Generally speaking, “Legal Associate Professionals” such as legal executives, paralegals etc. are not eligible for employment permits, as these positions are included in the “Ineligible List of Occupations for Employment Permits” under category 352 of that list. There is an exception for employment of legal associate professionals who are fluent in an official language, apart from English, of a State which is not a member of the EEA and who has market knowledge of that non-EEA State.
However, not included in category 352 is the occupation of a solicitor and it is therefore possible to obtain an employment permit to work in the State in the role of a solicitor.
Further confirmation that the role of a solicitor cannot be imputed to the “ineligible” list can be found in the fact that solicitors are listed as part of category 241 of the “Standard Occupational Classification 2010”, and that category 241 is not on the ineligible list.
The “Standard Occupational Classification 2010” is the system used by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment when categorising roles for the purposes of employment permit applications.
Solicitors must be qualified in Ireland and registered and hold a current practising certificate with the Law Society of Ireland in order to practice in the State. A copy of that registration must be enclosed with an employment permit application as outlined in S.I. No. 432/2014 Schedule 2 of the Employment Permit Regulations 2014.
Foreign Lawyers have to follow a specific procedure to transfer their qualifications to Ireland, either through a Qualified Lawyers Transfer Test or pursuing supervised legal practice in the State for three years.
If you would like to speak to someone about making an employment permit application or any other immigration related matter, please feel free to contact our immigration law team at info@mcgrathmullan.ie