Ireland's Employment Permit Salary Thresholds Changed in March 2026: What Actually Changed and What's Still to Come

If you're on a Critical Skills or General Employment Permit, or hoping to get one, you've probably heard something changed with the salary rules earlier this year. Here is what actually changed, what's coming next, and the one exception that gets missed most often.

The New Salary Thresholds, and What They Replace

Since 1 March 2026, the minimum salary an employer must pay to sponsor a non-EEA worker — known as the Minimum Annual Remuneration (MAR) — went up across almost every employment permit category.

This isn't the first time these thresholds have moved. The first round of increases happened in January 2024. A further round was planned for January 2025, but the government deferred it after employers pushed back on rising business costs — with one exception: healthcare assistants and home carers, whose delayed increase went ahead anyway in January 2025. March 2026 is the next round. And since September 2024, the Employment Permits Act 2024 requires these thresholds to be reviewed every year going forward, tied to how average earnings move nationally. This is now a recurring, expected adjustment, not a one-off.

Looking ahead: annual indexation is expected from 2027 onward, with thresholds reviewed and adjusted each year based on CSO earnings data. Sub-standard thresholds (healthcare assistants, meat processors, and similar) are meant to fully catch up to the standard GEP figure by 2030. Exact figures for 2027 onward haven't been published yet, but the direction is clear: expect another increase around the same time next year.

The Recent Graduate Exception

There is one exception worth knowing before any of this. If you graduated recently — within the 12 months before applying — from a recognised third-level institution, a separate, lower threshold applies to you.

For the General Employment Permit, this only applies if you graduated from an Irish institution: €34,009 instead of €36,605.

For the Critical Skills Employment Permit, it's broader. Your institution doesn't need to be Irish — any recognised third-level institution counts, as long as your role is relevant to what you studied. The threshold is €36,848 instead of €40,904.

This trips people up because the two permits work differently here. A recent graduate from a university outside Ireland can access the lower CSEP threshold but not the lower GEP one. If a job offer looks slightly below the standard figure, check this exception before assuming the role doesn't qualify.

What the Change Means for You

If you already hold a permit, this affects you at renewal, not before. There was no grandfathering of old thresholds past the change date: if your current salary sat comfortably above the old minimum but now falls below the new one, your employer needs to bring your pay up to the new threshold before your renewal can be approved.

If you're applying for the first time now, your application must meet the new thresholds, regardless of what the job offer looked like when the conversation with your employer started.

Worth being direct about: a higher threshold is genuinely good news for the person being sponsored. It reflects real recognition that these roles deserve fair pay, not just the minimum an employer can get away with. A legitimate employer whose need is real will usually find a way to pay it. But it can be a genuine strain for smaller businesses — hospitality, care, and trades often run on tighter margins — which is exactly why the government deferred the 2025 increase in the first place.

Quick Answers

I already have a permit at the old salary. Do I need to do anything now?
Not until renewal. At that point, your employer will need to confirm your salary meets the threshold in effect at the time of renewal, not the one when your permit was first issued.

I'm a recent graduate and my job offer looks below the standard threshold. Am I ineligible?
Not necessarily. Check whether the graduate exception applies to your specific permit type and institution before assuming the role doesn't qualify.

Do these changes affect Stamp 4 timelines?
No. The salary threshold changes affect eligibility for the permit itself. They don't change how long it takes to reach Stamp 4 once you hold a qualifying permit.

Read Next

• Construction Work Permits in Ireland: What Skilled Tradespeople Need to Know
• Stamp 4 Through the Critical Skills Employment Permit
• Stamp 4 Through the General Employment Permit

Official source: Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (enterprise.gov.ie), "Employment Permits Minimum Annual Remuneration: Outcome of the Roadmap Review 2025" and related departmental announcements, published December 2025, effective 1 March 2026.