Your first weeks in Ireland: every counter wants proof of address, and every counter a different shelf life
In Ireland you don't register anywhere. Instead every counter asks for proof that you live somewhere, and that proof may be at most three months old at the PPS counter, six at the bank and twelve for healthcare. Whoever knows that does the counters in the order in which one paper produces the next, and starts with the PPS number.
No, in Ireland there is no town hall where you register, and no residence card to collect. What takes its place is a series of separate counters that each want to see that you live somewhere. The finding is in the small print: each counter accepts proof of address of a different age. The PPS counter wants at most three months, the bank six, healthcare twelve. The trap is that in your first weeks you have nothing in your own name yet, so a first paper has to carry a lot of weight. Whoever knows which paper opens which next counter gets through it in weeks instead of months.
Which proof of address does which counter accept?
| Counter | Maximum age of proof of address | What counts, among other things |
|---|---|---|
| PPS number (Department of Social Protection) | 3 months | utility bill, official letter, bank statement, tenancy agreement, confirmation from a hotel or landlord |
| Public Services Card (SAFE registration) | 6 months | utility bill, letter from a government department, financial statement |
| Bank account | 6 months, or 12 for an insurance policy | utility or phone bill, government letter, Tax Credit Certificate |
| Ordinary residence for healthcare (HSE) | 12 months | proof of rent or purchase, bank statement, utility bill, insurance, letter from Revenue |
For the PPS number there is an official way out if you don't live anywhere yet: if you're staying with friends or family, an original household bill of the occupant with a note saying you stay there will do, and the note may be written on the bill itself. The manager of a hotel or hostel may also confirm your address in writing.
Ask every counter for post on paper. Every letter that arrives in your name is proof of address for the next counter. A tenancy agreement, a bank statement and a letter from Revenue each appear on the list of several counters in the table.
Why start with the PPS number?
Because it is the key everything else hangs on. You need it for your registration with Revenue if you're going to work, for the medical card and the Drugs Payment Scheme, for enrolling in a school or course, and for your driving licence. You can only apply once you're in Ireland; whoever intends to relocate has to wait until they are there.
The application runs through MyWelfare, with a basic MyGovID account. There you choose a date and location for an in-person appointment at a PPS Number Allocation Centre, and that appointment is compulsory. If you also apply for your children, it can be done in the same application, and they come along to the appointment. The number then arrives by post.
A Public Services Card usually follows the PPS number. With that card you set up a verified MyGovID account, and that opens the government's online routes, such as exchanging your driving licence.
What do you do once the PPS number is there?
Whoever is going to work registers the job with Revenue straight away, in myAccount. Without a PPS number at your employer, they deduct tax at 40% of your whole pay; with the number but without a registered job you get a single person's band for four weeks and then 40% too. How that works exactly is covered in working in Ireland.
Then the bank. A bank wants photo ID and proof of address no more than six months old, and they may not be the same document. What you can expect as an EU resident is covered in a bank account in Ireland. And healthcare: the HSE wants to see that you are ordinarily resident, so that you have lived in Ireland for at least a year or intend to, and accepts papers up to twelve months old for that. What you apply for next depends on whether you come with an S1; that is covered in healthcare in Ireland.
What else comes up?
| What | When | Why now |
|---|---|---|
| Energy and internet in your name | as soon as you have the keys | every bill is proof of address |
| Change of address with Social Protection | with every move within Ireland | online with a verified MyGovID, otherwise by letter |
| GP | in the first weeks | without a medical card or GP visit card you pay per visit |
| School | as soon as your address is fixed | you apply to each school separately |
If you move again within Ireland in the first months, you give your new address to Social Protection: with a verified MyGovID in MyWelfare, and otherwise by letter with your PPS number and proof of the new address.
The full order, with the car, the school and the deadlines, is in the journey at /ierland.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 4 of 5 of the journey, step 4.6: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Ireland or go straight to step 4.6 in the open plan.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change — when in doubt the source is leading, not this article.
- Citizens Information — the PPS number, applying and proof of address — citizensinformation.ie
- Citizens Information — the Public Services Card and MyGovID — citizensinformation.ie
- Citizens Information — proof of identity and address for a bank account — citizensinformation.ie
- Revenue — emergency tax, and how to avoid it — revenue.ie
- Citizens Information — entitlement to public health services and proof of ordinary residence — citizensinformation.ie
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