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Hosting Agreements

EU Council Directive 2005/71/EC - Admission of Third Country Researchers to Ireland through a Hosting Agreement

All non-EEA Research employees (Assistants and/or Fellows), unless exempt, must be issued with a Hosting Agreement to take up their employment with Trinity College Dublin.
Hosting Agreements are issued by the College and Euraxess Ireland on behalf of the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Scienceand are only applicable for Research Staff (Assistants and/or Fellows).

Eligibility Criteria

• Post must be at least 70% research-based (small percentage of teaching allowed, provided it’s related to the research subject/field)
• Post must be of at least 3 months duration initially, and can be extended for any period after that, for up to 5 years
• Minimum annual salary (for up to 39 hours/week):

• €23,181 if the researcher does not have family members* joining them in Ireland
• €30,000 if the researcher has family members* joining them in Ireland

*Family members means immediate family members i.e. spouse, natural children or children for which the researcher has official guardianship.

Please note: Although the Hosting Agreement process is considerably faster, due to tighter Immigration controls, especially to visa-required nationals, sufficient notice must be given for both Hosting Agreement + Visa processes to be in place:

• Non-visa required nationals: minimum 4 weeks' notice – from receipt of approved paperwork by HR to proposed start date (shorter notice may apply if the candidate is already in Ireland)
• Visa-required nationals: at least 8 – 10 weeks' notice – from receipt of approved paperwork by HR to proposed start date (shorter notice may apply if the candidate is already in Ireland)

List of Visa and non-Visa Required Nationals:

https://www.irishimmigration.ie/visa-non-visa-required-nationalities/?

Important points to note

• A Hosting Agreement is only valid when issued with an employment contract and for work being carried out by the researcher physically in Ireland. Researchers working abroad will not be issued a Hosting Agreement for that time as it does not provide right to work in any other country.
• The Researcher must have sufficient monthly resources to meet his or her expenses and return travel costs 'without recourse to the Member State's social assistance system'.
• The Hosting Agreement does not take the place of an Entry Visa or registration with the Immigration Service Delivery (ISD)
• The College cannot assist in the securing of entry visas and, if necessary, a visa must be secured before travelling. Equally, researchers with a Hosting Agreement must register upon arrival and annually with their local ISD/GNIB office
• All Hosting Agreements issued will be given a unique identifier and registered through the Researchers Mobility Office within Euraxess Ireland. This database is directly linked to the Immigration Service Delivery/Department of Justice
• It is the responsibility of both the researcher and their PI to inform Human Resources in the event of an early termination of the contract.
• If a Hosting Agreement has been issued and it transpires that the researcher will no longer be taking up the position offered, it is the duty of the PI to inform Human Resources of the same to ensure the Hosting Agreement is cancelled.
• Hosting Agreements can only be issued to researchers - Research Assistants and Research Fellows. They will not be issued to non-research staff working on research projects or Academics whose principal role is as a lecturer.

New employees

Principal Investigators intending to employ a third country researcher must liaise with the relevant HR Partner to start the process. The nomination form should clearly indicate that the employee will need a Hosting Agreement*, and email contact details for the employee and the PI.

*Not everyone will need a HA, even if they are a non-EEA national. HR Work Permits will assess the applicability and advise on a case-by-case basis.

Once the Nomination paperwork is approved by the HRP, HR Work Permits will commence the Hosting Agreement process. At that point the above timeframes will start counting.

Existing Employees and Contract Extensions

If an existing employee on a Hosting Agreement is having their contract of employment extended, HR Work Permits must be informed as far in advance as possible, to allow a HA extension to be issued to the researcher.

Benefits

The Hosting Agreement allows the researcher to be immediately accompanied by family members, as per definition above (provided all Visas, when required, are granted).
Spouses of Hosting Agreement holders will receive a special Immigration Permission (Stamp 1G), which allows them to work full-time without the need for an additional Employment Permit/Hosting Agreement

After two years under a Hosting Agreement, the non-EEA national can apply for a change of Immigration Permission, from Stamp 1 to Stamp 4, without requiring an extension of the HA. Stamp 4 allows the non-EEA national to remain and work full-time in Ireland with no need to hold an additional Employment Permit/Hosting Agreement. More information can be found here

Charges

Hosting Agreements are free to apply, however, the researcher (and some dependants) are required to pay €300 each upon registration/renewal with the ISD/GNIB. This cost is not covered by the College.

Visas

If an employee is from a visa-required country, this is still a requirement even if they do not need an Employment Permit/Hosting Agreement. They must obtain a visa before travelling to Ireland. The recruitment team cannot assist in the obtaining of visas – however, we have produced a document which details the guidelines and requirements of the visa process.

Further Information

If you have any further queries please contact workperm@tcd.ie or the HR Service Centre at 01 896 3333.

Frequently Asked Questions

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