Leaving General Work Permit + Reactivation Permit

[Healthassist5]

Hi all,

My partner is a healthcare assistant in a Nursing Home on a General Work permit, however they have been on sick leave for the past 8 months. Their psychiatrist has recommended that they leave their job, and they have spoken to a lawyer that says that such a situation makes them eligible for a reactivation work permit if they leave and apply to a new job.

Does anyone know what to do in this situation? Do we need to contact someone before or after my partner resigns from the nursing home?

Also, what sort of jobs are willing to offer a reactivation work permit? The website claims that any job will suffice, but does anyone have any experience applying for this permit?

Thank you for your help, happy new year to ye all.

[meself2]

Does anyone know what to do in this situation? Do we need to contact someone before or after my partner resigns from the nursing home?

They need to resign, apply under this category via ISD's online system (I assume you live in Dublin) and see what ISD says. Once ISD gives them permission, they need to find another job, so they can apply for REP itself from DETE.
Read the guide - https://www.irishimmigration.ie/my-situ ... it-scheme/

I'm not sure how long will be given to them to find a new job - once again, possibly within 6 months.

and they have spoken to a lawyer that says that such a situation makes them eligible for a reactivation work permit if they leave and apply to a new job.

I have not seen any sort of information online about ability to get a Reactivation Permit if a person leaves job on their own accord - it's all mentioning about someone being made redundant. But I'm not a legal professional, so cannot say anything against the advice given.
Safer option would be to look for a job now, before leavig their current job, so they have a proper legal status in the country? Or change their permission to the one based on you, if you've ben cohabiting long enough? (https://www.irishimmigration.ie/my-situ ... -national/ )

Also the obvious question that ISD might be conserned about is how will they find a new job if they weren't able to work for 8 months?

[Healthassist5]

Thanks for the prompt response.

They need to resign, apply under this category via ISD's online system (I assume you live in Dublin) and see what ISD says. Once ISD gives them permission, they need to find another job, so they can apply for REP itself from DETE.
Read the guide - https://www.irishimmigration.ie/my-situ ... it-scheme/

I'm not sure how long will be given to them to find a new job - once again, possibly within 6 months.

This was the form that I was in the process of filling out - however it seems to require an employment offer (Section 5), so I got confused about the order in which things have to happen. What should we do if there is no existing employment offer? Should she resign and then reapply? How does the cancellation of the existing Work Permit happen?

I have not seen any sort of information online about ability to get a Reactivation Permit if a person leaves job on their own accord - it's all mentioning about someone being made redundant. But I'm not a legal professional, so cannot say anything against the advice given.
Safer option would be to look for a job now, before leavig their current job, so they have a proper legal status in the country? Or change their permission to the one based on you, if you've ben cohabiting long enough? (https://www.irishimmigration.ie/my-situ ... -national/ )

We will have been cohabiting long enough, and I am an Irish citizen, however I am in the process of applying for a job myself (just finished a postgraduate degree) and am on Jobseekers, so getting the defacto partnership isn't possible at the moment.

Also the obvious question that ISD might be conserned about is how will they find a new job if they weren't able to work for 8 months?

She's unable to work due to the conditions of the workplace and treatment by staff at the nursing home, she is capable of performing other work.

Sorry to ask so many questions again, it has been very difficult to get clear guidance on this.

[meself2]

What should we do if there is no existing employment offer? Should she resign and then reapply?

I reread this again and seems like if she doesn't have a job now, she can't get a permit.
https://enterprise.gov.ie/en/what-we-do ... nt-permit/

Reactivation Employment Permits are designed for situations where a foreign national who entered the State on a valid Employment Permit but who fell out of the system through no fault of their own or who has been badly treated or exploited in the workplace, to work legally again.

She came here as a work migrant; unless there's other reasons to stay, she'd have to return back to her home country and find work from there, which might be the safest option.
Seems like she needs to find another job while being employed as she is now (and then she can just apply for another GEP I suppose), unless GEP expires, but that would cause her to stay in Ireland unable to work/illegally once residence permit expires and will be a whole other kettle of fish.

Why does she need a REP? Why can't she look for a job now and switch to GEP?

How does the cancellation of the existing Work Permit happen?

If by employer - they reach out to DETE and let them know. Haven't heard of the cases of a person cancelling their own permit, so can't advise here; I don't know why she wants to do so, as employer is supposed to cancel her permit once she leaves her job, but once again, I am very much not sure if DETE will accept resignation as a circumstance which is "no fault of their own".

She's unable to work due to the conditions of the workplace and treatment by staff at the nursing home, she is capable of performing other work.

Why did she not reach out to WRC? https://www.workplacerelations.ie/en/
She'd have to show that to be considered for a REP.
https://enterprise.gov.ie/en/publicatio ... s-2020.pdf

has fallen out of the employment permit and immigration system through no fault of your own e.g.
badly treated or exploited in the workplace, you may be eligible to apply for a Reactivation
Employment Permit.
The scheme does not apply to current holders of employment permits

[meself2]

She can try to leave a job and stay in Ireland illegally, as that seems to be the intended way to get a REp:
https://enterprise.gov.ie/en/what-we-do ... nt-permit/

You may be eligible for this type of employment permit if you are:

a person who previously held an employment permit, but who fell out of the system through no fault of your own, and you remained in the State although you are currently not legally resident in Ireland.

But it's a dodgy path and I would highly recommend against it - there's no guarantee she can reinstate her legal status again.

[Healthassist5]

Thanks for the information and responses. I will look over all of this again tomorrow morning. Much appreciated.

[meself2]

Let's go over what options she has, shall we?

First: find a new job, get a GEP, switch to it, profit. The easiest, most safe one. Cons: takes a long time and needs LMNT.
Second: try to get a REP by leaving current job and without finding one; since REP requires current job, she'll be somewhat in limbo while trying to find it. I don't think ISD cancels residence permits (not to be confused with work permit) very often, so technically she would have time until her current permit runs out. But she can't work at all, so risky.
Third, possible continuation of second: go back home, find a new job from there, maybe not even straight away - gives her tiem to rest and settle down to figure things out. Cons, of course - hard to find a job from abroad.
Fourth: study. She can spend a year doing Master's, for example, get a 1G to seek work for a year and, hopefully, be sponsored in that time, or even find a job duirng studies.
Fifth: move somewhere else, eg UK; compared to Ireland, NHS trusts can actually sponsor people there, unlike HSE, and there's a special category of visas (Health and Care worker visa) so might be easier to find a job there.

You're free to have a chat with the immigration adviser - I'm not one. But those points are something to keep in mind.