General care nurse · Ireland

Work in Ireland
as a nurse.

Two bodies, two decisions: the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland decides whether you can join the register, and the Department of Enterprise decides whether you can take the job. Read the register first: everything below depends on it.

Recognition
Regulated
Work permits sourced
4
Official sources
29
Last checked
2026-08-03
  1. IndiaYour documents, prepared here
  2. RecognitionRequired to practise here
  3. Right to work4 permits compared
  4. IrelandEvery source read since 2026‑08‑03
Build my roadmap →Compare the permits

The short answer

Two questions, and they are not the same question.

◎Licence decision required

Recognition

Regulated · assessed case by case

Who decides: Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI) — NMBI states that it is illegal to practise as a nurse or a midwife if you are not on its Register. General nurses are registered in the General Nurses Division.

Ireland has no single recognition desk. To have a professional qualification recognised you apply to the authority for your profession in Ireland, and if your profession is not regulated there, you do not need to apply for recognition at all. The government runs a National Assistance Centre for Professional Qualifications for questions about which case you are in. Academic recognition is a separate matter: QQI states that decisions on professional recognition are made by the appropriate Irish authority for your profession, not by QQI.

↗Always required

Work authorisation

Whatever the recognition branch says, you still need the legal right to work in Ireland. We have sourced 4 routes for a qualification obtained outside the EU and EEA.

  • Critical Skills Employment Permit
  • General Employment Permit
  • Intra-Company Transfer Employment Permit
  • Atypical Working Scheme permission, for NMBI adaptation or the aptitude test

Qualified inside the EU or EEA? Free movement replaces this branch entirely — pick your country below and the answer changes accordingly.

Work authorisation

Every permit we can source,
side by side.

Open the full roadmap →

Critical Skills Employment Permit

Employment Permits section, Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment (DETE)

Checklist
Salary floor
EUR 40,904 a year (2026 figure)Effective from 1 March 2026, set by S.I. No. 643 of 2025 under the salary-threshold roadmap DETE announced in December 2025. This is the floor for a role on the Critical Skills Occupations List that requires a relevant degree. Two other figures apply on the same permit: €68,911 a year for a role where the necessary experience can stand in for the degree, and €36,848 a year for the Graduate Critical Skills Employment Permit, open where the applicant graduated with a relevant Level 8 (or higher) degree within the 12 months before applying. DETE's roadmap phases in further increases through 2030 — confirm the figure in force on the date you apply. Where the role is in the public sector and covered by a public sector pay agreement (including Section 38 employers), the annual remuneration is the rate of pay of that agreement.
Qualification
A relevant degree or higher, where the role is on the Critical Skills Occupations List and pays a minimum of €40,904 a year; the necessary level of experience can stand in for a degree where the role pays a minimum of €68,911 a year and is not on the Ineligible List of Occupations for Employment Permits. The page sets its own qualification rule for some named occupations, so check whether yours has one before assuming a degree is required.
Minimum notice before the proposed start date
At least 12 weeks
Processing, published and updated by DETE
As of 7 August 2026, DETE was deciding Critical Skills applications received on 28 July 2026 — check the department's current processing-dates page for the queue on the day you apply
Employment permit application fee
€1,000, of which 90% is refunded if the application is refused
Everything about Critical Skills Employment Permit →
The procedure, step by step4 steps · 3 possible outcomes
  1. Secure a job offer of at least two years for a role on the Critical Skills Occupations List, or one that meets the higher salary floor of €68,911 a year.Submit your application at least 12 weeks before the proposed start date; once you start an online application you have 28 days to submit it before the system deletes it.
  2. Gather evidence of the qualifications, skills, knowledge and experience the role calls for, and of your own. DETE's application checklist does not list a QQI/NARIC Ireland comparability statement as a required document for this permit — only your own qualification details and, where the role itself has to be registered with a regulatory body, that registration number.Where your qualification is hard to verify against the Irish National Framework of Qualifications, a NARIC Ireland comparability statement can still support your case; it addresses academic comparability only, not any separate professional-recognition question.
  3. Apply online through the Employment Permits Online System, as either the employer or the employee. The employer also has to show that at least half of the firm's employees are EEA nationals, unless the firm is a start-up within two years of establishment and backed by IDA Ireland or Enterprise Ireland.
  4. If you are a visa-required national, apply for an entry visa at the Irish embassy or consulate responsible for your country once the permit is granted. Once in the State, register your immigration permission with the Garda National Immigration Bureau.

Possible outcomes

  • A Critical Skills Employment Permit, which does not require a Labour Market Needs Test because the occupation is already recognised as being in short supply.
  • After holding the permit, a route to a Stamp 4 immigration permission from the Department of Justice, granted for two years and renewable.
  • Refusal, where the salary floor, the qualification or experience requirement, or the other conditions are not met.

General Employment Permit

Employment Permits section, Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment (DETE)

Checklist
Salary floor
EUR 36,605 a year (2026 figure)Effective from 1 March 2026. A lower floor of €34,009 a year applies to the Graduate General Employment Permit, open where the applicant graduated with a relevant Level 8 (or higher) degree within the 12 months before applying. DETE also publishes a separate, lower floor for a short list of named occupations outside these two categories — check the department's current schedule if you are unsure which floor applies to your role. The roadmap phases in further increases across all of these thresholds through 2030, so confirm the figure in force on the date you apply.
Qualification
The qualifications, skills or experience the specific role requires. The permit covers any occupation not on the Ineligible List of Occupations for Employment Permits, so what counts as sufficient depends on the job, not on one bar set for every applicant.
Minimum notice before the proposed start date
At least 12 weeks
Labour Market Needs Test advertising period
28 continuous days on each of two platforms, then apply within 90 days of the first publication
Employment permit application fee, up to 24 months
€1,000, of which 90% is refunded if the application is refused
Employment permit application fee, six months or less
€500
Renewal, up to 36 months
€1,500
Everything about General Employment Permit →
The procedure, step by step4 steps · 3 possible outcomes
  1. Secure a job offer that is not on the Ineligible List of Occupations for Employment Permits, at the applicable salary floor.Submit your application at least 12 weeks before the proposed start date; once you start an online application you have 28 days to submit it before the system deletes it.
  2. Run the Labour Market Needs Test, unless the role is on the Critical Skills Occupations List, pays at least €68,911 a year, is backed by IDA Ireland or Enterprise Ireland, or fits one of the scheme's other exemptions. Advertise the vacancy on the Department of Social Protection's Employment Services/EURES network (JobsIreland.ie) for 28 continuous, unaltered days, and on one further online platform for the same period, then apply within 90 days of the first publication.Every advertisement has to state the job, the employer's name, the location, the weekly hours and the minimum annual remuneration.
  3. Apply online through the Employment Permits Online System, as either the employer or the employee. The employer also has to show that at least half of the firm's employees are EEA nationals, with the same start-up exemption as the Critical Skills permit, plus a further one where the applicant would be the firm's sole employee.
  4. If you are a visa-required national, apply for an entry visa at the Irish embassy or consulate responsible for your country once the permit is granted. Once in the State, register your immigration permission with the Garda National Immigration Bureau.

Possible outcomes

  • A General Employment Permit for up to 24 months, renewable for up to three further years.
  • After five consecutive years holding General Employment Permits while working lawfully, a route to a temporary Stamp 4 from the Department of Justice, without a further permit application.
  • Refusal, where the salary floor, the Labour Market Needs Test, the 50:50 rule or the other conditions are not met.

Intra-Company Transfer Employment Permit

Employment Permits section, Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment (DETE)

Checklist
Salary floor
EUR 49,523 a year (2026 figure)Effective from 1 March 2026, this is the floor for senior management and key personnel. A lower floor of €36,605 a year applies to trainees. Confirm the figure in force on the date you apply, since DETE's roadmap phases in further increases through 2030.
Qualification
For senior management or key personnel, a high level of qualification or experience and specialist knowledge essential to the Irish branch; trainees are admitted instead for a defined period of structured training.
Minimum notice before the proposed start date
At least 12 weeks
Permit granted
Up to 24 months in the first instance, extendable to a maximum of five years in total
Employment permit application fee, up to 24 months
€1,000, of which 90% is refunded if the application is refused
Employment permit application fee, six months or less
€500
Everything about Intra-Company Transfer Employment Permit →
The procedure, step by step4 steps · 3 possible outcomes
  1. Confirm you meet the minimum prior-employment period with the overseas branch of the same corporate group: six months for senior management or key personnel, one month for trainees.Submit your application at least 12 weeks before the proposed start date.
  2. Agree the transfer with the Irish branch. Your salary is paid, at least in part, by the foreign employer; the Irish branch may add further components such as board, accommodation or health insurance.
  3. Apply online through the Employment Permits Online System. The Ineligible List of Occupations for Employment Permits does not apply to this permit, and DETE's guidance does not mention a 50:50 EEA-staffing rule for it either.The trade-off is the one stated in the authority note: this permit does not build towards long-term residency, because DETE treats the transfer as temporary by design.
  4. If you are a visa-required national, apply for an entry visa at the Irish embassy or consulate responsible for your country once the permit is granted. Once in the State, register your immigration permission with the Garda National Immigration Bureau.

Possible outcomes

  • An Intra-Company Transfer Employment Permit for up to 24 months, extendable to a maximum of five years.
  • No route to long-term residency through this permit alone — DETE treats the transfer as temporary by design.
  • Refusal, where the prior-employment period, the salary floor or the other conditions are not met.

Atypical Working Scheme permission, for NMBI adaptation or the aptitude test

Immigration Service Delivery, Department of Justice

Checklist
Qualification
A nurse seeking NMBI registration on the basis of an overseas qualification, through clinical adaptation or an RCSI aptitude test.
Permission
Six months
Everything about Atypical Working Scheme permission, for NMBI adaptation or the aptitude test →
The procedure, step by step2 steps · 1 possible outcomes
  1. Apply for the permission to be in Ireland for your clinical adaptation or your RCSI aptitude test. Check the scheme's list of documents for your category before you apply.
  2. Apply for and receive your employment permit before the permission under the scheme expires.Time spent on this permission is not reckonable when your eligibility for Stamp 4 is assessed.

Possible outcomes

  • Permission to be in Ireland for the adaptation period or the aptitude test, without permission to work until an employment permit is granted.

Recognition procedure

What the authority asks of you.

Ordered the way the procedure runs, from an origin outside the EU and EEA. Pick your own country of qualification below and the planner reorders it for you.

1

Prepare your documents

  1. Request certified copies of your degree and full academic transcripts from the Indian university or board that issued them.
  2. The Apostille Convention has been in force for India since 14 July 2005, so an apostille replaces consular legalisation. An Indian educational document cannot go straight to the apostille, though: it is authenticated first by the Regional Authentication Centre of the State or Union Territory whose authority signed it, and the Ministry of External Affairs apostilles it afterwards on the strength of that signature.Which office acts as the RAC, what it charges and how long it takes are set by each State or Union Territory, not by the MEA.
  3. Since July 2012 the MEA has not accepted documents directly from applicants. They go through one of the four authorised outsourced agencies — BLS International Services, Superb Enterprises, IVS Global Services or Alhind Tours & Travels — and since 1 January 2019 the service also runs from Branch Secretariats and Regional Passport Offices in 16 cities.The MEA advises applicants not to rely on unauthorised persons or touts. Nobody outside those channels can lodge an apostille for you.
  4. If your certificate already sits in an Indian digital depository — CBSE documents from 2014 onwards, or anything issued through the National Academic Depository — e-Sanad handles the apostille online and the physical route does not apply. CBSE physical copies from 2014 onwards are no longer accepted over the counter.
  5. An apostille certifies the signature and seal of the Indian authority that signed your document. It says nothing about what the document contains: the MEA states explicitly that it does not take responsibility for the contents.It is a check on the paperwork, never a statement about the level or the content of your qualification.
  6. Find the competent authority for your profession in the government's list of regulated professions and competent authorities, and apply to that authority rather than to a general office.
2

Get your qualification assessed

  1. Apply to NMBI for recognition of your qualification. NMBI describes a two-step process, recognition of qualifications and then registration, and a qualification from outside the EU is assessed both administratively and on its content.NMBI does not fast-track applications because of a job offer.
  2. NMBI's decision letter says one of four things: your qualifications are recognised, further information is required, you must complete a compensation measure, or a provisional refusal because of significant deficits.
3

Close any gaps

  1. If a compensation measure is required, a general nurse chooses between a period of adaptation and the aptitude test. The adaptation period takes place in Ireland, with a clinical part of at least six weeks that may be extended to twelve and beyond; you or a prospective employer must find the placement, because NMBI does not organise them. The aptitude test is coordinated by RCSI's Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, in two parts, a multiple-choice test and then an OSCE, with results within three days.You have 12 months from the letter to secure an adaptation period, or 12 months from the email to complete the aptitude test. The test allows two attempts; a third is not permitted. Once you complete one measure you cannot switch to the other.
4

Register and start working

  1. Apply for registration once your qualification is recognised. This is where NMBI asks for your English language evidence, and where the €145 overseas registration fee applies.
  2. Do not start work before your name is on the register. Under section 39 of the Nurses and Midwives Act 2011, a person without current registration shall not practise the profession or advertise that they practise it, and section 44 makes that an offence.
  3. Your employment permit application needs a copy of your NMBI registration or your registration number. For the Critical Skills Employment Permit, DETE accepts as the qualification a nurse's third-level degree or diploma that NMBI accepts as sufficient for registration.
  4. Evidence your English when you apply for registration, not when you apply for recognition. NMBI accepts training in English in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the USA or the UK; three years of post-registration practice in the last five in one of those countries; or a test: IELTS Academic (or IELTS Academic for UKVI) with 7.0 overall, 7.0 in any three components and 6.5 in the fourth, or OET (Nursing) with grade B in three components and C+ in the fourth.Results must be less than two years old and come from a single sitting: NMBI does not accept combined results, the IELTS One Skill Retake, IELTS online or OET at home. Applicants on an EU Directive route have further options, listed on NMBI's EU pages.

What it costs

MEA apostille
Rs 50 per apostille sticker
Authorised agency service charge
Rs 84 per document, plus Rs 3 per page for scanning
State authentication before the apostille
Set by the State or Union Territory that authenticates the document — confirm the current fee with the relevant RAC
Overseas qualification recognition
€350
Overseas registration
€145
Annual retention
€100
Aptitude test, if it is your compensation measure
€2,800, or €2,500 when a prospective employer pays RCSI directly. Set by RCSI, the test provider, not by NMBI
Appeal
€150

How long it takes

Documentation to registration
On average 13 months for successful applicants, in NMBI's own figure
Compensation measure
12 months to secure an adaptation period, or to complete the aptitude test

Possible outcomes

  • Recognition of your qualification, followed by registration in the General Nurses Division.
  • A compensation measure, a period of adaptation or the aptitude test, before recognition.
  • A provisional refusal where NMBI finds significant deficits, which can be appealed to its Registration Committee and then to the High Court.

Possible, not predicted. Nobody here can tell you which one you will get.

Where you qualified

The answer changes
with your country.

Everything we cover →

Qualified outside the EU and EEA — permit required

Colombia → IrelandOpen this roadmapArgentina → IrelandOpen this roadmapIndia → IrelandOpen this roadmapPhilippines → IrelandOpen this roadmapNigeria → IrelandOpen this roadmapBrazil → IrelandOpen this roadmapMexico → IrelandOpen this roadmap

Qualified inside the EU or EEA — free movement applies

Spain → IrelandDifferent answerGermany → IrelandDifferent answerNetherlands → IrelandDifferent answer

People reach this page looking for

  • NMBI registration for overseas nurses
  • NMBI adaptation or aptitude test
  • RCSI aptitude test for nurses
  • Critical Skills Employment Permit for nurses
  • Ireland nursing registration from India

Questions

Answered from the same sources.

Is general care nurse a regulated profession in Ireland?

Yes. Regulated · assessed case by case. The decision is made by Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI).

Which authority recognises a foreign general care nurse qualification in Ireland?

Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI). NMBI states that it is illegal to practise as a nurse or a midwife if you are not on its Register. General nurses are registered in the General Nurses Division.

Which work permits can a general care nurse apply for in Ireland?

We have sourced 4: Critical Skills Employment Permit, General Employment Permit, Intra-Company Transfer Employment Permit, Atypical Working Scheme permission, for NMBI adaptation or the aptitude test. Each one has its own conditions, and this page compares them side by side rather than recommending one.

What salary do you need to work in Ireland as a general care nurse?

Critical Skills Employment Permit: EUR 40,904 a year (2026 figure, Effective from 1 March 2026, set by S.I. No. 643 of 2025 under the salary-threshold roadmap DETE announced in December 2025. This is the floor for a role on the Critical Skills Occupations List that requires a relevant degree. Two other figures apply on the same permit: €68,911 a year for a role where the necessary experience can stand in for the degree, and €36,848 a year for the Graduate Critical Skills Employment Permit, open where the applicant graduated with a relevant Level 8 (or higher) degree within the 12 months before applying. DETE's roadmap phases in further increases through 2030 — confirm the figure in force on the date you apply. Where the role is in the public sector and covered by a public sector pay agreement (including Section 38 employers), the annual remuneration is the rate of pay of that agreement.). General Employment Permit: EUR 36,605 a year (2026 figure, Effective from 1 March 2026. A lower floor of €34,009 a year applies to the Graduate General Employment Permit, open where the applicant graduated with a relevant Level 8 (or higher) degree within the 12 months before applying. DETE also publishes a separate, lower floor for a short list of named occupations outside these two categories — check the department's current schedule if you are unsure which floor applies to your role. The roadmap phases in further increases across all of these thresholds through 2030, so confirm the figure in force on the date you apply.). Intra-Company Transfer Employment Permit: EUR 49,523 a year (2026 figure, Effective from 1 March 2026, this is the floor for senior management and key personnel. A lower floor of €36,605 a year applies to trainees. Confirm the figure in force on the date you apply, since DETE's roadmap phases in further increases through 2030.).

How long does the process take?

Documentation to registration: On average 13 months for successful applicants, in NMBI's own figure. Compensation measure: 12 months to secure an adaptation period, or to complete the aptitude test. These are the timeframes the authorities publish, not a prediction about your case.

Is this page up to date?

The oldest source behind it was checked on 2026-08-03. Every claim links to the official page it came from, with its own check date, so you can verify any of it yourself in one click.

Evidence

Every claim on this page, and where it came from.

29 official pages, each with the jurisdiction it speaks for and the date a human last opened it. The oldest of them is 2026-08-03, and that is the date this page is only as fresh as.

Two minutes, no account

Your qualification, your country, your roadmap.

This page answers the pairing in general. The planner answers it for the country you actually qualified in, and prints the result with its sources attached.

Build my roadmap →How we verify this