A refusal can feel like a door slamming shut, often at the worst possible moment. In 2024, the most recent full year with published refusal figures, DETE issued 39,390 employment permits and refused 2,456, with another 1,064 withdrawn. Most refusals trace back to a handful of predictable problems: a salary below the threshold, a defective advertising test, a missing document or an employer detail that did not check out. The email tells you exactly which one caught you, and that email is where every recovery starts.
You then face one decision that matters more than anything else: request a review or reapply. An appeal is free and puts your file in front of a different official in the Department, not the one who made the original decision, but the queue currently runs to roughly six and a half months and there are six grounds it can never overturn. A fresh application costs the full fee again but is typically decided in two to six weeks. We read the email, tell you honestly which route fits your case, and build the strongest version of it.
Made for people like you
Workers whose permit was refused
The refusal email has arrived and the 28-day clock is already running. You need a clear diagnosis before the deadline decides for you.
Employers whose hire was turned down
Your sponsored candidate was refused and the role is sitting empty. The fastest lawful route back matters as much as the reason for refusal.
Anyone weighing review against reapplying
You are not sure whether to challenge the decision or start again. The answer depends entirely on which refusal ground was cited.
Applicants whose review failed
An unsuccessful review does not block a fresh application. You can rebuild and refile under the rules in force today.
Do you qualify?
One principle decides almost every case: a review can fix a wrong decision, but it cannot rewrite the facts as they stood on the day you first applied. If the facts were against you, the fix is a corrected fresh application, not a review.
A review is worth filing when
- The refusal email shows the deciding officer overlooked or misread documents that were genuinely in your application
- You can point to a specific factual error, for example the salary in your contract was assessed against the wrong figure or the wrong occupation
- Every requirement was actually met on the date of the initial application, so the problem is the decision, not the file
- You can submit your appeal through the EPOS portal within 28 calendar days of the refusal email, by opening the refused application and clicking Appeal
- You can afford to wait, since reviews are currently taking roughly 6.5 months to decide
A review can never fix
- A defective or missing Labour Market Needs Test, because the advertising must already have run in the 90 days before the original application
- A salary below the minimum annual remuneration for the permit type
- An occupation on the Ineligible List, or missing from the Critical Skills list for a CSEP
- A breach of the 50:50 EEA staff rule, or your immigration status, as they stood on the date you applied
- Prescribed documents that were simply missing from the original application
Review vs reapply, the decision that matters
Request a review
28-day deadline- Deadline
- 28 calendar days from the refusal email
- Cost
- Free
- Decided by
- A different official in the Department
- Current wait
- Roughly 6.5 months
- Can fix
- Errors in the decision only
Fresh application
Usually faster- Deadline
- None, file once the problem is fixed
- Cost
- Full fee again, €1,000 for most permits
- Decided by
- The standard new-application queue
- Current wait
- About 2 to 6 weeks
- Can fix
- Anything: salary, LMNT, documents, employer
How the journey works
- 01
Read the refusal email line by line
Day 1Every refusal sets out the reasons for the decision. We map each stated reason against the rules to establish whether the officer got it wrong or the application genuinely fell short. That single reading decides your whole strategy, and it starts the 28-day clock for an appeal.
- 02
Choose your route: appeal or reapply
Week 1If the decision misread a compliant file, an appeal is the right tool: a different official in the Department looks at it again, for free. If the salary, the advertising, the documents or the employer's position genuinely fell short, no appeal can save it, and a corrected fresh application decided in weeks beats an appeal decided in months. You cannot do both at once, so we settle this before anything is filed.
- 03
Appeal route: submit on the EPOS portal within 28 days
By day 28Since 28 April 2025 you appeal directly in the Employment Permits Online portal: open the refused application, click Appeal, set out your grounds and upload supporting documents, then submit. There is no separate form and no external appeals body, so this internal review is the one formal second look you get. If the Department needs more, you upload it under My Appeals. We build a point-by-point rebuttal anchored to the documents that were already in your application.
- 04
Reapply route: withdraw, fix, refile
Only one live application is allowed per person, so a pending appeal must be withdrawn before a new application goes in. An appeal that has already failed does not block you. We fix the exact defect, rerun the advertising where needed, cross-check every figure and lodge the fresh application with the full fee.
- 05
Claim the 90% refund when you step away from an application
OptionalThe 90% refund is for an application you are not pursuing: one that has been refused, withdrawn, rejected or returned. You request it in the EPOS portal under Request Refund, not on any paper form. So you claim it when you decide to reapply instead of appeal, or after an appeal fails, rather than while an appeal is still live. Requested within 170 days of payment it goes back to the paying card; later than that it is arranged by bank transfer.
- 06
Decision and next steps
2-6 weeks if reapplyingFresh Critical Skills applications are currently decided in about 2 weeks and most other new applications in about 6. If the permit issues, you move on to the visa and registration steps. If it is refused again, we reassess honestly; beyond DETE's internal appeal, the only further challenge is judicial review through the courts, which is rarely proportionate.
What to gather
Start collecting these early. Weak or missing documents are the most common avoidable cause of delays and refusals.
The refusal email
States every reason for refusal and starts the 28-day clock
The full original application
Everything filed the first time, exactly as submitted
Your grounds of appeal
Entered directly in the EPOS portal, no separate form
Point-by-point response
Evidence answering each stated refusal reason
The card that paid the fee
Refunds requested in EPOS within 170 days go back to that card
Salary evidence
Contract or payslips showing pay at or above the current threshold
Labour Market Needs Test proof
For a GEP reapplication, 28 days of fresh advertising
Employer Revenue statement
Proof the company is registered and trading in Ireland
Passport bio page
Valid for the full period of any reapplication
Current immigration status evidence
IRP card or permission letter, if you are in Ireland
Every case is different. We confirm your exact list at consultation.
What it costs
| Item | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Requesting a review | Free | No fee to ask DETE to look at the decision again. |
| Refund on refusal or withdrawal | 90% back | €900 of a €1,000 fee, refunded on a refusal or a withdrawal. |
| Refund window | 170 days | Request it in EPOS within 170 days of payment and the refund goes to the paying card. Later than that, it is arranged by bank transfer instead. |
| Fresh application | €1,000 | The full fee again for a permit of up to 24 months; €500 where the permit runs 6 months or less. |
| Our consultation | Fixed fee | Agreed up front at booking, no surprises. |
A refund requested in EPOS within 170 days of payment goes back to the card that paid for the application; after that it is arranged by bank transfer instead. Separately, an employer can never lawfully recover permit costs from you under section 55 of the Employment Permits Act 2024.
How long it takes
Guide figures from current official processing information. Individual cases vary.
Review decision
~6.5 months
As of July 2026, DETE is deciding reviews received on 29 December 2025.
Fresh Critical Skills application
~2 weeks
New CSEP applications received 25 June 2026 are being processed.
Fresh General or other application
~6 weeks
New GEP applications received 2 June 2026 are in processing; most other types run similarly.
90% fee refund
170-day window
Request the refund in EPOS within 170 days of payment for it to go straight to the paying card.
Why applications get refused
Most refusals are preventable. These are the patterns we see and design out of every application.
Salary below the minimum annual remuneration
Thresholds rose on 1 March 2026: €36,605 for the General Employment Permit, €40,904 for Critical Skills and €32,691 for roles such as healthcare assistants. A salary that cleared last year's figure can fail this year's, and this ground can never be overturned at review.
Avoid it: Offer a buffer above the current threshold and confirm the live figure the week you file.
Defective or missing Labour Market Needs Test
Since 2 September 2024 the LMNT means 28 days of advertising on JobsIreland and EURES plus a second online platform, run within the 90 days before the application. Get any element wrong and the refusal is locked, because a review cannot repair advertising that never happened.
Avoid it: Rerun the advertising correctly and file a fresh application; we check the wording, platforms and dates before you start.
The 50:50 rule was breached
Permits are refused where more than half of the employer's workforce was non-EEA on the date of the initial application. Because the rule is judged as at that date, hiring EEA staff afterwards cannot rescue the refused application.
Avoid it: Verify the workforce mix before filing; once it is compliant, a fresh application is the only route back.
Ineligible occupation or an exhausted quota
Roles on the Ineligible Occupations List cannot get a permit, and some eligible roles carry quotas. The hospitality managers quota of 292 filled on 28 April 2026 and the vehicle mechanics quota of 200 filled on 19 March 2026, with pending applications rejected.
Avoid it: Check the occupation lists and any quota status on the day you file, not the day you drafted the application.
Missing prescribed documents
If a document the Regulations prescribe was absent from the original application, the Minister has no discretion to overlook it at review. This is the most frustrating refusal because it is also the most avoidable.
Avoid it: Work from the DETE checklist for your permit type and have a second pair of eyes confirm every upload before submission.
Employer or basic pay fails the fundamentals
Applications fail where the employer is not registered with Revenue and trading in Ireland, or where basic pay sits below the National Minimum Wage of €14.15 per hour that applies to all applications from 1 January 2026.
Avoid it: Confirm the employer's Revenue position, and that basic salary alone, before allowances, clears €14.15 per hour.
Common questions
How long do I have to challenge a permit refusal?+
You have 28 calendar days from the date on the refusal email to submit your appeal, which you do in the EPOS portal by opening the refused application and clicking Appeal. Since 28 April 2025 it is all done online. The deadline is strict, so read the email and take advice in the first week.
Should I request a review or just reapply?+
Reapplying is often the faster fix. Reviews are currently taking roughly 6.5 months, while a fresh Critical Skills application is decided in about 2 weeks and most others in about 6. A review only makes sense when the decision itself was wrong, because six grounds, including a defective LMNT and a salary below the threshold, can never be overturned on review.
Do I get my application fee back?+
Yes, 90% of it. On a standard €1,000 fee that is €900, refunded whether the application was refused or withdrawn. Request the refund in the EPOS portal within 170 days of payment and the money goes back to the card that paid; after that it is arranged by bank transfer instead.
Who decides the review, and is there a further appeal?+
A different official within DETE, not the one who made the original decision, carries out the review. There is no external appeals body, so if the review fails your realistic option is a corrected fresh application. Judicial review through the courts exists in principle, but it is slow, expensive and examines legal process rather than the merits of your case.
Can I submit a new application while my review is pending?+
No. Only one live application is allowed per person, so a pending review must be withdrawn before a fresh application can be lodged. A review that has already been decided against you does not block a new application.
If my review fails, can I still get a permit?+
Yes. A confirmed refusal on review does not preclude a new application. You pay the full fee again and the rules in force on the new filing date apply, including any salary thresholds that changed in the meantime, so we rebuild the application to today's standards, not last year's.
How common are refusals really?+
In 2024, the most recent full year with published refusal figures, DETE issued 39,390 permits, refused 2,456 and recorded 1,064 withdrawals, a refusal rate of roughly 6%. Most refusals cluster around the same few grounds, which is why a careful first application matters so much.
My permission expires soon and my permit was refused. What now?+
Timing becomes the whole game. A corrected fresh application decided in a few weeks is usually the priority, with your immigration position managed in parallel. If you previously held a permit and have fallen out of the system through no fault of your own, the Reactivation Employment Permit route may apply. Talk to us early rather than waiting out the review queue.
Grounded in official sources
Ready to talk through your next step?
Book a consultation with our team and leave with a clear, personal plan grounded in the official rules.
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