Work Permit rule to stay with employer for 12 months

jgt3

I am in an odd situation. The company that hired me got this work permit but I want to leave before my first 12 months are up. The documentation says that I may be rejected except for exceptional circumstances.

I may be offered a position at another company, this would be great for personal growth. The thing is I have only been here for about 6 months. All I can see if that I am supposed to stay with my first employer for 12 months, and applications may be rejected otherwise.

Does anyone know what the details are here? Is there anything I can do to ensure my next application is approved? Does this happen a lot?

For what it's worth I am a US Citizen, in a highly employable IT field. I do feel that my current company treats me poorly but nothing that is too strong. They promoted me in title and duties but the raise that was promised kept getting string along and has just stopped all together. They don't respect me enough to even fix my last name in the computers, it's got a typo.

Jim2007

As a third country national this is a standard requirement through the EU, not just in Ireland. You only received a permit because your employer was able to demonstrate that they were unable to find an appropriate EU/EEA/CH employee at that point in time. It does not mean that the same circumstances exist 6 or even 12 months later and your new employer will have to go through the same process, although an renewal with you current employer is more likely regardless of changing conditions.

jgt3

Ugh this forum just ate my last post???

Thanks for the details. That section isn't where my concerns are, I am fairly certain I am getting an offer here. There are notes that a minister may reject a new work permit request if you haven't been with the company which got your first work permit for 12 months.

"If this is your first work permit in Ireland you are expected to stay with your new employer for 12 months (apart from in exceptional circumstances). After that you may move to a new employer provided that a new application for a General Employment Permit has been made for a similar job or to another eligible employment sector."


I would like any details we can find on the exceptions here and the willingness of the ministers to make approvals < 12 months in, for my case I've been here 6 months. I am tying to find the details in the employment acts but it's difficult to find with all of these amendments.

I think I have a compelling case. I am a contractor today at one of those large data center companies (like Intel but not really them), I might be getting a position direct with Intel. It could be seen as a conversion from a contractor at company XYZ to direct at Intel. The work site would never change. This would be a new work permit application. I don't know if I could get company XYZ to give me a redundancy P45 form.

Caranica

Ministers don't tend to exercise the clause that gives them discretion to over ride the rules of the work permit scheme as it creates a precedent and leaves them open to pressure to do so over and over again. I wouldn't set my heart in this happening OP.

Jim2007

Government ministers are politicians and the last thing any elected official wants is to be accused of giving jobs to foreigners... you see the difficulty?

I know of only one case several years ago where an exception was made and that was because the person was needed by a semi-state body, not a private company.

jgt3

That's a big downer. I wish the laws were worded to say that more clearly. I've found the specific phrases in older version of employment acts. Recent ones have modifications which make it hard to follow.

"12.— (1) The Minister may refuse to grant an employment permit if—"

"(i) a period of less than 12 months has elapsed since the foreign national concerned first commenced employment in the State pursuant to an employment permit granted to him or her; and"

Caranica

My advice would be to call the work permits section and ask directly, they are very helpful. However I would not do so until February as January is one of their busiest months as overseas medical personnel have to re-register every January and July

ajohnson083

Caranica wrote: »

My advice would be to call the work permits section and ask directly, they are very helpful. However I would not do so until February as January is one of their busiest months as overseas medical personnel have to re-register every January and July

Calling them will only put you through to the Workplace Relations Committee if I remember correctly. They don't take calls.

I dealt with them for a good while trying to get my girlfriend a Work Permit and have have to say I think they're terrible to deal with it. The people on the phone don't seem to know anything and then I went in to try and talk to someone and the person who met with me (after practically begging to talk to someone to explain some things to me) told me one thing and then responded to my email I sent with the complete opposite information.

Maybe we were just unlucky with who we got so hopefully you have better luck than I did, OP!