New visa allows Irish people to work in US for 12 months

A new visa is to be brought in to allow Irish people to work and travel in the US for up to a year.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs signed the agreement in Washington today.

Around 20,000 visas are expected to be issued annually. The arrangement will also allow around 5,000 American citizens to come and work in Ireland for a year.

Speaking from the US Minister Micheál Martin said it was a significant agreement:

"It's the first formal legal framework for Irish people to travel to the United States to work for any reasonable time-frame apart from the student summer visas," he said.

"Given the historic nature of our relationship (with America), we believe it's important that we create legal frameworks for people that work in our respective countries."