I landed a software engineer job in Ireland with visa sponsorship. I’m leaving this record of my roughly six months and 100+ company applications in case it helps someone.
You can read all the articles from here.
I recently succeeded in switching from a Working Holiday visa to a CSEP visa, so I’m documenting the process.
The thing I was most curious about was, “Do I actually have to go abroad in the end?” The answer is YES. Going abroad was necessary for the visa switch, but just for one day was enough.
Preliminary notes
From what I could find, when switching from a Working Holiday visa to an employment visa (CSEP) in Ireland, you apparently have to go abroad to apply.
The immigration authority’s official site also said so, so I thought, “So I guess I go abroad after my Working Holiday visa expires and apply from there?”
But in reality, the company handled the entire visa application, and before my Working Holiday visa expired, they told me, “We’re applying, so please fill this in.”
I said, “Wait, isn’t it supposed to be after the expiry date?” but they replied, “It should be fine! You don’t need to go abroad!”
I was worried, so I tried to contact the immigration authority as well, but recently they only accept inquiries via a form, not by phone, and I never got a reply at all.
Getting anxious, I also asked a legal firm and a volunteer immigration support group, and their answer was, “You don’t need to go abroad.”
Everyone was saying such different things that I had no idea what to believe, but I decided to leave it to the company. Still, I think it’s important not to rely entirely on the company and to do your own research properly.
Documents I prepared
First, I prepared the documents the company said were “required for the application.” By the way, for copies I just took photos with my smartphone camera. I didn’t need to send originals.
- Copy of the passport photo page
- Passport-sized photo
- For this, I took the photo myself and had GPT make the background pure white.
- CV / résumé
- I expanded the one I used during my job hunt into a two-page document. Basically, you need to strongly showcase “I’m highly skilled!”
- Working Holiday visa documents
- I photographed the laminated sheet I received when I applied for the Working Holiday visa.
- Copy of my IRP card
- Copy of my university degree certificate
- I had obtained this in Japan in advance. It was dated about six months earlier, but it was accepted.
CSEP application
The company entered the company information, and I filled in my personal information page, then submitted the application.
All the while thinking, “I wonder if it’s really okay not to go abroad…”
The application fee was €1,000. The company paid this for me.
CSEP visa approved!
I was worried there might be issues with my documents, but I happily received approval for the CSEP visa from the immigration authority. Yay!
I couldn’t help wondering, “Then what was all that official guidance about…?” but since the visa was approved, I let it go.
Next was renewing my IRP card. This is a card all foreign residents must hold. The renewal fee was €300, which I paid myself. I submitted the required documents.
The official site says to check here for the required documents, but that’s from 2021. The correct one is this one. (As of 2025.)
It’s listed under 3) “To work in Ireland with a Working Holiday Authorisation” on this page.
- Copy of the passport photo page
- Copy of both sides of the IRP card
- Copy of Working Holiday visa documents
- Passport stamp showing re-entry to Ireland
Of these, I submitted everything except the last one—the passport stamp showing re-entry to Ireland. (After all, the company had told me I didn’t need to go abroad…)
IRP renewal trouble
A month later, I got an email saying, “There are missing documents; please resubmit.” And the missing document was, of all things…
- Passport stamp showing re-entry to Ireland
“What, so I do need to go abroad after all!?” When I consulted the company, they said (half-jokingly), “That’s not what the legal team told us—so annoying,” but then arranged for me to “take a day trip to the UK and get the stamp.”
I’d never been to the UK, so I treated it as a good opportunity, took paid leave, and bought a ticket to Birmingham for about three days later (around €70 round trip).
At the return border control, I successfully got the stamp! I wondered, “Will I get a passport stamp even if I have an IRP card?” but they stamped it without issue.
After attaching a photo of that stamp and resubmitting, my IRP card renewal was completed successfully a week later.
Points to note
I think the visa switch itself probably doesn’t require going abroad, but renewing the IRP card likely does. I couldn’t clearly infer that from the official pages, though.
Anyway, with this, I’ve successfully switched to the CSEP visa! I can now stay in Ireland on the CSEP for two years.
After that, I can switch to Stamp 4, which will allow me to work without needing an employment visa.
If I stay for five years, I can apply for permanent residence, so that’s my current goal for now!
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