Ireland employment permit processing dates: 10 November 2026 snapshot

Ireland’s employment permit processing page has a new snapshot dated 10 November 2026. If you are waiting for a decision, check the category that matches your application rather than relying on someone else’s timeline.

The Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment lists the application receipt dates it has reached. These are queue markers, not promised decision dates.

Employment permit queue dates: 10 November 2026

• Critical Skills: 28 October 2026.
• New General Employment Permits: 8 October 2026.
• Other new permits, excluding Critical Skills, General and Intra-Company Transfer: 8 October 2026.
• New Intra-Company Transfer permits: 1 November 2026.
• Intra-Company Transfer renewals: 15 September 2026.
• Renewals, covering all renewable permit types: 11 September 2026.
• Reviews and appeals: 6 May 2026.

Source: the department’s current processing dates, checked on 10 November 2026. The department says it works through applications according to when it receives the completed form and any applicable fee. Check the live page again before making plans.

Planning a work start date

A recent queue date is not a reason to leave an application until the last minute. The department’s application guidance says applications must arrive at least 12 weeks before the proposed start of employment. That requirement is not a promise that a decision will take 12 weeks.

Before submitting, use the checklist for your permit type. A contract signed by both employer and employee must accompany each application. Where a Labour Market Needs Test applies, the EURES advertisement must run for at least 28 days before a valid application can be submitted.

Portal outage: status checked 10 November 2026

Ireland’s Employment Permits Portal remains unavailable. In its 2 November update, the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment withdrew its expected 3 November reopening. No new reopening date has been confirmed.

Applications already submitted continue to be processed and decisions are still being issued. The department’s current service FAQs say saved drafts and applications awaiting payment are expected to remain available when service returns. New applications cannot currently be submitted by email, and alternative submission arrangements are still being finalised. The department says it will apply appropriate flexibility where the outage affects submission timelines, renewals or Labour Market Needs Test advertising requirements. The outage does not itself extend the validity of an employment permit or change immigration permission.

Be wary of unexpected messages about permits, payments or this incident. Do not open suspicious links or attachments or provide passwords in response to unsolicited requests. Verify requests through official contact details. For urgent permit queries, email epos@enterprise.gov.ie.

Check the department’s latest notices for any change before trying to submit. The queue figures above are the department’s 10 November snapshot.

Where to check your own application

Use your application status rather than treating the public queue page as an individual decision. For help, the department’s official contact page directs applicants to review the processing dates and permit criteria first.

The Workplace Relations Commission provides general permit information and limited status information. Detailed questions about a particular application should go directly to the Employment Permits Section. Its published email for general queries is employmentpermits@enterprise.gov.ie; online application and payment queries go to EPOS@enterprise.gov.ie.

Visa questions are separate. The same contact page directs those to Immigration Service Delivery or the relevant Irish embassy or consulate, not the employment permit queue.

Queue figures and portal status checked on 10 November 2026 against the department’s current pages. Queue dates are not a forecast or personal legal advice.

Illustrative workplace meeting. Photo: Pavel Danilyuk / Pexels. Cropped. Used under the Pexels License.