Changing your address: how to tell ISD

The short answer

While you hold an IRP card, your address is part of your registration, and the law says to keep it up to date:

• Moving: tell ISD the date and your new address before you move. If you can’t, the latest is 48 hours after you move.
• Away for more than a month: tell ISD where you are, any later change, and when you’re back.
• How: a query on the Customer Service Portal, with proof of your new address dated in the last 3 months.

You don’t need a new card: ISD’s list of what’s on the card doesn’t include your address.

Plan your move

Choose what’s happening and enter your dates. Add the date on your bill or tenancy agreement to check it’s recent enough.

What the law says

Section 9 of the Immigration Act 2004 sets out your registration duties. It was amended in 2022, so older guides may quote an earlier version. Today it says:

• Before you move, give the date you’re moving and your new address.
• Within 48 hours of moving, give your current address, if you didn’t give it beforehand.
• Away from your home for more than a month in a row, give your current address, every later change, and say when you’re back.
• Anything else that changes in your registration details, such as your job or passport, has to be reported within 7 days.

The law allows this to be done electronically, and ISD’s way is a portal query. Not complying is an offence, with a fine of up to €3,000, up to 12 months in prison, or both.

How to tell ISD

1. Log in to the Customer Service Portal and click Submit Query on your dashboard.
2. Renewal in progress? Choose Registration & Irish Residence Permit (IRP) Cards, then Online Renewal Applications, then “I have changed my home address since submitting an application online”.
3. No renewal in progress? ISD’s list has no topic named for address changes, so pick the closest one, such as General Queries, and say clearly that it’s a change of address.
4. Give your new address and the date you move, and attach proof: ISD’s examples are a utility bill or tenancy agreement dated in the last 3 months.

Away for more than a month

The rule is about being away from your home, in Ireland or abroad, for more than one month in a row, even if you keep your home. Give ISD the address where you’re staying, any change while you’re away, and tell them when you’re back. You can tell ISD before you go.

Going abroad? ISD also says time outside Ireland shouldn’t add up to more than 90 days in a rolling year. If you’re planning to apply for citizenship, absences count there too.

Common mix-ups

Common questions

Sources