After graduation - careers in Ireland

While studying in Ireland you may come to the same conclusion that many others have arrived at, and decide to start your career here. With the second highest wages in the EU and a UN report that found Ireland to be the world’s fifth most desirable country to live in, it is definitely worth your consideration.

The current global economic downturn is affecting Ireland as much as anywhere else, and significant job losses have occurred over the past year. However, most of these redundancies have been in the lower-skilled sector, and Ireland is still a great place for well-qualified graduates of any nationality to find highly paid and secure jobs.

The following is a guide to the main schemes that enable international graduates to secure work in Ireland:

*Please note that these schemes are for non-EEA nationals only, as EU nationals (except Bulgarian and Romanian nationals, who receive preferential treatment to non-EAA nationals) and graduates from Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Switzerland are free to work in Ireland.

Third Level Graduate Scheme

The scheme is in effect an extension to a student’s visa, allowing graduates of a primary, masters or doctorate degree (level 7-10 on the NFQ) to remain in Ireland for six months from the day upon which they receive their exam results. Graduates are free during this time to work for up to 40 hours a week and/or seek employment, and apply for further permission to remain in the state.

Green Card Scheme

This scheme is designed to allow employers in specific sectors that are suffering from skills shortages to employ highly skilled non-EEA graduates or workers. Graduates in economically important sectors such as Information Communications Technology (ICT), Healthcare, Financial Services and Scientific Research may be able to benefit. The Green Card is available to nearly all occupations with an annual salary of €60,000 or more, and to a restricted list of occupations with annual salaries between €30,000 and €59,999 - visit the link above for the current list of applicable occupations.

The Green Card features a named employer and the specific role held by the employee, and either party can make the application. It entitles the holder to an initial stay of two years and to apply for family reunification. The Green Card is renewable and often serves as a gateway to permanent residency status after the initial two-year period.

Work Permit Scheme

Not too dissimilar from the Green Card, the Work Permit Scheme enables non-EEA graduates to work in occupations with an annual salary of €30,000 or more (a lower income is sometimes accepted in exceptional cases),  and which are suffering from labour shortages. The Work Permit Scheme does not apply to certain occupations, a list of which can be found at the link above. Like the Green Card, the Work Permit is allocated on a job-by-job basis. 

Employment Scheme for Researchers

Under this scheme, contracted researchers can work for publicly funded research organisations (including in industry). As with the previous schemes, permission is linked to a specific research role in a named organisation, but there is no obligation for the employer to seek an EEA candidate.

The researcher must be earning a minimum of €25,000, or €30,000 if there are dependants. Holders and their dependants will be eligible to apply for long-term residence after a period of two years. Visit www.researchcareersireland.com to view the latest research positions available in Ireland.

Employment of Students Pursuing a Professional Accountancy Qualification

If you are a student pursuing an accountancy qualification, you may be able to work full time in an accountancy/finance role with an approved employer without the requirement to obtain a work permit. ACA, ACCA, CIMA and CIPA have an agreement with the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) to facilitate the full-time training in an accountancy/finance role, of non-EEA students. Such students are granted a renewable stamp for up to twelve months at a time.

Visit www.employmentrights.ie for information regarding the legal rights and entitlements of employees in Ireland.