseas worker will be your only employee. CA Recruitment checks your workforce composition during the free eligibility assessment.
No. Waiters, bar staff, kitchen assistants, and most front-of-house hospitality roles are on DETE's ineligible occupations list and cannot be sponsored for a General Employment Permit. Only specific chef grades with minimum experience requirements qualify. If you are trying to fill a front-of-house role, an employment permit is not the right route and CA Recruitment will tell you that clearly at the outset.