Europe
Visa Watch! Europe: week of 19 October 2026
Covers the week of 19 October 2026
This article covers the week shown above. Rules may have changed since then, so check the linked official source on each item before applying, paying or relying on a deadline.
Ireland
Proposed change
Ireland plans one application instead of two: work permit and residence permission to be merged for skilled workers
Today, a person from outside the European Economic Area who wants to work in Ireland must apply twice: once to one department for a work permit, then again to another for permission to live there. The government has agreed in principle to replace this with one combined application. A group of officials from both departments will prepare a plan within six months. Nothing has changed yet.
This is an announcement, not a law. Nothing has changed yet, announced plans are often changed or dropped, and there is nothing to apply under until it is in force.
Official source: Single application procedure for employment permits and immigration permissions to be developed
Also checked this week, with nothing to report: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland.
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