Key takeaways
  • The employment permits portal has been offline since 29 October 2026.
  • Applications submitted before the outage are still being processed.
  • Alternative ways to submit new applications are being developed.
  • The residence permits portal is working normally.

If you have a job offer in Ireland, your permit may take longer than expected. According to an immigration update of 5 November 2026, the online Employment Permits Portal has been offline since 29 October 2026, after suspicious unauthorised activity was detected.

The current status

  • Applications submitted before the outage are still being processed, and decisions are being issued.
  • Alternative ways to submit new applications are being developed; no date was given.
  • The portal will return only after security measures, testing and independent checks.
  • The separate residence permits portal works normally.

What to do

  1. Check the official page regularly. The Department of Enterprise publishes updates.
  2. Tell your employer about your timeline. Start dates may need to move.
  3. Prepare documents now. So you can submit quickly once a route opens.
  4. Watch for phishing. Never share data through links that don't come from official sites.

Common questions

Is my application lost?

Applications submitted before the outage are reported as still being processed.

Can my employer apply on paper?

Alternative methods are being developed; follow the official announcements.

Does this affect Stamp 1G?

The residence permits system is reported to work normally.

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Sources

Written by Swapnil (Samadhan Mule)

I moved to Germany for my master's, collected more than 1,000 rejections, and then got multiple job offers within six months. I work in digital marketing in Germany and help international professionals get hired in Europe. Read my story.