Employment Permits Act, 2006

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR No. 16/2006

• Full Act
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• Act As Enacted
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Number 16 of 2006

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EMPLOYMENT PERMITS ACT 2006

REVISED

Updated to 16 December 2022

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This Revised Act is an administrative consolidation of the Employment Permits Act 2006. It is prepared by the Law Reform Commission in accordance with its function under the Law Reform Commission Act 1975 (3/1975) to keep the law under review and to undertake revision and consolidation of statute law.

All Acts up to and including the Appropriation Act 2022 (45/2022), enacted 16 December 2022, and all statutory instruments up to and including the Employment Permits (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations 2022 (S.I. No. 677 of 2022), made 16 December 2022, were considered in the preparation of this Revised Act.

Disclaimer: While every care has been taken in the preparation of this Revised Act, the Law Reform Commission can assume no responsibility for and give no guarantees, undertakings or warranties concerning the accuracy, completeness or up to date nature of the information provided and does not accept any liability whatsoever arising from any errors or omissions. Please notify any errors, omissions and comments by email to

revisedacts@lawreform.ie.

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Number 16 of 2006

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EMPLOYMENT PERMITS ACT 2006

REVISED

Updated to 16 December 2022

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Introduction

This Revised Act presents the text of the Act as it has been amended since enactment, and preserves the format in which it was passed.

Related legislation

Employment Permits Acts 2003 to 2020: this Act is one of a group of Acts included in this collective citation, to be construed together as one (Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Act 2020 (23/2020), s. 1(3)). The Acts in the group are:

• Employment Permits Act 2003 (7/2003)

• Employment Permits Act 2006 (16/2006)

• Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2012 (32/2012), s. 16(1)

• European Union (Accession of the Republic of Croatia) (Access to the Labour Market) Act 2013 (21/2013), s. 4(2)

• Employment Permits (Amendment) Act 2014 (26/2014), other than Parts 4 and 5

• Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Act 2020 (23/2020), Part 5 (s. 13)

Annotations

This Revised Act is annotated and includes textual and non-textual amendments, statutory instruments made pursuant to the Act and previous affecting provisions.

An explanation of how to read annotations is available at

www.lawreform.ie/annotations.

Material not updated in this revision

Where other legislation is amended by this Act, those amendments may have been superseded by other amendments in other legislation, or the amended legislation may have been repealed or revoked. This information is not represented in this revision but will be reflected in a revision of the amended legislation if one is available.

Where legislation or a fragment of legislation is referred to in annotations, changes to this legislation or fragment may not be reflected in this revision but will be reflected in a revision of the legislation referred to if one is available.

A list of legislative changes to any Act, and to statutory instruments from 1972, may be found linked from the page of the Act or statutory instrument at

www.irishstatutebook.ie.

Acts which affect or previously affected this revision

• Criminal Justice (Perjury and Related Offences) Act 2021 (13/2021)

• Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Act 2020 (23/2020)

• Workplace Relations Act 2015 (16/2015)

• Employment Permits (Amendment) Act 2014 (26/2014)

• Protected Disclosures Act 2014 (14/2014)

• Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2012 (32/2012)

All Acts up to and including the Appropriation Act 2022 (45/2022), enacted 16 December 2022, were considered in the preparation of this revision.

Statutory instruments which affect or previously affected this revision

• Employment Permits (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations 2022 (S.I. No. 677 of 2022)

• Employment Permits (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2022 (S.I. No. 412 of 2022)

• Employment Permits (Amendment) Regulations 2022 (S.I. No. 273 of 2022)

• Employment Permits (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2021 (S.I. No. 559 of 2021)

• Employment Permits (Amendment) Regulations 2021 (S.I. No. 286 of 2021)

• Employment Permits (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2020 (S.I. No. 510 of 2020)

• Employment Permits (Amendment) Regulations 2020 (S.I. No. 156 of 2020)

• Employment Permits (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations 2019 (S.I. No. 633 of 2019)

• Employment Permits (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2019 (S.I. No. 333 of 2019)

• Employment Permits (Amendment) Regulations 2019 (S.I. No. 138 of 2019)

• Employment Permits (Amendment) (No. 4) Regulations 2018 (S.I. No. 550 of 2018)

• Employment Permits (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations 2018 (S.I. No. 318 of 2018)

• European Communities (Reception Conditions) Regulations 2018 (S.I. No. 230 of 2018)

• Employment Permits (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2018 (S.I. No. 163 of 2018)

• Employment Permits (Amendment) Regulations 2018 (S.I. No. 70 of 2018)

• Employment Permits Regulations 2017 (S.I. No. 95 of 2017)

• Employment Permits (Trusted Partner) (Amendment) Regulations 2016 (S.I. No. 403 of 2016)

• Employment Permits (Amendment)(No. 2) Regulations 2016 (S.I. No. 363 of 2016)

• Employment Permits (Amendment) Regulations 2016 (S.I. No. 33 of 2016)

• Employment Permits (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2015 (S.I. No. 602 of 2015)

• Employment Permits (Amendment) Regulations 2015 (S.I. No. 349 of 2015)

• Employment Permits (Trusted Partner) Regulations 2015 (S.I. No. 172 of 2015)

• Employment Permits (Amendment) Regulations 2014 (S.I. No. 506 of 2014)

• Employment Permits Regulations 2014 (S.I. No. 432 of 2014)

• Protected Disclosures Act 2014 (Commencement) Order 2014 (S.I. No. 327 of 2014)

• Employment Permits Act 2006 (Prescribed Fees and Miscellaneous Procedures) Regulations 2006 (S.I. No. 683 of 2006)

• Employment Permits Act 2006 (Commencement) Order 2006 (S.I. No. 682 of 2006)

• European Communities (Free Movement of Persons) (No. 2) Regulations 2006 (S.I. No. 656 of 2006)

All statutory instruments up to and including the Employment Permits (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations 2022 (S.I. No. 677 of 2022), made 16 December 2022, were considered in the preparation of this revision.

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Number 16 of 2006

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EMPLOYMENT PERMITS ACT 2006

REVISED

Updated to 16 December 2022

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Acts Referred to

Bankruptcy Act 1988	1988, No. 27
Carers Leave Act 2001	2001, No. 19
Companies Act 1963	1963, No. 33
Companies Act 1990	1990, No. 33
Companies (Amendment) Act 1982	1982, No. 10
Courts Act 1981	1981, No. 11
Electronic Commerce Act 2000	2000, No. 27
Employment Agency Act 1971	1971, No. 27
Employment Permits Act 2003	2003, No. 7
European Communities Acts 1972 to 2003
Immigration Act 1999	1999, No. 22
Immigration Act 2004	2004, No. 1
Industrial Relations Act 1946	1946, No. 26
Industrial Relations Act 1990	1990, No. 19
Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956	1956, No. 26
Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Acts 1973 to 2005
National Minimum Wage Act 2000	2000, No. 5
Organisation of Working Time Act 1997	1997, No. 20
Organisation of Working Time Act 1997	1991, No. 25
Petty Sessions (Ireland) Act 1851	14 & 15 Vic., c. 93
Protection of Employees (Employers’ Insolvancy) Act 1984	1984, No. 21
Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Work) Act 2003	2003, No. 29
Protection of Employees (Part-Time Work) Act 2001	2001, No. 45
Protection of Young Persons (Employment) Act 1996	1996, No. 16
Redundancy Payments Act 1967	1967, No. 21
Refugee Act 1996	1996, No. 17
Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005	2005, No. 10
Unfair Dismissals Acts 1977 to 2005

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Number 16 of 2006

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EMPLOYMENT PERMITS ACT 2006

REVISED

Updated to 16 December 2022

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AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE GRANT OF EMPLOYMENT PERMITS TO CERTAIN FOREIGN NATIONALS FOR THE PURPOSE OF PERMITTING THEM TO BE IN EMPLOYMENT IN THE STATE, TO ENABLE THE MINISTER FOR ENTERPRISE, TRADE AND EMPLOYMENT TO MAKE, HAVING HAD REGARD TO CERTAIN CRITERIA, REGULATIONS IMPOSING A LIMIT ON THE NUMBER OF SUCH PERMITS THAT MAY BE GRANTED IN A PARTICULAR PERIOD AND IMPOSING CERTAIN OTHER RESTRICTIONS WITH REGARD TO THE GRANT OF SUCH PERMITS, TO OTHERWISE REGULATE THE EMPLOYMENT OF CERTAIN FOREIGN NATIONALS IN THE STATE AND PROVIDE CERTAIN PROTECTIONS FOR FOREIGN NATIONALS IN EMPLOYMENT IN THE STATE, TO AMEND THE EMPLOYMENT PERMITS ACT 2003 AND TO PROVIDE FOR RELATED MATTERS.

[23rd June, 2006]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:

Annotations

Modifications (not altering text):

C1

Application of collectively cited Employment Permits Acts restricted (30.06.2018) by European Communities (Reception Conditions) Regulations 2018 (S.I. No. 230 of 2018), reg. 11(12), in effect as per reg. 1(2).

Labour market access permission

11. ...

(12) The Employment Permits Acts 2006 to 2014 shall not apply to a non-national (within the meaning of that Act) who is an applicant or a recipient.

...

1

Interpretation.

1.— (1) In this Act—

F1["Act of 1963" means the Registration of Business Names Act 1963;

"Act of 1967" means the Redundancy Payments Act 1967;

"Act of 1997" means the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997;]

"Act of 2003" means the Employment Permits Act 2003;

F1["Act of 2010" means the Civil...