Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Under the European Communities (Reception Conditions) Regulations 2018 (S.I. No. 230 of 2018), persons are eligible to apply for labour market access permission if:

• They are an international protection applicant; and
• They have waited at least 5 months from their “Application Received” date for their first instance recommendation; and
• They are cooperating with the international protection process – delays in receiving a recommendation must not be attributable to the applicant.

Following that, a person will be issued a permission for labour market access if, at 6 months, they have not yet received a first instance recommendation. This permission is valid for 12 months and may be renewed until a final decision is made on the person's international protection application.

From February 2024 the process of applying for Labour Market Access for International Protection applicants has moved to a new online application process. The new system has provided a more streamlined process and shorter processing times for all renewal and first time applications. The current processing time for these applications is 8 and 10 weeks respectively.

Since the beginning of 2024, 11,165 applications for Labour Market Access have been made. This comprises of 6,635 first time applications and 4,530 renewals.

Applicants are recommended to submit labour market access renewal applications at least 2 months in advance of their current permit’s expiry date. Employers are requested to allow a grace period post-expiry (maximum 4 weeks) for permit renewal once the applicant has provided a confirmation email showing an application for labour market access renewal has been submitted.

The immigration services of the Department utilise the resources available in order to ensure that applications are processed in the shortest time frame possible. The Labour Market Access Unit is working to finalise applications as quickly as possible and appreciate customers’ patience as they deal with the very high levels of applications. The Department is also reviewing the processing arrangements generally to establish if they can be further streamlined.

Any queries in relation to a person's eligibility or otherwise for a labour market permission can be directed to: Lmauqueries@justice.ie or by post to the Labour Market Access Unit, PO Box 12931, Freepost FDN5264, Dublin 2

More information and further details on labour market access permission is available here: www.irishimmigration.ie/my-situation-has-changed-since-i-arrived-in-ireland/labour-market-access-permission/.