Good morning all,
Well, unfortunately here in Ireland..'it don't mean a thing 'less you got that ring..' Time spent living together cannot be used for immigration purposes when applying to get the necessary papers to work legally. The only way a non-Irish/EU national can work legally in Ireland without work permit/authorization or working holiday visa is on the basis of marriage to an Irish citizen. After you are married for 3 years, you can apply for naturalization to become an Irish citizen yourself.
To work in Ireland is becoming increasingly difficult in that past few years. You can either get a:
Work visa/authorization (given only to very specific job sectors which are particularly under-staffed here, ie: Dr, nurse, engineer, town planner, architect..). You can change jobs on the work authorization provided you stay within the same sector of work (Dr. in Dublin moves and gets a position as Dr. in Cork for example). The authorization is valid for 2 years and can be renewed. You apply yourself in your country of origin's Irish embassy with a legit job offer in writing from an Irish employer.
OR
A work permit (very restrictive) as you are tied to one employer in the entire country of Ireland. You cannot move jobs on the same work permit, if you want to change jobs, you must get a new work permit. You cannot work while your work permit is being processed (8-10wks). Before the Irish employer can get a work permit for you, they must prove in writing that firstly, no Irish person; then no EU person could be found to do your job. They get this documentation through dealings with the Irish employment people FAS and they must post the job opening nationally and internationally (within EU) for 4 weeks before they get the necessary documents. You cannot apply for a work permit on your own behalf & all correspondance between the work permit dept and the job in question is through your potential employer only, not you. THe permit costs 500.00 euro per year and is renewable.
OR
A working holiday visa if you are from a select group of places(I think Can, Oz, NZ and newly added Hong Kong) This option is really for people travelling and wouldn't really be suitable for those wishing to set up a permanent home here. They are for 1 year, you must be under 30 (I think) and have enough money in your bank account to sustain you while you are in the country. You can change jobs as you are supposed to only stay at one post for a max of 3 months at a time, then move on to another job. Like I said, someone travelling, working in various pubs, hotels, etc, this would be suitable.
Check all out on Work Permits, Work Authorizations/Visas on
www.entemp.ie. Citizenship details on
www.justice.ie I've found a really good website about all you need to know about living/moving to Ireland (taxes, houses, jobs, bank accounts...) on
www.movetoireland.com.
Good luck,
Regards, Maria
