Work permits for chefs in Ireland: chef de partie, commis, sous and head chefs

In short: Chefs can get a General Employment Permit in Ireland if they have enough experience: at least 2 years for a chef de partie or commis chef, and at least 5 years for a sous chef, head chef or executive chef. The salary must be at least €36,605 for a 39-hour week, the job can't be in a fast-food outlet, and the employer must advertise the job for 28 days first.

Chef roles are some of the most common permit applications we handle. Most cooking jobs are on the Ineligible List of Occupations, but chefs are an exception, as long as the conditions below are met.

Which chefs can get a permit

Grade	Experience needed
Commis chef	At least 2 years
Chef de partie	At least 2 years
Sous chef	At least 5 years
Head chef	At least 5 years
Executive chef	At least 5 years

The Department counts experience “at any level”, so years as a commis count towards a sous chef’s five. You need evidence of it, usually reference letters from previous kitchens giving your dates, role and hours.

Cooks, kitchen porters and catering assistants are on the Ineligible List with no exception, so they can’t get a permit. The job must genuinely be a chef role, and the job description should show it.

Where we come in: experience is where chef applications are won or lost. We go through the chef’s reference letters before anything is submitted, check they show the dates, kitchens, roles and hours the Department needs for the grade, and tell you what’s missing.

The salary

Hours a week	Minimum annual salary
39 hours	€36,605 (€18.05 an hour)
40 hours	€37,544

Only basic pay (and qualifying health insurance payments) counts. Tips, service charge, overtime, shift allowances and bonuses don’t count towards the minimum.

Where the job can be

The job can be in a restaurant, hotel, pub kitchen, catering company or similar, but not a fast-food outlet. The employer has to confirm this in writing.

From our experience: the Department has become stricter about what counts as fast food. Pizza and chipper-style businesses are now often refused. The menu needs to offer a broad range of dishes, or a specialised cuisine, and the job description should make that clear.

What the employer needs

On top of the usual General Employment Permit documents, a chef application needs:

• a statement from the employer that the chef will work in an establishment that isn’t a fast-food outlet
• a letter from the Health Authority (the HSE) confirming the employer has permission to operate as a restaurant
• the 28-day job adverts for the Labour Market Needs Test (below)
• the employer’s recent Revenue returns, and confirmation that at least half its staff are EEA nationals (the 50:50 rule)

From our experience: the HSE letter is where many chef applications get stuck. Restaurants that were last inspected many years ago often don’t have one to hand. The fix is straightforward: contact the HSE and ask for a new letter to be sent to you. Do this before the adverts finish, so it doesn’t hold up the application.

Where we come in: we tell the employer exactly which documents to gather, including the Health Authority letter and the fast-food statement, and check them before they’re uploaded.

What the chef needs

• a passport valid for at least six months
• evidence of experience for the grade being applied for
• copies of any culinary qualifications, with English translations if needed
• a contract signed by you and the employer

The 28-day advert

Before applying, the employer must advertise the chef job on JobsIreland and on one other online jobs platform, both for 28 days in a row, without changing it. Each advert must give the job description, the employer’s name, the location, the hours and the minimum annual pay. The application must then go in within 90 days of the advert first appearing. See the Labour Market Needs Test for the details and exceptions.

Where we come in: we write the adverts with you so the pay, hours and job title match the contract, and track the 28 and 90 days.

Common mistakes

• Experience that doesn’t add up. Reference letters without dates, or with fewer years than the grade needs, are a common reason chef applications run into trouble.
• Salary below the threshold once tips and allowances are taken out, or a 40-hour week paid at the 39-hour rate.
• Advert and contract don’t match. The pay, hours and job title should be the same in the adverts, the contract and the application.
• Wrong job title. A “cook” role can’t get a permit, even if the work is similar.
• A fast-food style menu. Pizza and chipper-type menus are increasingly refused, even when the business sees itself as a restaurant.
• No recent HSE letter, or an old one that doesn’t match the current business.

How long it takes

Allow 28 days for the adverts, then the Department’s queue. On 23 October 2026 it was working on new General Employment Permit applications received on 20 September 2026. If the chef needs a visa, add time for that once the permit is issued. See our step-by-step guide for the whole process.

After the permit

The first permit lasts up to two years and can be renewed. Chefs can change employer after nine months, on a new permit, and can apply for Stamp 4 after 57 months on General Employment Permits.

How Work Permit Consultants can help

Chef permits are some of the applications we handle most often, for restaurants, hotels and catering companies across Ireland. Work Permit Consultants has prepared employment permit applications since 2007, and our team’s background includes work permit policy at the Department of Enterprise, so we know how the Department reads an application.

For a chef application, we:

• check the grade and experience against the 2-year and 5-year rules, and the evidence behind them
• check the salary on the hours being worked, counting only basic pay
• draft the job adverts and track the 28-day and 90-day deadlines
• prepare the full application on Employment Permits Online as your agent, and get everyone signed
• deal with the Department if it asks for more information, until a decision is made

Hiring a chef, or a chef with a job offer in Ireland? Get a free assessment or send us a message.