# How to find a job in Ireland from abroad | Work and tax | Moving to Ireland > Ireland has close to full employment, with unemployment hovering around 4 to 5% through 2025 and 2026, and many employers are used to hiring from… Source: https://www.movingtoireland.co/guides/work-and-tax/how-to-find-a-job-in-ireland/ Work and tax · Step 5 of 6 # How to find a job in Ireland from abroad 4 min read · Updated 13 September 2026 Ireland has close to full employment, with unemployment hovering around 4 to 5% through 2025 and 2026, and many employers are used to hiring from overseas. That does not mean the search is easy from a distance. Recruiters filter hard on right-to-work status, CV format and time zone, and the best roles often go through agencies or referrals rather than public listings. This guide sets out where to look, which sectors are hiring, how to present yourself in the Irish format, and how employment permit sponsorship works if you are not an EU, EEA, Swiss or UK citizen. ## Where the jobs are advertised Most Irish vacancies appear on a small number of boards, and it is worth setting alerts on all of them.
SiteBest for
IrishJobs.ieThe largest general board; strong on office, finance and tech roles
Jobs.ieRetail, hospitality, warehousing, healthcare and entry-level
LinkedInTech, pharma, multinational and senior hires; most recruiters source here
Indeed.ieAggregator covering almost everything, useful for salary ranges
JobsIreland.ieThe State employment service; free to employers, so many SME and public roles
PublicJobs.ieCivil and public service competitions
EURESEU portal where Irish employers advertise specifically to candidates abroad
Company career pages matter more in Ireland than in many countries because so much employment is concentrated in large multinationals. Google, Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, Salesforce, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Accenture and the big four accountancy firms all run their own applicant systems and rarely rely on boards alone. ## Sectors that are hiring Demand in 2026 is strongest in the areas the Critical Skills Occupations List targets: software engineering, data and cyber security, cloud and infrastructure, accountancy and financial services, pharma and medical device manufacturing, engineering (civil, electrical, mechanical and process), and healthcare across nurses, doctors, radiographers and allied professions. Construction is short of quantity surveyors, site engineers and trades. Outside the permit lists, hospitality, retail, logistics, childcare and care work consistently have vacancies and take on newcomers quickly, though usually at or near the minimum wage of **€14.15 an hour**. Dublin holds the largest share of jobs, but Cork (pharma, tech), Galway (medical devices), Limerick (manufacturing, engineering) and Waterford are all significant and cheaper to live in. ## The Irish CV format Irish CVs are short and plain. Two pages is standard, three is tolerated for senior roles, and one is fine for graduates. Do not include a photo, your date of birth, marital status, nationality or a full address; a city and country is enough. Lead with a three or four line profile, then work history in reverse order with dated achievements rather than duties, then education, then skills and languages. Spell out qualifications that may be unfamiliar with a one-line equivalent. Write a short cover letter for every application, and state your right-to-work position clearly in the first paragraph, for example "EU citizen, relocating to Dublin in March" or "Would require Critical Skills Employment Permit sponsorship". Recruiters would rather know now than find out at offer stage. Give a phone number with the international dialling code and mention your availability for interviews in Irish time. Check your LinkedIn profile matches your CV, because it will be read alongside it. ## Employment permits and sponsorship Citizens of the EU, EEA, Switzerland and the UK do not need permission to work. Everyone else needs an employment permit, which the employer or you apply for from the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, or a separate immigration permission such as a spouse of an Irish citizen or a Stamp 1G graduate. The two permits that matter for most people are below. Salary thresholds rose on **1 March 2026** and are scheduled to rise again in 2027 and 2028.
PermitMinimum salary from 1 March 2026Key points
Critical Skills Employment Permit€40,904 for occupations on the Critical Skills list with a relevant degree; €68,911 for most other occupationsNo labour market test; family can join immediately and work; eligible for Stamp 4 after 2 years
General Employment Permit€36,605 (€32,691 for healthcare assistants, home carers, horticulture and meat processing)Employer must usually advertise the job for 28 days first (labour market needs test); a 50:50 rule requires at least half the workforce to be EEA nationals
Lower thresholds apply to recent graduates of Irish and other recognised institutions. Employers who sponsor regularly include hospitals, the HSE, nursing homes, tech multinationals, pharma manufacturers and large construction firms. Smaller companies are often unfamiliar with the process, so it helps to be able to explain it. The permit is tied to the employer, and processing times in 2026 have run at several weeks for Trusted Partner employers and longer for standard applications, so build that into your timeline. ## Recruitment agencies and networking Agencies fill a large share of professional roles in Ireland and are free for candidates. CPL, Morgan McKinley, Hays, Sigmar, Brightwater, Lincoln, Robert Walters and FRS Recruitment cover most sectors; nursing and medical staff should look at the specialist agencies that recruit directly for the HSE and private hospitals. Register with two or three, be honest about your start date and permit position, and keep in touch. Professional bodies (Engineers Ireland, Chartered Accountants Ireland, the Nursing and Midwifery Board) also list vacancies and can tell you whether your qualification needs recognition before you can practise. Finally, join the online groups for your nationality in Ireland: many people find their first role, or at least a realistic salary benchmark, through those communities. ## ★ Useful links - [Department of Enterprise: employment permits](https://enterprise.gov.ie/en/what-we-do/workplace-and-skills/employment-permits/) - [Citizens Information: Critical Skills Employment Permit](https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/moving-country/working-in-ireland/employment-permits/green-card-permits/) - [JobsIreland (State employment service)](https://www.jobsireland.ie/) - [EURES European job portal](https://eures.europa.eu/) - [Critical Skills Occupations List](https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-enterprise-tourism-and-employment/publications/critical-skills-occupations-list/) ![](https://www.movingtoireland.co/apple-touch-icon.png) You have read 20% of this guide ## Keep reading in the Moving to Ireland app The rest of **How to find a job in Ireland from abroad** — about 3 minutes more — is in the app, free to download, alongside 98 other guides and a checklist built around your own move. Still to come in this guide - Sectors that are hiring - The Irish CV format - Employment permits and sponsorship - Recruitment agencies and networking [Download free on the App Store](https://apps.apple.com/app/moving-to-ireland/id6446055261) iPhone and iPad · no account needed ## More on work and tax [All 6 guides in this section](https://www.movingtoireland.co/guides/work-and-tax/) - ### [Salary after tax in Ireland: what you actually take home](https://www.movingtoireland.co/guides/work-and-tax/salary-after-tax-in-ireland/) The salary in your job offer is a gross figure. Before it reaches your bank account, three separate deductions come off it: income tax, the Universal… 4 min read - ### [Minimum wage in Ireland 2026](https://www.movingtoireland.co/guides/work-and-tax/minimum-wage-ireland-2026/) Ireland has one of the higher statutory minimum wages in the EU, and it is reviewed every year on the advice of the Low Pay Commission. If you are… 4 min read - ### [PAYE explained for newcomers](https://www.movingtoireland.co/guides/work-and-tax/paye-explained-for-newcomers/) If you are employed in Ireland, you almost never send money to the tax office yourself. Instead your employer calculates the tax on each payslip and pays… 4 min read - ### [Tax credits, USC and PRSI explained](https://www.movingtoireland.co/guides/work-and-tax/tax-credits-usc-and-prsi-explained/) Three separate sets of rules decide how much of your Irish salary you keep. Tax credits cut your income tax bill directly. USC is a second charge on the… 4 min read Keep going ## Get the full work and tax roadmap in the app Moving to Ireland turns 99 guides into a personal checklist. Tell it your passport, whether you have moved yet, and who is coming with you, and it lays out every step in order — from the visa to the bins. - Step-by-step checklist - Tailored to your passport - Pre-move & post-move - Family & pet sections [![Download Moving to Ireland on the App Store](https://www.movingtoireland.co/images/app-store-badge.svg)](https://apps.apple.com/app/moving-to-ireland/id6446055261) ★★★★★ 4.9 on the App Store [![Expats who settled in Ireland, two five-star App Store reviews, and the Moving to Ireland app showing its relocation checklist](https://www.movingtoireland.co/images/app-social-proof.webp)](https://apps.apple.com/app/moving-to-ireland/id6446055261)