Non-EEA Accountants coming to work in Ireland
To be able to work in Ireland, a non-EEA accountant needs to follow several steps that vary depending on the applicant’s qualifications and nationality.
In general, the main steps are securing an
Irish employment permit, an
Irish employment visa (unless there is an exemption) and
INIS (Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service) registration.
An essential requirement for the process is that the applicant is fully qualified (i.e. a member of a professional accounting body), like
Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Ireland (CPA Ireland).
Even if the applicant is a member of another foreign accounting body, the process can still be initiated if there is a mutual recognition between that body and CPA Ireland.
- AICPA (American Institute of CPAs)
- CPA Australia
- ICA India
- ICMA Pakistan
- South African Institute of Professional Accountants
- CA Sri Lanka
- ICMA Bangladesh
CPA Ireland have partnered with Visa First to help you secure your Irish work permit and visa.
Securing an Irish Employment Permit
Finding a job offer from an employer in Ireland who can organise the documents required for the employment permit process is a mandatory requirement.
The type of the employment permit an applicant is eligible for will depend on several factors - the main one being the base annual salary the employee will receive.
In general, Accountants are considered as a category on the
“Critical Skills Occupations List” and the Critical Skills Employment permit (the best type of employment permit in Ireland) is usually the go-to option.
In some cases, employers might initially offer a lower salary eligible for a General Employment permit. This happens often with employees starting their first job.
However, once the employee begins working in Ireland, becomes a member of CPA Ireland, gains additional skills and experience along with a salary raise, there is scope to receive a Critical Skills Employment permit.
The permit processing time depends on several factors. Some of these include the volume of applications the Department of Enterprise is handling at the time, as well as if the employer is registered as a Trusted partner or not.
Currently, the average processing time for standard employers is about 14 weeks, while for Trusted Partners it is approximately 10 weeks. This is expected to change once the Department manages to clear some backlog from 2021.
For accountants from a visa-required country, the next step after securing the permit is obtaining an Irish employment visa. Most Asian and African nationals are required to have an employment visa but there are some exemptions (i.e. for nationals of Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, or South Africa).
The visa application is organised locally – with the relevant visa office, consulate or embassy and requirements vary. The processing time is usually between 4 and 10 weeks.
Visa First can assist you in organising your visa! They take all the stress out of your application, and make sure everything is in order for a smooth and successful process!
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VISA FREE
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VISA REQUIRED
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EEA countries
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Honduras
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Albania
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Indonesia
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Qatar
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Switzerland
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Nicaragua
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Montenegro
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Vietnam
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Yemen
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United Kingdom
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Costa Rica
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Serbia
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Myanmar
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Kuwait
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Australia
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Puerto Rico
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Bosna and Herzegovina
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Micronesia
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Bahrain
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New Zealand
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Panama
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North Macedonia
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Papua New Guinea
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Peru
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Japan
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Grenada
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Kosovo
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Cambodia
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Venezuela
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South Korea
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Bahamas
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Moldova
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Sri Lanka
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Colombia
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Hong Kong
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Dominica
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Ukraine
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Nepal
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Ecuador
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Taiwan
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Saint Lucia
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Belarus
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Bhutan
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Cuba
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Macau
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Guyana
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Russia
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Mongolia
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Dominican Republic
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Malaysia
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Argentina
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Kazakhstan
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Bangladesh
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Haiti
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Singapore
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Brazil
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Kyrgyzstan
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Afghanistan
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Jamaica
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Brunei
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Chile
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Tajikistan
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North Korea
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All African countries
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Tonga
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Bolivia
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Turkmenistan
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Turkey
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except for Lesotho,
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Kiribati
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Paraguay
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India
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Armenia
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South Africa and
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Canada
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Uruguay
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China
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Azerbaijan
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Swaziland
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USA
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Israel
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Pakistan
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Jordan
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Mexico
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UAE
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Iran
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Lebanon
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Belize
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Lesotho
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Iraq
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Oman
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Guatemala
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South Africa
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Philippines
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Syria
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El Salvador
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Swaziland
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Thailand
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Saudi Arabia
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Coming to Ireland
Once the Irish Employment Permit and Visa is issued, the employer and applicant can plan on relocating to Ireland.
Once the applicant is in Ireland, the next step is to organise INIS registration for the Irish Residence permit (IRP).
It will be under the Stamp 1 category which means ‘Permit holder’. It allows foreign nationals to remain legally in Ireland to work under the existing employment permit. The IRP also provides each permit holder the option to leave Ireland and return without the need of obtaining another visa.
If you need help with your application, you should check out Visa First, who will be more than happy to help!