Contract for Services Employment Permit
A permit allowing a foreign contractor to send non-EEA employees to Ireland to fulfil a contract with an Irish business.
Since the 2024 Act, subcontractors can also avail of this permit type, reflecting how modern service contracts actually work. It is niche in day-to-day hospitality, but relevant where an overseas company provides services on your premises — fit-outs, specialist catering systems, franchised concepts. The Irish client business should always confirm the contractor's workers hold valid permits, as right-to-work exposure does not stop at the contract boundary.
Frequently Asked Questions
Right-to-work exposure does not neatly stop at the contract boundary — knowingly benefiting from illegal working is a serious risk, and enforcement scrutiny lands on the premises where work happens. Prudent clients require contractual warranties that all contractor personnel hold valid permits, and ask for evidence rather than assurances.
Yes — the 2024 Act explicitly extended the Contract for Services permit to subcontractors, recognising how layered modern service contracts are. The Act also allows the 50:50 EEA workforce test to be satisfied at contractor or subcontractor level, since a foreign contractor naturally may not have a majority-EEA workforce.
When an overseas contractor sends its own non-EEA employees to Ireland to deliver a contract for an Irish client — specialist installations, systems rollouts, franchise setups. The workers remain employed by the foreign contractor but need this permit to work lawfully on Irish soil.