Republic of Ireland vs Socialist Republic of Vietnam
A neutral side-by-side of immigration systems, routes and regulators. Each row links to the underlying visa page with its primary government source.
Last reviewed:
Source basis
This comparison combines Republic of Ireland and Socialist Republic of Vietnam government portals with the primary sources for each side's dominant skilled route. Every detailed figure links through to the underlying route or data page.
Reviewed
Primary sources
- Immigration Service Delivery
Department of Justice (Ireland) - verified
- Vietnam Immigration Department
Vietnam Immigration Department (Ministry of Public Security) - verified
- DETE — Critical Skills Employment Permit
Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment (Ireland) - verified
Republic of Ireland
Ireland operates an employment permits system administered by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE), with immigration permissions separately issued by Immigration Service Delivery (ISD). The Critical Skills Employment Permit is the headline route for high-skill migration.
- Official portal
- Department of Justice (Ireland)
- Languages
- Irish, English
- Currency
- Euro
Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Vietnam's Immigration Department, under the Ministry of Public Security, issues visas and residence cards, with employment authorised separately by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA). Headline routes are the employer work visa plus work permit, the tiered DT investor visas, the Temporary and Permanent Residence Cards, and a five-year Talent Visa launched in 2025; a proposed ten-year Golden Visa has been announced but is not yet in force.
- Official portal
- Vietnam Immigration Department (Ministry of Public Security)
- Languages
- Vietnamese
- Currency
- Vietnamese dong
How Republic of Ireland and Socialist Republic of Vietnam differ
| Dimension | Republic of Ireland | Socialist Republic of Vietnam |
|---|---|---|
| Total routes covered | 7 | 8 |
| Routes without employer sponsor | 4 | 4 |
| Routes leading to permanent residence | 6 | 5 |
| Typical full settlement timeline | Separate clocks: CSEP and other specified permissions may qualify for a Stamp 4 upgrade after 21 months of employment; ordinary GEP/ICT after 57 months. Long Term Residency has its own 60-month qualifying-residence test. Naturalisation normally requires five years of reckonable residence, including the final continuous year; neither Stamp 4 nor Long Term Residency guarantees citizenship or a decision date. | — |
| Dominant skilled visa | Critical Skills Employment Permit | Work Visa (LD) and Work Permit |
| Skilled visa salary minimum | €40,904/year | — |
| Skilled visa processing time | DETE’s page, published as at 04 September 2026, listed Critical Skills Employment Permit applications received on 26 August 2026. That 9-day difference is a queue-position snapshot, not a decision-time estimate. | — |
| Skilled visa government fees | A Critical Skills Employment Permit to Ireland costs around €1,300 in government fees for a single applicant — the CSEP fee is typically employer-borne, so the worker's out-of-pocket cost is closer to €300. | — |
| Official languages | Irish, English | Vietnamese |
| Currency | Euro | Vietnamese dong |
| Primary regulator | Law Society | MoJ |
| Policy changes (last 12 months) | 1 | 0 |
Skilled-route head-to-head
Comparing each country’s most-used skilled-migration route side by side.
Republic of Ireland
Critical Skills Employment Permit
- Salary minimum
- €40,904/year
- Government fees
- A Critical Skills Employment Permit to Ireland costs around €1,300 in government fees for a single applicant — the CSEP fee is typically employer-borne, so the worker's out-of-pocket cost is closer to €300.
- Processing time
- DETE’s page, published as at 04 September 2026, listed Critical Skills Employment Permit applications received on 26 August 2026. That 9-day difference is a queue-position snapshot, not a decision-time estimate.
- Sponsor required
- Yes
- Leads to settlement
- Yes
Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Work Visa (LD) and Work Permit
- Salary minimum
- —
- Government fees
- —
- Processing time
- —
- Sponsor required
- Yes
- Leads to settlement
- Yes
Recent policy activity
Last 6 months. Each entry links to its primary government source.
- 28 May 2026Republic of Ireland
Ireland announces employment-permit occupation list changes
The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment announced occupation-list changes to support housing, health and transport needs, including additions to the Critical Skills Occupation List and removals from the Ineligible Occupations List.
Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Ireland)
Routes unique to Republic of Ireland
Routes unique to Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Visa routes side by side
Republic of Ireland (7)
Critical Skills Employment Permit
Sponsor · Leads to settlement · Two-year permit; eligible holders can seek Stamp 4 after 21 months of qualifying employment. Long-term residence is a separate application, not an automatic two-year outcome.
General Employment Permit
Sponsor · Leads to settlement · 2 years initially and renewable; later residence permissions depend on the qualifying permission history and separate ISD rules.
Start-up Entrepreneur Programme (STEP)
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Initial 2-year permission; renewable; leads to Stamp 4 after 5 years.
Stamp 4 permission
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Employment-based upgrades are renewable every 2 years for the qualifying 21-month group and every year for the 57-month group. Other Stamp 4 bases have their own duration and conditions.
Irish Student visa (Stamp 2)
Sponsor · Non-settlement · Up to 1 year at a time; renewable during studies.
Join Family (Irish national or EEA national)
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Variable — usually 1–3 years at a time; leads to Stamp 4.
Immigrant Investor Programme (IIP — closed)
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Closed to new applicants.
Socialist Republic of Vietnam (8)
Work Visa (LD) and Work Permit
Sponsor · Leads to settlement · Work permits are commonly issued for up to about two years, with the LD visa and any residence card aligned to the permit.
Investor Visa (DT1-DT4)
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Validity rises with the tier - the highest tiers run for several years, while the lowest tier is shorter; residence cards align to the tier.
Temporary Residence Card (TRC)
Sponsor · Leads to settlement · Issued for a multi-year period aligned to the underlying status (commonly up to two or three years), renewable.
Permanent Residence Card
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Long-term permanent residence, with the card periodically renewed as an identity document.
Family / Dependent Visa (TT)
Sponsor · Leads to settlement · Aligned to the sponsor's status, with a temporary residence card commonly available for a multi-year period.
E-visa
No sponsor · Non-settlement · Issued for a limited maximum period per entry, with single or multiple-entry options.
5-year Talent Visa
No sponsor · Non-settlement · A five-year multiple-entry facility, with a capped stay per entry under the scheme terms.
Student / Intern Visa (DH)
Sponsor · Non-settlement · Aligned to the study or internship programme, with a temporary residence card available for the course length.
Frequently asked questions
Which country has an easier skilled-migration route, Republic of Ireland or Socialist Republic of Vietnam?+
Republic of Ireland’s Critical Skills Employment Permit requires a salary of at least €40,904/year; Socialist Republic of Vietnam’s Work Visa (LD) and Work Permit is the dominant skilled route. “Easier” depends on your salary, sponsor situation, and nationality — see each visa’s eligibility detail.
Which immigration system has changed more recently, Republic of Ireland or Socialist Republic of Vietnam?+
In the last 6 months: 1 logged policy change for Republic of Ireland, 0 for Socialist Republic of Vietnam. See the recent-policy section above for the details, each linked to its primary source.
Cite or reuse this dataset
This comparison is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0. Cite the page for the compiled head-to-head table and use the country-comparisons JSON endpoint to retrieve the indexed pair, destination profiles and underlying source datasets.
Suggested citation
Visa Atlas, "Republic of Ireland vs Socialist Republic of Vietnam immigration comparison", https://visaatlas.org/compare/ireland/vs/vietnam. Last verified 1 June 2026.
- JSON endpoint
- https://visaatlas.org/api/public/country-comparisons
Underlying comparison sources (3)