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Would I legally be able to do consulting work on location in Ireland during a short stay (visa-free under 3 months), billed to my home country as a foreign service provider (rather than being paid a salary)?

Or does that require a working visa?

Home country & citizenship: Canadian.

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  • It probably depends on the nature of the work.
    – phoog
    Commented Mar 3, 2016 at 14:06
  • What do you mean? It's IT work. Which could in theory be done remotely, but would be much better in-person than teleconferencing constantly as we kickoff a project phase.
    – tdtm
    Commented Mar 4, 2016 at 5:26
  • 1
    I mean is it work such as the installation or configuration of a product (okay as a business visitor under US rules, at least) or is it more like the development of new software (requires work permission).
    – phoog
    Commented Mar 4, 2016 at 6:48
  • Sorry I kinda forgot about this. Even after consulting the Irish government, we weren't able to have a clear answer as this seemed to be walking a thin line. We opted for doing a short stay there where I received training, was introduced to the company's products and policies, etc... then went back to Canada to wait for a visa to then go back to Ireland and work on premises. This seemed to be the best unambiguously legal way if more of a logistical challenge.
    – tdtm
    Commented May 29, 2016 at 18:06
  • perhaps you should add that solution and any relevant findings as an answer, especially since there are no other answers posted yet.
    – phoog
    Commented May 29, 2016 at 18:34

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It depends where you would be getting paid. If you would be getting paid in Canada by a Canada company into a Canada bank account, then your status is a business trip and you don't need a work permit. Otherwise you do need it.

Explanation comes from Irish Revenue because Revenue makes difference between business trip into Ireland and work in Ireland.

https://www2.deloitte.com/ie/en/pages/tax/articles/changes-to-the-taxation-of-business-travellers-into-Ireland.html#

However the new guidance issued by Revenue impacts travellers coming to Ireland where that individual spends greater than 30 days in Ireland in a calendar year and is

  • Working for an Irish employer where the duties performed by the individual are an integral part of the business activities of the
    Irish employer, or
  • Replacing a member of staff of an Irish employer, or
  • Gaining experience working for an Irish employer, or
  • Supplied and paid by an agency (or other entity) outside the State to work for an Irish employer.

Where any of those conditions are met, there will now be an obligation to withhold PAYE taxes from the individual, once he or she is here for more than 30 days. Up to this, such a person had to be in Ireland for more than 183 days before this happened.

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    This sounds like a good answer, but it would definitely be one if you could edit it to add some official or authoritative sources to support it.
    – phoog
    Commented Apr 25, 2019 at 17:33

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