I landed a software engineering position in Ireland with visa sponsorship. I spent around six months applying to more than 100 companies, and I wanted to record the experience in case it can be useful to someone else.
You can read all the articles from [here].
In this article, I will share information about employment visas.
What is a visa?
To begin with, a visa is a status that allows you to stay in a particular country. Different countries offer various types of visas, such as tourist visas and student visas. To work in a country, you need a visa that permits you to do so. This is usually referred to as an employment visa, although some other types of visas also allow you to work.
In Ireland, you cannot work on a tourist visa. Student visas and Working Holiday visas, on the other hand, allow you to work. I believe that student visas limit the number of hours you can work each week, while Working Holiday visas do not have this restriction.
The visa I obtained was a Working Holiday visa. This visa allows you to work, but it is valid for only one year.
While I was job hunting, I often came across people who had gone to a university in Ireland and obtained a student visa. After completing a master’s degree, their visa remains valid for two years after graduation, so it seems that many people look for a job during this period.
Eventually, they switch from a student visa or Working Holiday visa to an employment visa and secure a permanent job.
Employment visas
Ireland has nine types of employment visas, but software engineers can apply for a CSEP (Critical Skills Employment Permit).
Whether you qualify for a CSEP depends on your occupation. Software engineering roles are included on the Critical Skills Occupation List. Technical roles in particular are often eligible for a CSEP. For other occupations, you will need to apply for a General Employment Permit.
However, cooperation from the company is also required. The company must be eligible to support a CSEP application. For example, there are rules stating that more than 50% of the company’s employees must be EU citizens. You can check which companies have issued visas on Employment permits statistical tables and company listings, so it may be useful to refer to this information.
About the CSEP
I plan to switch to a CSEP after my Working Holiday visa expires. Once I have made the switch, I would like to share again what was required and what the process involved.
Updated in September 2025! I successfully switched my visa! I have summarised the process.
The main features of the CSEP are:
- It is valid for two years.
- You can apply for Stamp 4 after 21 months.
- Secondary employment is not permitted.
In Ireland, each visa is further categorised under a system called “Stamp”. Working Holiday visas and CSEPs are categorised as Stamp 1, which comes with restrictions such as not being allowed to take on secondary employment. However, with a CSEP, you can apply for Stamp 4 after 21 months. Stamp 4 comes with slightly fewer restrictions, and secondary employment is permitted.
To switch to an employment visa, you need to submit an application, which costs a certain amount. It is around €1,000. You can pay for and submit the application yourself, but the safest option is to have the company sponsor you. This time, I plan to have my company sponsor me.
Companies that sponsor visas
Companies that sponsor visas cover the costs and handle the entire application process, so it would be great if you could find a job at one of these companies.
In my experience, many large and mid-sized companies provide sponsorship. However, some do not offer sponsorship for certain roles. Start-ups, on the other hand, are less likely to sponsor visas. This was one of the reasons I received rejections, so I mainly applied to large and mid-sized companies.
It is possible to pay for the costs yourself and apply for a CSEP, but you still need the company’s assistance. In addition, if you are on a Working Holiday visa, you need to leave the country when switching visas, so it is unclear whether the company will support you during the gap in your employment. This is the difficult part.
For that reason, I think it is better to target companies that provide sponsorship.
How to find out whether a company provides sponsorship
One option is to use Employment permits statistical tables and company listings and apply to companies listed there, but this is not particularly practical. In my experience, most large and mid-sized companies provide sponsorship, so if you find a company whose job posting looks appealing, I think it is better to apply rather than overthink it.
I did not include visa information on my CV. Most companies generally ask about your visa status during the application process anyway, so I felt that was sufficient.
I was asked questions like these, and I answered “Yes” to both the first and second questions when applying. It is also a good idea to ask whether the company provides visa sponsorship during your first phone interview.
A misunderstanding I encountered while job hunting
There was one mid-sized company where I had a good feeling after the phone interview. They told me that they were not familiar with the visa requirements and would get back to me after looking into them. A few days later, I received a reply along the lines of:
“Unfortunately, it seems that a Working Holiday visa does not allow you to take a permanent job, so we are sorry, but we cannot proceed this time.”
What!? You can’t take a permanent job on a Working Holiday visa!? A chill ran down my spine.
It felt as though my plan had fallen apart at the very first step. I could hardly believe it. When I looked into it myself, I found the following statement:
… and you can work, as long as it is not a permanent job.
However, there was a catch. When I followed the links on the website, I discovered that this statement applied to countries other than Japan. There is no such restriction for Japanese citizens. Google’s summary feature had oversimplified the information too much…
I suspect that the HR department had seen this information. In the end, I emailed them, but never received a reply. Incidentally, in the Irish job market, it is quite normal not to receive a response.
Conclusion
I have shared some information about visas. I have not switched visas yet, but I plan to write another blog post about it when I do.
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