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giblet wrote:The thing is, my stamp that's currently in my passport says I can be in the country for a year, I just can't work unless I have a valid work permit. So doesn't that mean if I quit I could stay here until that date if I wasn't working?
Be
VERY careful about that. I have a four-year visa in my passport (Latvia). However, the terms of that visa are:
- I have an employment contract with a company (my own, in fact, but any will do)
- that contract is the basis for the government to issue me a work permit
- and both of those requirements then provide the basis for a residence permit, which allows me to stay in the country
HOWEVER. If anything about the work contract changes, I must report the exact changes to the government within 10 days (NOT 10 working days!). If the contract no longer meets the legal requirements for a foreigner (me, non-EU, U.S. citizen) ... then the work permit and the residence permits both become automatically void & I have to begin again.
So, if my work changes, I cannot just stay in the country for the duration of the visa. The law requires me to report the change and to get the visa annulled, and to leave the country or change my status immediately. I'm an overstayer after ten days and subject to criminal charges should I fail to do so.
Even if I change work contracts, my work permit & residency permit are interrupted and I have to get new ones, which means I begin my clock all over again. This last bit is quite unusual .. but that's the law of the country I'm in.
giblet wrote:What about doing freelance/contractor work for the States from within Ireland?
You need a separate permit to do that.
Consider setting up your own company. Ireland is one of the more favorable countries in the EU to do that. As the owner & shareholder & director of the company, you have the basis to issue yourself a work contract and thus be self-employed.
Again, be careful. In some cases (mine, for example), my work permit is based upon a full-time job. I can't get three work permits for part-time to add up to one full-time. I need a permit for every job I do (for anything I do that generates income), but one of those work contracts must be for a single employer for a 40 hour a week full-time position to be the basis for a work permit & thus residency.
I can't give you the details how to do this in Ireland .. but this is the general overview of what is possible. And, as an employee of that EU company, you can perform most business activities that you wish just about anywhere, any time throughout the EU. Just have to get the paperwork right.
The even bigger picture is that you do not want to interrupt your permits if you are going for permanent residency or naturalization. So, keep working for your current company, get your own set up & established on the side, then have your personal company sponsor switching your permits from your current employer to preserve continuity.
Then you would effectively be 'free lance' throughout the EU. Just get your articles of incorporation set up properly to cover all activities that would be necessary to keep the business running.
the Admin
, and the law does not stop you.