FOR EMPLOYERS
Hiring international hospitality staff
This is the sector where sponsorship expectations and the actual rules diverge the most. Most hospitality roles cannot be sponsored at all, and it's worth knowing that before you build a hiring plan around it.
What can't be sponsored
Each of these sits on the Ineligible Occupations List, which means no General Employment Permit route exists for them at all, regardless of salary offered.
The one route that does work
“Chef (executive/head, with qualifications)” is on the Critical Skills Occupations List. The qualifier matters: this is a genuinely senior, formally qualified position, not a general kitchen hire. At €40,904 or more with the relevant qualifications, it clears the Critical Skills Employment Permit with no Labour Market Needs Test.
What this actually means for a hiring plan
If the role you need filled is genuinely a head or executive chef position, the CSEP route is real and works the same as it does in any other sector. If it's front-of-house, general kitchen, or hotel operations, sponsorship isn't available through the employment permit system regardless of how the salary offer is structured. That's worth confirming before a candidate search starts, not after an offer is already out.
Confirm a specific role
See the full occupation lists to check any role directly, or the end-to-end hiring process for the chef route.