Labour Market Access

Foreign nationals seeking asylum in Ireland must apply for permission to work in the country (including self-employment). Such an asylum seeker is officially referred to as an international protection applicant, and their application for a work permit is called applying for Labour Market Access (LMA).

As an international protection applicant, you cannot start working for an employer or be self-employed in Ireland until you get your work permission letter from Immigration Service Delivery (ISD), even if you meet the LMA eligibility criteria.

This is called your Labour Market Access Permission. From July 2018 onwards, ISD has been issuing Labour Market Access Permission to eligible international protection applicants on behalf of the Minister for Justice.

To employ an LMA permission holder, their Ireland-based employer will also have to fulfil certain eligibility conditions. Once hired, both the international procession applicant and their employer will have to meet their respective compliance obligations. Moreover, there are certain employers who may not employ LMA permission holders.

Page Contents

• What Is a Labour Market Access (LMA) Permission?
• Who Is Eligible to Apply for Labour Market Access?
• Who Is Eligible to Hire a Labour Market Access Permission Holder?
• Labour Market Access Needs Test
• When Can I Apply for a Labour Market Access Permission?
• How to Apply for a First Labour Market Access Permission?
• What If My Labour Market Access Application Is Successful?
• Labour Market Access Refusal
• Labour Market Access Declaration Form
• What Does My Employer Need to Do/Know About LMA?
• How to Apply for a Labour Market Access Renewal?
• Can My LMA Permission Be Revoked?
• How Can IAS Help?
• Frequently Asked Questions

An Ireland-based employer can hire asylum seekers holding LMA permission if:

• Less than 50% of their current staff are non-EEA/Swiss nationals
• They do not belong to any of the following categories:
  • Civil service organisations
  • Government agencies
  • Local or regional authorities
  • Statutory bodies
  • Defence Forces
  • Garda Síochána
  • Entities set up and/or controlled by a government minister, or where a government minister holds a majority of shares
  • Higher education institutions receiving public funding

Apart from fulfilling the above conditions, the employer must also be able to prove that they have tried to fill the vacancy with an Irish or EEA citizen, but could not find a suitable candidate for the job (and that is why they are hiring a foreign national).

This is called a Labour Market Needs Test (LMNT).

The employer needs to first advertise the job in Ireland and within the EU for a reasonable period. They are not required to place job vacancy adverts in print media any more since 2 September 2024.

Instead, they must advertise the vacancy for at least 28 days on online platforms that are easily accessible by Irish/EEA citizens.

After applying for international protection in Ireland, you have to wait for five months from the ‘Application Received’ date on your TRC before you can apply for a Labour Market Access Permission.

Even if your application is successful, ISD will only issue your permission after six months from your ‘Application Received’ date.

In addition, before you apply, please ensure that your TRC is in date. Your address must also be updated with the International Protection Office since ISD will post the permit to that address if your application is successful.

The Labour Market Access Permission application is an online process. You will have to set up an online account on the ISD site to begin your application (if you do not already have your account). The site also provides instructions on how to set up the same. It is free to apply for an LMA permission.

You will have to submit scanned copies of the below documents online along with your application:

• Your current and valid TRC
• Your identity documents that you submitted to the International Protection Office in your asylum application, or a detailed account of your efforts to obtain such identity documents (identity documents should be a passport, national ID card, or birth certificate, if possible)

ISD may take up to four months to approve your Labour Market Access Permission. If your application is successful, they will mail you your permission letter to your address as registered with the International Protection Office (this is why it is crucial to keep the office updated in case of any address change).

A Labour Market Access Permission is printed double-sided on watermarked paper. It will have information such as your facial image and the permission validity (i.e., the dates on which your permission to work in Ireland commences and when it ends).

You will have to present the same to your Irish employer or any other relevant bodies when you take up a job or engage in self-employment. The permission will be valid only when accompanied by your current and valid TRC, unless you are under 18 and have not received the same.

A LMA permission will also make you eligible for receiving vocational training in Ireland.

You will not be eligible for Labour Market Access if you receive your first instance decision within six months of applying for international protection. Your LMA application will be refused in that case. This usually impacts applicants from countries deemed ‘safe’ by the Irish government, as the International Protection Office may accelerate processing their applications.

Other common refusal reasons include scenarios where the applicant does not have an active international protection application in Ireland, or they have applied for a LMA permission before they were eligible to apply, or if any delay in processing of their international protection application is attributable to themselves.

ISD will mail you a refusal letter informing your ineligibility, and will provide you with the reason(s) thereof. Your refusal letter may also advise you to reapply on a later date. If you are not satisfied with the refusal reason(s), you may request the Labour Market Access Unit (LAMU) for a review, either by post or by email, within 10 days from the receipt of your refusal letter.

After receiving your Labour Market Access Permission, you may start looking for a suitable job in Ireland in the usual way, or engage in self-employment. Once you start working for an employer, you will need to complete and sign the Labour Market Access Declaration form, also known as the LMA5 form, and send it to [email protected] within 21 days from commencing employment. If you are self-employed, please use the LMA5 (b) for this purpose.

You must complete the form in full, and enter your personal ID number (as indicated in your correspondence with the International Protection Office) on it. Incomplete or unsigned declaration forms will be returned to you.

You will also have to register with the Revenue Online Service (ROS) and start paying applicable income taxes in Ireland.

Your employer must complete and return the LMA5 (a) form to the Labour Market Access Unit within 21 days from the date you start working for them. The form will include some basic information about themselves (e.g., their revenue registration number, registered company name, contact details, etc.), their employee (i.e. you), and the job (e.g., position, wage details, etc.).

Moreover, the employers will have to comply with certain other conditions, as specified in the
European Communities (Reception Conditions) Regulations (2018 to 2021), if they are hiring someone with a Labour Market Access Permission. In particular, they must:

• Verify that the employee has a valid LMA permission and a valid TRC card
• Keep a record of the employment concerned, the duration of the job, the particulars of the employee’s LMA permission, and the details of the remuneration paid. Such records must be kept for at least a period of three years even after the employee stops working for the concerned employer
• Notify the Minister if the permission holder ceases working for them, within 21 working days from the employment end date

A LMA permission is initially valid for 12 months, and may be renewed if the applicant:

• Is still waiting on a first instance decision on their international protection application
• Continues to cooperate with the international protection process
• Continues to have an active international protection application in Ireland

If you meet the above conditions, you may start the renewal process for your Labour Market Access permission two months before your permission expires. Please ensure you have a valid TRC, and have updated your current address with the International Protection Office (in case you have an address change since the issuance of your initial LMA permission).

Please also ensure your employer has already sent in a LMA5 form. Moreover, if you have not worked during your last LMA permission’s validity period, please write and sign a note stating the fact, and include the same with your application in place of an LMA5.

The Labour Market Access Permission renewal application is also an online process. Please set up an online account on the ISD site to begin your renewal application (if you do not already have your account). The site also provides instructions on how to set up the same. It is free to apply for an LMA permission renewal.

Your LMA permission may be revoked in case you:

• Cease cooperating with the international protection process
• Fail to inform the minister of the details of your income and employment or self-employment (i.e., fail to submit your applicable LMA5 form)
• Apply for a job with an employer who cannot hire an LMA permission holder (e.g., the Defence Forces, the Civil Service, etc.) or if you have already started working with such an employer
• Employ another person (applicable for self-employed LMA permission holders)
• Set up a business partnership with another person

Additionally, your LMA permission will cease to be valid if you are no longer an international protection applicant in Ireland–that is, if you have withdrawn your international protection application or have received a final decision (i.e., you have been granted status or all your appeals are complete) on your international protection application.