A job ad is a bundle of evidence. Most candidates read it for the role; if you need an employment permit, you should also read it for the arithmetic. Permits in Ireland are decided by rules, not enthusiasm, so an ad either clears the bar or it does not. Here is a practical method, in the order that eliminates dead ends fastest.
1. Find the salary, and treat silence as a warning
Everything starts with the number. As of 1 March 2026, a General Employment Permit generally needs at least €36,605, a Critical Skills Employment Permit needs at least €40,904 for a listed occupation with a relevant degree, and €68,911 clears the general threshold for most eligible occupations without the list. Only basic salary (plus employer-paid health insurance to a registered provider) counts: bonuses, overtime, shift allowances and share options do not, and pay is assessed on a 39-hour week basis.
So: an ad that states "€45,000 base" is readable. An ad that says "competitive salary" tells you nothing, and an ad quoting "€40,000 OTE" (on-target earnings, which usually includes commission) may not clear the GEP threshold at all once the commission is stripped out. If the salary is a range, be conservative and test the bottom of it.
2. Place the occupation, not the job title
Job titles are marketing; the permit system works on occupations. Ask two questions:
- Is this occupation on the Critical Skills Occupations List? If yes, and the salary is at or above €40,904, the employer skips the Labour Market Needs Test entirely, which makes sponsoring dramatically easier.
- Is it on the Ineligible Occupations List? If yes, no permit is available at any salary, and no amount of goodwill changes that.
Everything in between is General Employment Permit territory, which is possible but usually means the employer must advertise for 28 days on JobsIreland plus 28 days on another platform first.
3. Look for an explicit sponsorship statement
The strongest positive signal is a written one: "visa sponsorship available", "we support Critical Skills applications", or a named permit type. The strongest negative signal is equally explicit: "must have full right to work in Ireland", "no sponsorship", "Stamp 4 or EU citizens only". Take those at face value; they were written to save everyone time.
Beware the middle ground. A tag on a job board saying "visa sponsorship" that the employer never wrote, or a recruiter's verbal "we can probably look into it", carries no weight. If sponsorship matters to you, ask for the position in writing before the final interview stage.
4. Check the employer's track record
The Department of Enterprise publishes which companies were issued employment permits. An employer on that list has processes, budget approval and experience; a first-time sponsor is not impossible, just slower and less certain. Company size matters too: the 50:50 rule requires the workforce to be at least half EEA nationals at application time, which small companies can fail by hiring one person.
5. Do the five-minute test before applying
- Stated base salary at or above the relevant threshold?
- Occupation eligible (and ideally on the Critical Skills list)?
- Sponsorship position stated in writing, or employer visible in the permit statistics?
Three yes answers: apply with confidence. One no on salary or occupation eligibility: the ad almost certainly cannot support a permit, whatever anyone says on a call.
On JobsMatch every listing carries a structured salary, a declared sponsorship stance and an automatic permit check, so this reading is done for you. For ads on other sites, paste the details into the job ad analyser and it runs the same arithmetic against the current official figures.
Figures quoted are effective 1 March 2026 and were verified in September 2026. Rules change: always confirm the current position on enterprise.gov.ie. General information, not legal advice.