In today’s installment of our ’12 Days of Christmas’ series, we highlight three immigration law developments from 2019.
1. Inward Migration and Work Permit Application Tips
The Central Bank highlighted the need for increased net inward migration to avoid labour supply acting as a brake on economic growth in its report Employment Growth: Where Do We Go From Here? published in July. The report identifies the role that migration played in sustaining economic growth during the early 2000s and asks whether migrants will flow into the economy in sufficient numbers this time round.
We commented on the Bank’s report in July and we also gave some suggestions as to how employers can minimise delays in the processing of employment permit applications. The Department for Business Enterprise and Innovation (“DBEI”) announced on its website at the beginning of this month that applicants can expect to wait 9 weeks for a standard application and 3 weeks for a trusted partner application to be processed. Follow our tips to avoid an even longer wait. Read Article
2. The Right to Work for Spouses and Partners
The challenges faced by family members of non-EEA nationals wanting to access the Irish labour market were highlighted in a report published by the Economic and Social Research Institute earlier this year. We discussed the report in July, focusing on the changes that have been made to the employment permit regime to make Ireland a more attractive destination. Since March 2019, the spouse or partner of either a worker with a Critical Skills Employment Permit, or a Researcher under a Hosting Permit, has an automatic right to work in Ireland. This means that they do not need to apply for an employment permit to work. Read Article
3. The Employment Permits (Consolidation and Amendment) Bill 2019
We recently reported on the Employment Permits (Consolidation and Amendment) Bill 2019 which was published by the DBEI in November. The DBEI says that the bill will make the employment permit system more responsive to changes in Ireland’s labour market needs, streamline the Trusted Partner and renewal application processes and introduce a new seasonal employment permit. Read Article
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