What we look for
- Treats residents/patients with dignity, compassion and respect; adapts to individual needs and preferences.
- Recognises and reports risk, abuse or deterioration; follows safe practice including manual handling and infection control.
- Competently performs personal care, assists with daily living, monitors and records observations accurately.
- Communicates clearly and kindly with residents, families and the multidisciplinary team; hands over accurately.
- Dependable, takes direction, supports colleagues and works calmly under pressure on shift.
- Supports people with disabilities or additional emotional and behavioural needs; stays calm, safe and professional when a situation escalates.
- Works to individual care and support plans, contributes to goals and reviews, and completes accurate, timely daily notes and reports.
Questions you'll be asked
These are the questions the application form asks. You do not need to answer yes to every one — they tell us where your experience actually sits.
- How many years of direct patient/resident care experience do you have
- What setting have you worked in
- Do you hold a care or nursing qualification, from any country? (e.g. QQI Level 5 Healthcare Support, NVQ / RQF Health & Social Care, a nursing degree or diploma, Técnico ou Auxiliar de Enfermagem, ANM / GNM, TESDA NC II Caregiving, or your own country's equivalent)
- Do you have a current Manual Handling certificate
- What is your degree in
- What is the full title of your qualification and which institution awarded it
- How long was your course and what level was it (e.g. 4-year bachelor's degree)
- Which group of people have you mainly supported
- List any additional care-related training or certifications you have completed.
Qualifications that help
A qualification from any country counts. One is worth knowing about: DETE expects a health care assistant to have attained a relevant QQI Level 5 qualification after two years working in the State, for an employment permit renewal. You do not need it to start, but you will need it to stay.
- Behaviour support training
- First Aid
- Infection Prevention and Control
- Manual Handling
- Patient Moving and Handling
- Safeguarding / Children First
We assess English at around CEFR B1 for this role — enough to follow instructions and raise a problem with the person you work for. That is our own standard, not an Irish legal requirement; there is no English test in the permit rules for this job.
The work permit
This role is eligible for an Irish employment permit. This role is capped. Ireland only issues a set number of permits for it each year, and that cap has run out before — so we check what is left before anyone advertises. The job normally has to pass a 28-day Labour Market Needs Test — the employer runs that, advertising the role with JobsIreland/EURES and on a second jobs platform for 28 unbroken days. Either you or the employer can be named as the applicant on the permit itself; on our placements it is the employer. Either way the cost is not yours to carry: under section 55 of the Employment Permits Act 2024 an employer cannot take the permit fee, recruitment costs, or travel money they have already paid you out of your wages, or ask you to pay any of it back. Doing that is a criminal offence.
Salary thresholds and any quota are set per occupation and move during the year, so we confirm the current position for your exact role with DETE before an employer advertises — rather than quote you a figure here that could be out of date by the time you read it.
For care roles Ireland sets the floor by the hour, not the year: at least €16.12 an hour. On a 39-hour week that is €32,691 a year; on a 40-hour week the same rule means at least €33,529.60. If an offer quotes the annual figure but the contract is for 40 hours, the pay is short and the permit can be refused — check the hourly rate, not the headline.
Where the work happens matters too. Nursing homes and hospitals are the clear ground. Care delivered in a client's own home depends on how the employer and the duties are structured, and personal domestic work in a private home is not permitted at all — so tell us the setting on the form.
How long it takes
From an employer offering the job to you starting work, in our experience the realistic timeline is 6 to 8 months if you need an entry visa — the Philippines, for example. From a country that does not need an entry visa, such as Brazil, allow about 4 to 5 months. That covers the 28-day Labour Market Needs Test, DETE permit processing, the visa and travel. DETE processes applications in date order and publishes its current dates; we do not quote a figure that could be out of date by the time you read it.
If you are already living in Ireland on a permit, the position is different — tell us on the form and we will explain where you stand.
Apply
The application takes about ten minutes. You will be asked about your experience, and you can upload a CV and record a short voice clip so we can put you forward properly.