The PPS number and the proofs of address: the Irish order
In Ireland you don't register anywhere, and that's why everything revolves around proofs of address. The PPS number, the key to work, healthcare and school, can only be applied for once you're in Ireland, via MyWelfare and with a compulsory appointment, and the proof of address may be at most three months old. The official way out of the chicken-and-egg puzzle is right there on the government site: a utility bill from your host with a note on it.
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Yes, you need a PPS number in Ireland, your personal number with the Irish government. You can only apply for it once you're there. Citizens Information, the Irish government's information service, states explicitly that you cannot apply because you intend to relocate.
The number opens almost every counter, from your tax to the medical card (the Irish health card for free GP and hospital care) and school.
The trap is the proof of address. You have to show a document with your name and address that is at most three months old, and in your first weeks you don't have one yet. The government itself gives the way out: a utility bill from the person you're staying with, with a note on it.
Why is there no registration?
As an EU citizen you don't have to report to the immigration service in Ireland and you don't need a residence card. After three months you do need a basis, such as work or sufficient resources with health cover, but nobody checks that at a counter. What exactly that involves is covered in may you live in Ireland?
The flip side: because you don't register anywhere, nothing automatically proves that you live somewhere either. Every body therefore asks for proof of address itself, and the PPS counter is the strictest.
What is the PPS number, and who may ask for it?
The Personal Public Service Number is a unique number of seven digits followed by one or two letters. It is your key to public services, and you need it for, among other things:
- your registration with Revenue, the Irish tax authority, if you're going to work;
- the medical card and the Drugs Payment Scheme;
- enrolling in a school or course;
- the driver theory test and the driving licence;
- all services of Social Protection, the Irish department for benefits and social security.
Only certain bodies may ask for your PPS number. An employer, for example, only once you actually take up employment with them, not during recruitment. But whoever starts work without giving their number to the employer pays emergency tax, a temporary emergency rate: 40% of the whole pay.
What do you need for the application?
| What | As an EU citizen | Validity |
|---|---|---|
| Proof of identity | your valid passport or national identity card | valid |
| Proof of address | utility bill, official letter, bank statement, tenancy agreement, or confirmation from a hotel, hostel, school principal or landlord | at most 3 months old, with your name and address |
| If you stay with friends or family | an original bill of the occupant, with a note that you live there | the note may be on the bill itself |
| For a child | your identity and address, the child's, why it needs a number, and your relationship | the same |
How does the application work?
Online, via MyWelfare, the online service of Social Protection. For that you first create a basic account with MyGovID, the Irish login for government services, and you must be 18 or older. You fill in the form and choose a location, date and time for an appointment at a PPS Number Allocation Centre straight away. That appointment is compulsory. Without it the application isn't complete. You then receive the number by post.
If you also apply for your children, it can be done in the same application, and they come along to the appointment. A child who lives in Ireland but wasn't born there needs its own application, and one of the parents must have a PPS number to link the child to. If you can't apply online, there is a paper form, the REG1, or for a child the REG1M.
Book the appointment straight away, and bring the original paper. The appointment is the bottleneck of your first weeks: until the number is there, you can't register your job with Revenue or apply for a medical card. If you're staying with someone, bring their original bill, not a copy.
What follows the PPS number?
Usually a Public Services Card, with your photo, signature and PPS number. With that card you set up a verified MyGovID account, and that opens the government's online services. The card has a looser requirement: proof of address at most six months old.
If you then move within Ireland, you pass on your new address.
- With your PPS number and a verified MyGovID that can be done in MyWelfare.
- Without a verified account you write to Social Protection, with your name, PPS number, old and new address and proof of the new address.
If you've lost your number, an Intreo office, the local office of Social Protection, can find it for you. It is also on your Public Services Card and on tax documents.
The strategy for the first weeks
Arrange a place to stay or temporary address where someone can sign off the bill, and get your PPS number with it. As soon as you have your own home, put all utilities in your own name. Every bill in your name is proof of address for the next counter. Which counter accepts which paper of which age is covered in your first weeks in Ireland.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 1 of 5 of the journey, step 1.1: 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 1.1 in the open plan.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- Citizens Information — the PPS number: application and documents — citizensinformation.ie
- Citizens Information — residence rights of EU citizens in Ireland — citizensinformation.ie
- Citizens Information — the Public Services Card and a verified MyGovID — citizensinformation.ie
- Revenue — emergency tax without a PPS number at your employer — revenue.ie
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