Include the processing time in your recruitment planning
At time of writing (End May 2020) the processing times for employment permits are 3 weeks for Trusted Partner applications and 10 weeks for Standard applications. When planning your recruitment campaign, you should remember that if the right candidate for you requires an employment permit, it will take time to process the employment permit (and the Immigration Visa if one is needed). Keep an eye on permit processing times here: https://dbei.gov.ie/en/What-We-Do/Workplace-and-Skills/Employment-Permits/
Plan your recruitment adverts with the permit process in mind
From 1 January 2020, to make applications for certain categories of employment permits (notably the General permit) that require you as a prospective employer to advertise your vacancy mandate a 4-week advertisement period on the EURES employment network together with a 3-day advertisement in a national newspaper and a 3-day advertisement in a local newspaper or on another jobs website.
Remember you also have to include five requirements in your ads – the name of the employer, details of the vacancy, the place of employment, annual pay, and hours of work! More details are given here: https://dbei.gov.ie/en/What-We-Do/Workplace-and-Skills/Employment-Permits/Labour-Market-Needs-Test/
Clarify your thoughts on what your company does
As part of the employment permit process, you have to provide information on what your company does. If this application is part of a new direction for your company, then you need to reflect this in your thinking and the description of what your company does. Also remember to update your web presence to reflect this element of the company workload.
Gather information
To save yourself from frustration, gather together as much of the required information as you can ahead of time. You only have 28 days from when you start the employment permit process until the information is automatically wiped. Ensure you don’t have to start again from the beginning.
Photo requirements
The Online system is a useful tool, but you need to have some precise information and details to complete the process. This is most important when it comes to the applicant’s photo, the current guideline for the photo is as follows:
A passport photo of the Foreign National must be uploaded as part of the Documentary Attachments for all Employment Permit applications. In line with the Employment Permits Regulations, as amended the photo must be the same size and specifications as that provided for an Irish passport. These specifications are:
• Width of the image is 413 pixels (35mm @ 300dpi).
• Height of the image is 531 pixels (45mm @ 300dpi).
My-work ID
The system allows you to leave an application mid-processing and to return to it at a late stage. This can be useful when you are trying to contact someone for missing information or when you are trying to share the input load. It also is necessary when the application is completed and the whole application has to be printed out and signed by the prospective employee. The My-work ID is required to continue processing, be sure to jot it down when it first appears (after the first page of detail) together with the passport number, as both will be necessary when you resume work.
Hope you found these tips useful, all the best, Conor
Easy Employment Permits in Ireland 