The short answer
- No registration, no IRP card. That’s for people from outside the EU, EEA, Switzerland and the UK.
- EU, EEA and Swiss citizens: live here freely for 3 months, then while you’re working, looking for work, studying with insurance, or self-sufficient with insurance. After 5 years, permanently.
- British citizens: live, work and study here freely under the Common Travel Area, with no conditions.
- Everyone: get a PPS number to work.
- Non-EU family: a residence card for EU citizens’ families; a separate scheme for UK citizens’ families who arrived from 2021.
- Citizenship: after 5 years in 9, shown with documents.
Check your rights
Your rights check
For EU, EEA, Swiss and UK citizens living in Ireland.
To register for the first time
From the EU free movement regulations (S.I. No. 548 of 2015), ISD, Citizens Information and the UK and Irish governments’ Common Travel Area guidance. Nothing you choose is sent or saved.
EU, EEA and Swiss citizens: your right to live here
You can enter with a valid passport or national ID card and stay up to 3 months, whatever you’re doing. To stay longer, you need to be:
| You are | Conditions |
|---|---|
| Working or self-employed | Any genuine and effective work, with no minimum hours or pay |
| Looking for work | Still looking, with a realistic chance of a job. Citizens Information says up to 6 months |
| A student | Enrolled on a course, with comprehensive health insurance and enough money to live on |
| Retired or living on your own means | Enough money for you and your family, and comprehensive health insurance. No fixed amount |
| Family of one of the above | Living with them |
Losing your job doesn’t end your right straight away: you keep worker status while you’re ill or injured, or out of work involuntarily and registered with Social Protection as a jobseeker.
British citizens: the Common Travel Area
British and Irish citizens can live, work and study in each other’s country, vote in certain elections and access social welfare and healthcare, without any permission. You don’t need a visa, residence permit or employment permit, and Brexit didn’t change it.
The details, from swapping your UK driving licence to becoming Irish, are in British citizens in Ireland.
No registration, no IRP
The registration, renewal and permission rules in most of our guides don’t apply to you. You’ll show your passport or ID card to an immigration officer when you arrive, and since Ireland isn’t in the Schengen area, that happens even on flights from other EU countries.
Your PPS number
You need a PPS number to start work, register with Revenue and use public services like social welfare. Apply online through MyWelfare with a basic MyGovID (just an email), then attend an appointment. Bring proof of identity (EU citizens: your passport or national ID card) and proof of your address from the last 3 months.
Family from outside the EU, EEA, Switzerland and the UK
| Your situation | What your family member does |
|---|---|
| You’re an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen living here | Apply for a residence card (Stamp 4 EU FAM) within 3 months, from inside Ireland. Form EUTR 1 for a spouse, civil partner, children and grandchildren under 21, and dependants; EUTR 1A for a de facto partner and other family. On the Customer Service Portal |
| You’re British and lived here before 2021 | Apply as a Withdrawal Agreement beneficiary, on Form EUTR 1 or 1A, if they were your family by the end of 2020, or are your child |
| You’re British and came from 2021 | Apply to ISD’s scheme for UK nationals’ families from outside Ireland: preclearance or a visa, medical insurance, and you must be self-sufficient, earning at least €20,000 a year for a couple without children |
Step by step, with the forms, dates and what comes after: your non-EU family as an EU citizen.
Permanent residence
After 5 continuous years living here under these rules, EU, EEA and Swiss citizens can stay permanently, whatever they’re doing. You can ask ISD for a Permanent Residence Certificate (Form EUTR 2), valid for 10 years, though you don’t need one to have the right. Family members with a residence card apply for a Permanent Residence Card (Form EUTR 3) after 5 years. British citizens don’t need either. Absences, early routes and the documents: permanent residence for EU citizens.
Irish citizenship
You can apply after 5 years’ reckonable residence in the last 9, with the final year unbroken. Instead of permission dates, you show your history of living here with documents, such as Employment Detail Summaries, bank statements and bills, if you’ve held your nationality for more than 5 years. If not, you apply under the rules for non-EU nationals.
Common mix-ups
Common questions
Do EU citizens need to register in Ireland?
No. EU, EEA and Swiss citizens don't register with the immigration authorities and don't need a residence card to live here.
Can EU citizens live in Ireland indefinitely?
Up to 3 months with a passport or ID card. After that, you must be working or self-employed, looking for work with a realistic chance of a job, studying with health insurance and money to live on, or have enough money and comprehensive health insurance. After 5 continuous years, you can stay permanently.
Do British citizens need permission to live in Ireland?
No. Under the Common Travel Area, British and Irish citizens can live, work and study in each other's country without permission, and access social welfare. Brexit didn't change this.
Do I need a PPS number?
Yes, to start work and use public services. EU citizens apply with a passport or national ID card and proof of address, online through MyWelfare with a basic MyGovID, followed by an appointment.
My spouse isn't an EU citizen. What do they need?
They apply for a residence card, known as Stamp 4 EU FAM, within 3 months, on Form EUTR 1 through ISD's Customer Service Portal. De facto partners and some other relatives use Form EUTR 1A. They apply from inside Ireland.
My partner isn't from the EU and I'm British. Is it the same?
Only if you lived in Ireland before 2021: then they can apply under the Withdrawal Agreement. If you came from 2021, they apply to ISD's scheme for families of UK nationals from outside Ireland, and you must meet income rules.
Can I become an Irish citizen?
Yes, after 5 years' residence in the last 9, with the final year unbroken. You show your residence with documents rather than permission dates, if you've held your nationality for more than 5 years.
Sources
All sources checked on 3 Oct 2026.
- European Communities (Free Movement of Persons) Regulations 2015 (S.I. No. 548 of 2015)Irish Statute Book
- EU, EEA country or SwitzerlandImmigration Service Delivery
- EU Treaty Rights (family members, permanent residence, Withdrawal Agreement)Immigration Service Delivery
- Joining your UK national family memberImmigration Service Delivery
- Residence rights of EU citizensCitizens Information
- Personal Public Service (PPS) numberCitizens Information
- Common Travel Area guidanceGOV.UK (Cabinet Office, Home Office)