Stamp 4D - De Facto or New Employment Permit Bill

[handoubleu]

I am able to renew my current permission for another year - valid until early 2024. I will not be able to renew again after that. I do have a few options:

1. I saw that they are publishing the new employment permit bill this autumn. I am on the fence whether to wait until it is published or try and apply for an employment permit before then. The reason for this is I cannot get clarification whether my position would be considered on the ineligible list under current legislation/regulations. The list states "legal associate professionals" which I would normally attribute to legal executives, secretaries i.e. legal assistants. However, I am wondering if this would also apply to solicitors/lawyers/consultants (I am foreign qualified and, although debating taking the transfer exams necessary to be qualified here, I am on the fence whether it would be worth qualifying/applying as a lawyer/consultant if the position could be deemed ineligible). Immigration solicitors I have spoken with could not give a definitive answer, but rather, that it could go either way. Overall, my hope is that with the new bill there might be some light shed on this position or more leniency. Does anyone have any experience with the ineligible list, specifically "legal associate professionals"?

2. Alternatively, I do not need to apply for a work permit as I could consider applying as a de facto partner. I am not eligible until next year, but could apply as the de facto partner (Stamp 4D - partner of UK citizen in Ireland). Since I am already in the State on my own permission, I will not need to complete pre-clearance etc. Last I saw, this process takes up to 9 months (which I imagine is longer), but I was not certain if that applied for those who are essentially applying for a change of permission rather than first time entering the State. Does anyone know how long things are taking at the moment for de facto partner applications while in the State?

In sum, my worry is that if I apply as the de facto partner that my current permission will expire before I have a decision (we could apply autumn next year with my current permission to expire early spring 2024). My other dilemma is applying for a work permit and it being determined ineligible, and whether that would affect applying again, particularly when the new bill comes out.