Hiring meat workers from outside the EU

The rules at a glance

Which roles can get a permit

Most meat jobs filled from outside the EU use a General Employment Permit from the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment (DETE). Some meat roles are only open up to a maximum number of permits, called a quota. When a quota fills, DETE rejects applications still waiting, and further recruitment for that role depends on an official change, such as a new or larger quota.

Basic salary, plus any health insurance you pay to an insurer registered with the Health Insurance Authority, counts towards the minimum. Overtime, bonuses, shift allowances and accommodation do not. The basic salary must also be at least the national minimum wage, which is €14.15 an hour in 2026 and €14.94 from 1 January 2027.

Hiring people who are already in Ireland

Before you recruit overseas, remember that many people can start work without a new permit. EU and EEA citizens, Swiss and UK citizens, people with Stamp 4, and spouses or partners of permit holders who have been granted Stamp 1G can all work for you without one. Check that the person's immigration permission is current.

Workers already in Ireland on a General Employment Permit can also apply to move to you once 9 months have passed since they started their first job on a permit in Ireland. This is an application to DETE, not an automatic right to start. Under DETE's change of employer process:

• the new job must be in the same occupation as the original permit, meaning the same four-digit occupation code, for example a deboner moving to another deboner job
• you do not need to run the advertising test
• the application needs the new contract signed by you and the worker, and a Revenue statement showing your monthly statutory returns, dated within the last 3 months
• the permit must have at least two months left to run when you apply, and a worker can be granted this change no more than three times
• the worker cannot start with you until the updated permit is issued, and must then start within one month

Before you apply

• Set up your Employment Permits Online account. Every employer now needs a portal account backed by its Revenue documents and, if applicable, its Companies Registration Office (CRO) number. This replaced the old Trusted Partner scheme, and the portal tells you when your details are due for renewal.
• Check the 50:50 rule. At least half your employees must be EEA, Swiss or UK nationals on the day you apply. The exceptions cover start-ups registered with Revenue in the last two years that are clients of Enterprise Ireland or IDA Ireland and have a letter of support from them, and businesses with no employees on the day of application where the permit holder will be the only employee.
• Set the pay and hours. The contract's basic salary must be at least the national minimum wage, and basic salary plus any qualifying health insurance you pay must reach the permit minimum for the role.
• For meat processing operatives, you must sign a declaration that the worker will have access to suitable accommodation and training, including language training. DETE's checklist says this is not needed for meat deboners.

The advertising test

Before applying, you normally have to show the job was offered to Irish and EEA workers first. DETE calls this the Labour Market Needs Test. It is required in most cases, and the exceptions, such as jobs paying €68,911 or more or hiring certain recently redundant permit holders, rarely apply to meat jobs. The test needs two adverts, and running them at the same time is the safe approach:

1. The job on Jobs Ireland, which also publishes it on the EU's EURES network, for at least 28 days in a row
2. The same job on one other online platform whose main purpose is publishing job offers, also for at least 28 days in a row

Both adverts must include a description of the job, your business name, the minimum annual pay, where the work is and the hours. DETE says the adverts must not be changed or extended during the 28 days. You must apply for the permit within 90 days of the day the Jobs Ireland advert first went up.

Using MeatWork.ie as your second advert. DETE accepts any online platform whose main purpose is publishing job offers. MeatWork.ie is a jobs website, so a listing here can serve as the second advert, although DETE has not approved or endorsed any particular website. Free posts stay up for 30 days, which covers the 28-day minimum. Count the 28 days from the day your post goes live after our check, not the day you submit it. Our form does not make pay or hours compulsory, so make sure your post states the minimum annual pay and the weekly hours, along with the job description, your business name and the location. Do not edit the post until the 28 days are up, and keep a record of its content, web address and publication dates for your application. Post your job for free.

Applying for the permit

• Apply on Employment Permits Online at least 12 weeks before the start date. Either you or the worker can be the applicant. The fee goes in with the application, and any refund is paid to the applicant.
• Applications are processed in date order. On 11 November 2026 DETE was working on new General Employment Permit applications received on 12 October, so applications were waiting about four weeks before processing started. Processing dates change, so check the current processing dates before you plan a start date.
• If DETE asks for more information, reply within 28 days.
• If the application is refused, 90% of the fee is refunded to the applicant, and you can ask for a review within 28 days.
• A first permit runs for up to two years and can be renewed for up to three more. You can apply to renew within the 4 months before it expires.

What it costs and what you cannot charge back

Section 55 of the Employment Permits Act 2024 says an employer cannot deduct from wages, or otherwise recover from the permit holder, any charge, fee or expense related to the permit application or renewal, or to the worker's recruitment. It also cannot take back money it paid the worker for travel expenses incurred in taking up the job in Ireland. You also cannot keep the worker's passport, identity card, driving licence, bank documents, qualification documents or travel documents. Breaking these rules is an offence.

Recruiting from the Philippines

If you recruit in the Philippines, its own rules apply to you as the employer, set out in the Department of Migrant Workers' rules for land-based workers.

• No direct hiring. Philippine rules ban employers from hiring workers directly unless an exemption applies. In practice you recruit through an agency licensed by the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW).
• Get accredited. You must be accredited by the Philippine Migrant Workers Office that covers the jobsite. The documents include your recruitment agreement or special power of attorney with the agency, a job order and a master employment contract. Accreditation lasts for up to five years. The DMW's office directory lists MWO London as the office covering the Republic of Ireland.
• Advertise through the agency. Accredited employers may only advertise jobs in the Philippines through DMW-licensed agencies or the DMW itself.
• Costs you pay. Under the DMW rules, the employer pays the worker's visa, work and residence permits, round-trip airfare, transport from the airport to the jobsite, the DMW processing fee, OWWA membership and any extra trade test you require.

Nationals of countries that do not need an Irish visa, such as Brazilian nationals, skip the entry visa application, which removes one stage from the timeline. Check the current visa list before you plan travel.

How long it takes

Once the worker starts

• Pay at least the salary on the permit, and give the worker the same employment rights as any other employee.
• The worker must register their immigration permission after arriving, booking an appointment within 90 days. The permit and any visa do not complete this step on their own.
• If the worker leaves or the job ends for any reason, you must tell DETE within 4 weeks and send a copy of the permit to employmentpermits@enterprise.gov.ie. Failing to do so is an offence.
• If you make a permit holder redundant, the worker must notify DETE on the prescribed redundancy form within 4 weeks, so help them do it. Your own duty to tell DETE that the job has ended still applies. The worker then has up to 6 months to find another job.
• After 9 months the worker can apply to move to another employer in the same occupation, so pay, conditions and housing help matter for keeping people.
• The worker's spouse or partner can apply to join them after 12 months living in Ireland on an eligible permission. For a couple without children, the worker must have earned more than €30,000 gross in the previous year and be expected to keep earning it, and must have suitable accommodation. Bringing children needs a much higher income.
• After 57 months of qualifying employment in Ireland on a General Employment Permit, with their registration kept up to date, the worker may qualify for Stamp 4 and can then work without a permit.

Common questions

Can I hire a meat deboner from outside the EU?

Yes. Butchers and deboners can get a General Employment Permit under a quota of 548 permits set from 13 May 2026, if you pay at least €36,605 a year for a 39-hour week, complete the Labour Market Needs Test and meet the 50:50 rule. No live figure for places left was available on the Department of Enterprise's pages when we checked.

Can I still get permits for meat processing operatives?

On 26 August 2026 the Department of Enterprise said the 1,000-permit quota for meat processing operatives was oversubscribed and almost full, and asked employers not to submit new applications for that role. Check its latest updates page before you start recruiting.

How long does it take to hire a non-EU worker?

Allow at least 16 weeks from your first advert to the start date. The job must be advertised for 28 days, and the Department of Enterprise asks for the permit application at least 12 weeks before the start date. Workers who need an Irish employment visa can only apply once the permit is granted, and the visa office's guide is about eight weeks from when it receives the application, so their start is often later.

Can I take the permit fee or recruitment costs back from the worker?

No. Under section 55 of the Employment Permits Act 2024, an employer cannot deduct from wages, or otherwise recover from the worker, any charge, fee or expense related to the permit application or renewal, or to the worker's recruitment. It also cannot take back money it paid the worker for travel expenses incurred in taking up the job. Keeping the worker's passport or other personal documents is also an offence.

Can a MeatWork.ie job post count towards the Labour Market Needs Test?

The test needs two adverts: one on Jobs Ireland, which also shares it on EURES, and one on another online platform whose main purpose is publishing job offers. A MeatWork.ie listing can be that second advert if it runs for at least 28 days in a row without changes and shows the job description, your business name, the minimum annual pay, the location and the hours. DETE has not approved any particular website, so keep a record of the advert's content, web address and publication dates.

Do I need a recruitment agency to hire workers from the Philippines?

Usually, yes. Philippine rules ban direct hiring unless an exemption applies. Employers normally recruit through an agency licensed by the Department of Migrant Workers and must first be accredited by the Philippine Migrant Workers Office that covers the jobsite, which for Ireland is MWO London.

Sources

This guide is general information, not legal or immigration advice. Quotas, salary thresholds, processing times and fees change, so check these official pages before you recruit. We reviewed them on 12 November 2026.

• DETE: General Employment Permit (pay, 50:50 rule, fees, renewals, notifying DETE)
• DETE: Labour Market Needs Test
• DETE: changing employer
• DETE: Trusted Partner Initiative replaced by portal accounts
• DETE: checklist for meat, horticulture and dairy permits
• DETE: latest updates (meat processing operative notice, 26 August 2026)
• DETE: current processing dates
• S.I. No. 213 of 2026 (butcher and boner quota, ineligible occupations)
• Employment Permits Act 2024, section 55
• National Minimum Wage Order 2026
• Non-EEA Family Reunification Policy (12 June 2026)
• DMW Department Circular No. 1, 2023 (direct hire ban, accreditation, employer-paid costs)
• DMW: Migrant Workers Office directory (1 September 2026, MWO London covers Ireland)
• Employment Permits Act 2024, section 22 (50:50 rule)
• DETE: redundancy
• Immigration Service Delivery: employment visa
• Immigration Service Delivery: visa fees
• Immigration Service Delivery: visa and non-visa required nationalities
• Immigration Service Delivery: registration questions

See also: the guide for workers coming to Ireland, butcher pay in Ireland and meat plants in Ireland.