The Government has today announced that all eligible spouses and partners of employment permit holders will be allowed to work if they are already in the State and are granted permission to live in Ireland with their family member.

To date, the ability to work without a permit was only provided to spouses and partners of Critical Skills Employment Permit holders.

This has now been extended to include General Employment Permit holders and Intra-Corporate Transferee Permit holders who are already in the State and who have been granted permission to live in Ireland with their family member.

Current and future permit holders whose spouses or partners are not in the State will still need to apply for family reunification after 12 months as currently, although once such family reunification has been granted, those spouses or partners will also now be able to work without the need for a separate employment permit.

The Government also announced that agreement has been reached to begin to roll out a single permit to both work and live in Ireland. Implementing a single permit system will eventually allow Ireland to opt into the EU’s Single Permit Directive.

These key actions are being taken to increase the competitiveness of Ireland in attracting the skills and talent the economy needs.

For more information, see the Government’s press release here.