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Labour Market Needs Test
Required for most General Employment Permit applications, the test exists to show the role was genuinely open to the domestic and EEA labour market first. Run it wrong (wrong platforms, an amended ad, a missed deadline) and you restart the 28 days from zero.
The requirements
Where
jobsireland.ie (via DSP Employment Services or EURES) and one other online jobs platform of your choice.
Duration
At least 28 consecutive days on both platforms, unamended. Restarting the clock over a wording change is a common, avoidable mistake.
What the ad must state
The job description, your company name, the minimum annual remuneration on offer, the location, and the hours of work.
Filing window
You have 90 days from the first day the advert was published to submit the permit application. Miss it, and the test has to run again.
When you can skip it entirely
- The role is on the Critical Skills Occupations List (use CSEP instead, which never requires this test)
- The offered salary is €68,911 or above, regardless of occupation
- The application is supported by a recommendation from Enterprise Ireland or the IDA
- The hire is a Reactivation, Intra-Company Transfer, or several other permit types that are exempt by design
Common mistakes that restart the clock
- Editing the salary, title or hours mid-advert: even a small correction counts as a new advert with a new 28-day window
- Advertising on jobsireland.ie but pairing it with a platform that is not genuinely a second, independent listing
- Letting more than 90 days pass between the advert going live and submitting the application
- Stating a salary in the advert below what the application itself later claims to offer
A role posted on visajobs.ie does not itself satisfy the labour market needs test's platform requirement. Confirm your two qualifying platforms against the current rules on enterprise.gov.ie.