Labour Market Needs Test (LMNT)
The requirement to advertise a vacancy to EEA workers before applying for certain employment permits, proving no suitable local candidate was available.
The LMNT applies to General Employment Permit applications (Critical Skills roles are exempt). Since the 2024 Act, the old newspaper advert is gone: the role must be advertised on Jobs Ireland/EURES for 28 days plus at least one online platform, also for 28 days. Get the wording, duration, or platforms wrong and the permit application will be refused — one of the most common and costly avoidable errors. A recruitment partner will typically run the LMNT on your behalf to keep the paperwork audit-proof.
Frequently Asked Questions
Critical Skills Employment Permit applications do not require an LMNT, since the State has already deemed those occupations to be in shortage. Change-of-employer requests from existing permit holders also skip the test. The LMNT chiefly applies to General Employment Permit and Contract for Services applications.
No. The 2024 Act abolished the print media requirement. Vacancies must now appear on Jobs Ireland/EURES plus at least one online platform whose principal purpose is publishing job offers — a recruitment website or online jobs board. This is one of the most practical cost savings in the reform.
The vacancy must be advertised for 28 days on the Jobs Ireland/EURES platform, and the accompanying online advertisement must also run for 28 days — a change from the old 3-day rule for supplementary ads. Cutting either short is grounds for refusal of the permit application.