{"id":564040,"date":"2026-07-23T09:38:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T09:38:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/564040\/"},"modified":"2026-07-23T09:38:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T09:38:08","slug":"we-are-critical-skills-immigrants-to-ireland-can-our-adult-son-move-here-too-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/564040\/","title":{"rendered":"We are \u2018critical skills\u2019 immigrants to Ireland. Can our adult son move here too? \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our family immigrated<\/a> to Ireland from the US last year. My husband has a \u201ccritical skills employment permit\u201d, I have a 1G stamp. We have bought a house, and my younger children attend school here. <\/p>\n

My eldest is still at university in the States and would like to move here when he graduates in a couple years. What is the easiest path for him to immigrate? Is there any way our being here can make the process easier and quicker for him? He will be highly employable, but I worry employers will be put off by his immigration status.<\/p>\n

This question crops up frequently from workers moving to Ireland, says Aaron Flynn, a solicitor and country lead at Envoy Global in Ireland. <\/p>\n

The reader, her husband and minor children are able to avail of residency here due to the husband\u2019s critical skills employment permit. <\/p>\n

This type of permit is designed to attract highly skilled people to come to work in Ireland, with the aim of encouraging them to become permanent residents.<\/p>\n

Eligible occupations are: those deemed to be critically important to helping Ireland\u2019s economy grow; highly demanded and highly skilled; and in significant short supply in our labour market. <\/p>\n

Skills in demand right now include roles in IT, construction, pharmaceuticals, medicine, nursing, social work and marketing.<\/p>\n

The holder of a critical skills employment permit is a \u201ccategory B\u201d sponsor \u2013 as such, their spouse, partner and minor, unmarried children aged under 18 can join them in Ireland. <\/p>\n

As this couple\u2019s oldest child is in college, he is unlikely to be able to avail of this family-based immigration route, says Flynn.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce a child is an adult, family-based options become significantly more limited, unless there are exceptional dependency or humanitarian circumstances,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

The most straightforward route to Ireland is probably for him to qualify for a critical skills employment permit in his own right, or through another employment permit route, says Flynn.<\/p>\n

The current required minimum salary for a critical skills permit is \u20ac40,904, with a third-level degree, he says. <\/p>\n

A good approach might be for the son to review his degree, possible occupations, salary levels and timing closer to his graduation, says Flynn.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe could then start to target roles that are eligible for an employment permit and to consider getting some experience in that area [in Ireland] while he is still a student.\u201d<\/p>\n

Similar to Irish students following the J-1 path to the US, Ireland also has a working holiday visa for US citizens. This is available to third-level students and those who have graduated within the previous 12 months.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe working holiday visa leads to a 12-month permission to work in Ireland, without an employment permit,\u201d says Flynn.<\/p>\n

It can be renewed for a second and subsequent years, but you can only apply one year after the expiry of the previous one, says Flynn. <\/p>\n

\u201cMany students apply when they graduate and do a full year of work experience with a potential employer who may then sponsor them on an employment permit,\u201d says Flynn.<\/p>\n

US working holiday visa applicants need to show reasonable access to funds of $1,500 (\u20ac1,314) to cover travel expenses, and pay an application fee of $295, he says. <\/p>\n

Evidence of medical travel insurance valid for the duration of the trip and a return ticket are required too. <\/p>\n

\u201cMany of our multinational clients in Ireland recruit working holiday visa holders,\u201d says Flynn.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen their working holiday visa expires, and if they have passed probation and their employer wishes to retain them, they will be instructed to apply for an employment permit.\u201d <\/p>\n

It\u2019s not possible to convert a working holiday visa into an employment permit in-country \u2013 applicants must leave Ireland to submit the application, but only for the processing time, which for a critical skills employment permit is 15 days. <\/p>\n

The name of the reader who submitted the question is not being published to protect the identities of those involved.<\/p>\n

Please send your legal queries to Joanne Hunt, Ask the Lawyer, The Irish Times, 24-28 Tara Street, Dublin 2, or by email to joanne.hunt@irishtimes.com with a contact phone number. This column is a reader service and is not intended to replace professional advice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Our family immigrated to Ireland from the US last year. My husband has a \u201ccritical skills employment permit\u201d,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":460226,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[216241,61,1629,60,5144,43,115],"class_list":["post-564040","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-ask-the-lawyer","tag-ie","tag-immigration","tag-ireland","tag-money-matters","tag-news","tag-united-states"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/564040","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=564040"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/564040\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/460226"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=564040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=564040"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=564040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}