Analysis: Irish immigration law – 2023 review and 2024 outlook

2023 ended with significant announcements regarding the largest expansion and renewal of the Employment Permit System since its inception. In 2024, it is expected that there will be further changes to the employment permit system, with the possibility of enactment of the Employment Permit Bill.

However, we also expect further changes to be adopted as part of the Department of Justice’s modernization program, such as those seen in the naturalization process and possible proposals for the adoption of a single application procedure. Masu.

Employment permit system

In June 2023, the Ministry of Enterprise, Trade and Employment asked interested parties to submit evidence to support their claims for inclusion of certain occupations on the list of critical skills occupations or removal from the list of occupations ineligible for employment permits.

After the consultation period ended in August 2023, nothing of note seemed to have happened, but in a surprise pre-Christmas announcement, the Irish government announced a major expansion of Ireland’s employment permit system, with most Increased salary requirements for employment permit types.

Here is an article that explains this announcement in detail, but in summary, this announcement includes 43 changes to the list of occupations for employment authorization, with 32 new occupations now eligible for general employment authorization, and 11 new occupations. occupations are eligible for critical skills employment permits.

A new roadmap has also been announced that will gradually increase salary requirements for most employment permit types. In particular, the minimum salary requirement for all general employment permits could be increased in stages to €39,000 from January 2024 to January 2026. Additionally, the minimum salary requirement for a critical skills employment permit for applicants who require a relevant third-level degree from January 2024 could be increased to €44,000 by January 2026. January 2025.

Many employers will need to review and re-forecast their employment cost budgets to ensure that their employment permit holders can continue to work in Ireland.

However, further changes may be made in 2024. When these changes were announced, Minister of State Neil Richmond said more than 121 submissions had been made in response to the department’s request, with more than 350 changes of various types being sought.

In the end, more than 40 changes were made to the occupation list, and additional changes were made to the salary requirements. Ministers confirmed that other requests would continue to be considered on an “exceptional basis”. Therefore, in 2024, employment permit quotas may be extended to other occupations, while other occupations will also be eligible for general employment permits and critical skills employment permits.

employment permit law

It will not necessarily develop in 2023, but we will draft a bill that looks like this: Employment Authorization Bill 2022 was published in late 2022 with the aim of streamlining, improving and modernizing the employment permit system and making it more responsive to Ireland’s evolving labor market. As drafted, the bill proposes:

• Consolidate existing employment authorization laws.
• Creates a new type of employment permit for seasonal workers, aimed at facilitating the employment of non-EEA nationals in “seasonal employment”. This is covered by separate regulations.
• Allow subcontractors to take advantage of the employment permit system.
• Authorizes the Minister to specify conditions for the grant of employment permits, including accommodation, upskilling, training, costs, etc.
• Review the existing labor market needs test and remove the requirement that job postings be published in national and local newspapers.
• Introducing automatic salary sliding for employment authorization salary requirements.

As drafted, the bill would improve the system’s efficiency by moving many of the operational details of the employment authorization system into regulations enacted under core legislation that can be introduced more quickly to keep pace with evolving hiring practices. This will contribute to improvement.

It is unfortunate that little progress has been made in 2023 to advance this bill. However, given that it is an election year and the real impact that recent expansions and changes to Ireland’s employment permit system may have is yet to be seen, this bill is likely to be on the legislative agenda. Further changes to Irish employment permits are likely. This will be systemized in 2024. We will continue to closely monitor developments in this area.

modernization program

As technological developments and advancements unfold around us, digital transformation has become one of the driving forces behind the evolution of global migration processes and policies. While it initially began with the introduction of online systems during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, governments’ move to modernize and digitize immigration systems and processes has become increasingly permanent.

The Department of Justice is no exception, and in April 2023, as part of its strategy to improve Ireland’s immigration system, it launched a modernization program to make Ireland’s immigration system faster, more accessible and more efficient. Established.

The ministry’s long-term goal is to digitize immigration services and move them to a single online platform. We also aim to improve customer service by simplifying processes and making the immigration system easier to understand, while maintaining security.

As part of the 2023 modernization program:

• The Department of Justice has moved the citizenship application process for adults and minors online. At the same time, some naturalization eligibility rules were also relaxed (see below) in an effort to improve customer service and efficiency and make the system more accessible to end users.
• The Department of Justice has taken over the Stamp 4 application process for Critical Skills Employment Permit holders. This eliminates the need for critical skills employment permit holders to receive a support letter from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment as part of the application process, ending the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment’s involvement in the process and significantly streamlining the process.

It will be interesting to see what other improvements are made in 2024, as the department’s other goals include:

• Eliminate the ever-increasing backlog of immigration applications.
• The remaining immigration operations will be transferred from the Garda National Immigration Service to the Ministry of Justice.
• Move towards processing applications for international protection in a timely manner and making the international protection process more efficient.
• Ensuring the fairness and efficiency of the Irish immigration system through new strategic policies and legislative proposals.

Please note that these are summary goals only and do not influence policy. However, the changes implemented as a result of pursuing these goals may result in employers hiring foreign nationals in Ireland, and employees seeking to enter the Irish labor market may benefit from improved services, online platforms, etc. You can expect increased access to additional resources, more consistent decision-making, and greater transparency in the immigration process.

naturalization rules

In 2023, the Department of Justice relaxed naturalization rules to allow applicants to spend longer periods abroad.

As part of the adult naturalization application, the applicant must have had continuous residence in Ireland for one year immediately preceding the application date. In her eight years immediately preceding that period, the applicant must have resided in Ireland for a total of four years.

Previously, the Department of Justice considered prolonged absences of more than six weeks per year to not count for naturalization purposes. Therefore, if an applicant is absent for more than six weeks in a year, that year will not be counted toward the naturalization application. Additionally, the Justice Department will allow the year to continue to be counted if “exceptional circumstances” exist and the Justice Department can prove it.

However, the above-mentioned difficulty is due to the fact that the Department of Justice operated these rules through internal policies, and there was no clear provision for “exceptional circumstances” in the guidance or law, so relying on such internal policies would not be possible. This created significant uncertainties and limitations in its application. Whether you can leave Ireland, whether for personal or professional reasons. This has resulted in many applicants submitting lengthy submissions to justify their absence and/or seek exceptions.

In a welcome move, these rules have been relaxed and some summary guidance has been provided. Currently, naturalization applicants can stay outside Ireland for a total of 70 days in the year before applying. Applicants may also request an additional 30 days in case of exceptional circumstances (including family or personal circumstances, health problems, employment or study obligations, voluntary humanitarian service) .

For the remaining four years of residence required for a naturalization application, applicants will now be required to demonstrate, through an objective assessment, that Ireland was their principal residence during that period.

Despite clarifying the circumstances for these types of applications, the law and guidance still do not address the situation for adult applicants who must rely on their parents’ documentation to prove their residence during the period they were minors. Is not … Therefore, it is likely that in 2024 the Department of Justice will announce further changes to clarify and fine-tune these applications.

Bulk application procedure for employment permit and entry permit

Proposals to develop a single application process for employment and immigration permits were agreed in principle by the Irish Government in 2022. An interagency working group was then established to develop an implementation plan for consideration by the government.

Although no report by the group has been published in 2023, it remains to be seen whether any recommendations or recommendations regarding implementation of the proposed single-application process will be published in 2024 and whether it would modernize the Department of Justice. We have to wait and see if it will be considered. Programs and latest changes to the Irish employment permit system.