Software developer · Ireland

Work in Ireland
as a software developer.

Ireland puts software on the list of occupations it is openly short of, and that changes which permit you are aiming at. The one worth chasing is not the general permit most search results land on, and the difference shows up in the salary floor, the waiting time and whether your family can come with you.

Recognition
Not regulated
Work permits sourced
3
Official sources
13
Last checked
2026-08-03
Build my roadmap →Compare the permits

The short answer

Two questions, and they are not the same question.

◎No licence decision

Recognition

Not regulated · no recognition decision required

No authority approves your qualification before you take this job in Ireland. That is a sourced finding, not an absence of research: the links at the bottom of this page are what it rests on.

↗Always required

Work authorisation

Whatever the recognition branch says, you still need the legal right to work in Ireland. We have sourced 3 routes for a qualification obtained outside the EU and EEA.

  • Critical Skills Employment Permit
  • General Employment Permit
  • Intra-Company Transfer Employment Permit

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 (2026 figure)Effective from 1 March 2026, per 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.
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.
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
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 (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
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 (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
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.

Document preparation

What you still have to prepare.

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 institution that issued them in India.
  2. India is a contracting party to the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention, so an apostille replaces consular legalisation. Obtain it from the competent authority India has designated.Apostilles are issued per document. Budget one for the degree and one for each transcript you submit.

What it costs

Apostille (per document)
Set by the authority India designates — confirm the current fee before applying

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 roadmap

People reach this page looking for

  • critical skills employment permit software
  • Ireland work permit for developers
  • general employment permit Ireland
  • software engineer jobs Ireland visa sponsorship
  • Ireland stamp 1 to stamp 4

Questions

Answered from the same sources.

Is software developer a regulated profession in Ireland?

No. We verified that software developer is not a regulated profession in Ireland, which means no authority has to approve your qualification before you may hold the job. You still need a legal right to work there.

Which work permits can a software developer apply for in Ireland?

We have sourced 3: Critical Skills Employment Permit, General Employment Permit, Intra-Company Transfer Employment Permit. 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 software developer?

Critical Skills Employment Permit: EUR 40,904 (2026 figure, Effective from 1 March 2026, per 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.). General Employment Permit: EUR 36,605 (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 (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.).

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.

13 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