Under the Trusted Partner Initiative, a Person who will make an offer of employment / Employers/Connected Persons and EEA contractors may apply for Trusted Partner status.
Summary
**Effective 1 May 2020, the requirement of submitting all Trusted Partner applications (New and Renewal) by post no longer applies. Applications can now be submitted to the Department online through our EPOS portal **
Under the Trusted Partner Initiative, a Person who will make an offer of employment / Employers/Connected Persons and EEA contractors may apply for Trusted Partner status. When Trusted Partner status is granted a unique Trusted Partner Registration Number is assigned. Applicants granted Trusted Partner status will have access to their own suite of employment permit application forms where they must only provide their Trusted Partner Registration number in lieu of all employer details.
Applications by Trusted Partners on the Trusted Partner employment permit applications forms only need to provide details relating to the employment and the foreign national when they are applying for a permit.
Slides from launch of the Trusted Partner Initiative 12 May 2015 (PDF, 479KB)
Objective
The objective of the initiative is to ease the administrative burden on employers/connected persons/EEA contractors in expansion mode and to remove the requirement that they replicate the same employer/connected person information in respect of each employment permit application made for grant or renewal.
The Trusted Partner Initiative will streamline the application process for the person making the offer of employment/employers/connected persons and EEA contractors when applying for Employment Permits. It is aimed primarily at high volume users of the employment permits regime. This may include companies in expansion mode and start-up companies.
The benefits of the Trusted Partner Initiative are:
- Fast turnaround of Trusted Partner registration applications
- Status valid for 2 years
- No fee
- Reduced paperwork for every permit applied for under the scheme
- Shortened employment permit application forms
- Faster turnaround of Trusted Partner employment permit applications.
The Trusted Partner Initiative will extend to all permit types except in the case of Contract for Services Employment Permits where it will only facilitate EEA Contractors. All of the employment permit applications submitted under the Trusted Partner Initiative must be made by the Person who has made the offer of employment/Employer/Connected Person or EEA Contractor.
Criteria for eligibility
The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment considers a number of criteria when assessing Trusted Partner applications. The Person who will make the offer of employment /Employer/Connected Person and EEA Contractor must be registered with the Office of the Revenue Commissioners as an employer and, where applicable, the Companies Registration Office/ Registry of Friendly Societies. The Person who will make the offer of employment/Employer/Connected Person or EEA Contractor that has been convicted of an offence under the Employment Permits Acts 2024, the Immigration Act 2004 or an enactment specified in Schedule 1 of the Employment Permits Act 2024 will be excluded from the Trusted Partner scheme for 5 years from date of conviction.
The application form for Trusted Partner registration must be signed by the Company Secretary (this is especially applicable to Limited Companies), the Person of Compliance or Person of Process or the business owner. By signing the form the Person who will make the offer of employment/ Employer /Connected Person or EEA Contractor is committing to comply with a list of declarations specified on the application form which includes, inter alia, notifying the Department if there are any changes to its details, undertaking to check within reason that all of the information to be provided about future employment permit applications and submitted to the Department under the Trusted Partner Initiative are true and correct, asserting that the person in receipt of a permit will receive the remuneration promised and be employed in the capacity stated on the employment permit application form.
How to apply to be a Trusted Partner
An application to register as a Trusted Partner can be made online on the Employment Permits Online System (EPOS).
Before you start your application please see our Trusted Partner Registration Checklist Document (PDF, 535KB) which will assist with the application process.
The applicant must provide details, and where required, documentation in relation to their registrations with the Companies Registration office, Registry of Friendly Societies and Office of the Revenue Commissioners. They may also provide details of connections with foreign employers or details of contract service agreements with Irish entities (Relevant Persons) for the purposes of future Intra-company Transfer or Contract for Services Employment Permit applications, where this information is to hand. There is a User Guide (PDF document) available on the online system which details the documentary requirements for each application type.
The Person who will make an offer of employment/Employer/Connected Person or EEA Contractor granted Trusted Partner status will be allocated a Trusted Partner Registration Number.
The Person who will make the offer of employment/Employer /Connected Person or EEA Contractor is required to safeguard their Trusted Partner Registration Number to ensure there is no fraudulent use or misuse of it. Furthermore, if a Person who will make an offer of employment / Employer /Connected Person or EEA Contractor fails to comply with the declarations stated on the Trusted Partner registration application form, its status as a Trusted Partner will be removed. Non-compliance may be brought to the attention of the Department via a NERA inspection or at renewal stage of a Trusted Partner employment permit application, or through other means.
If you have queries relating to your Trusted Partner application, contact us at trustedpartner@enterprise.gov.ie.
Renewal of Trusted Partner registration
An application in respect of the renewal of Trusted Partner registration must be submitted within 8 weeks prior to the expiry of the existing Trusted Partner registration period, on the Employment Permits Online System (EPOS) supplying the information and documentation as required. There is a User Guide (PDF document) available on the online system which details the documentary requirements for each application type.
The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment will issue a reminder notification to the Trusted Partner 2 months prior to the expiry date of the Trusted Partner registration period.
If a renewal Trusted Partner application is not received before the current registration period expires, the Trusted Partner status will automatically be withdrawn. The Trusted Partner may no longer use their allocated Trusted Partner Registration Number or the Trusted Partner employment permit application forms.
Applications by Trusted Partners for employment permits
Applications granted Trusted Partner status have access to their own suite of employment permit application forms and the Trusted Partner Registration number must be quoted on all Trusted Partner employment permit applications submitted during the validity period of the Trusted Partner registration.
An employment permit application can be made online on the Employment Permits Online System (EPOS). The Trusted Partner is required to quote their Trusted Partner Registration Number on each employment permit application it submits. The Trusted Partner must also confirm that there have been no changes to their details already provided during their Trusted Partner registration.
Apart from quoting their Trusted Partner Registration Number, the Trusted Partner will be required to provide very limited extra details regarding themselves during the application process for an employment permit. The remainder of the details required in respect of the criteria in regard to each permit type will remain unchanged, that is, foreign national details, job details. There will also be no requirement for the Trusted Partner to sign the employment permit application forms.
Changes to details provided at Trusted Partner registration
In the event that any of the details of a Trusted Partner change, for example, Company Name, Company Address, Company Locations, during the period of registration it will be necessary to provide:
- an original letter on official Company headed paper signed off on by the Contact Person in the Company as provided as part of the Trusted Partner Registration.
Employment Permits Section