How to register for your first IRP at Burgh Quay

Who has to register

If you’re from outside the EU, EEA, UK and Switzerland and you’re living in Ireland for more than 90 days, to work, study, live or join family, you must register your permission with Immigration Service Delivery (ISD). Registering gets you your Irish Residence Permit (IRP) card, which shows your stamp and the conditions you live here on.

• Where: the Registration Office at 13–14 Burgh Quay, Dublin 2, D02 XK70. It’s the only one, for the whole country, and it’s appointment only.
• When: book within 90 days of arriving.
• Children: under-16s don’t register. They register for the first time once they turn 16.
• The old name: registration used to be done by the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB). Since 13 January 2025, ISD does it all.

After this first visit, renewals and stamp changes are done online, so normally you only go to Burgh Quay once.

Make your checklist

Choose why you’re in Ireland and enter the date you arrived. You’ll get the date to book by, and a list of what to bring that you can tick off and copy.

Step by step

1. Arrive and get your landing stamp. The immigration officer stamps your passport with the date your permission to stay ends, up to 3 months. You can’t register without a landing stamp. If you came in over the land border from Northern Ireland, report to an immigration officer within 30 days (7 days if you’re working) to get one.
2. Book on the Customer Service Portal. Create an account on ISD’s Customer Service Portal and book straight away. Booking is free. If you’re 16 or over, the appointment must be in your own name, or the office won’t complete it.
3. Gather your originals. Use the checklist above. Registration won’t be completed if anything is missing.
4. Go to Burgh Quay. Check in at the kiosks to get a ticket, and an officer calls you. They review your documents, take your photo and fingerprints, and take the fee if you pay one. Your passport is stamped with your permission. ISD says it takes under an hour.
5. Wait for your card. The IRP card is posted to the address you gave. ISD’s first-registration page says within 10 working days; its FAQ says about 15 business days. Your passport stamp shows your permission in the meantime.

If there’s no appointment within 90 days

Appointments are released on a rolling 90-day basis, and they go quickly. If the first free slot is after your 90 days, book it anyway. ISD says a booking made within 90 days of arriving is enough to stay until the appointment date.

After that, keep checking. ISD releases extra appointments when it can, and you can move yours to any other free date through the reschedule option.

What everyone needs to bring

Whatever your permission, ISD asks for:

• Your passport, with the landing stamp for this permission, and your entry visa if you need one.
• Proof of your address in Ireland. ISD doesn’t say which documents count, so bring an original in your name.
• Originals. ISD asks for original documents at a first registration (renewals later use scanned copies).
• Your sponsor, in person, if your permission depends on someone else, such as your spouse or partner.
• A debit or credit card for the €300 fee, unless you’re exempt.

Then there are the documents for your permission. These are the most common:

For other permissions, ISD’s documents page has the full list.

Insurance

Where insurance is needed, ISD accepts private medical insurance or travel insurance that covers accidents and medical incidents, including hospital stays, for 12 months, or your whole stay if that’s shorter. Bring the original policy in your name, with the dates on it. Cash-back policies aren’t accepted.

Students

• Your course must have started before you register.
• Fees: under €6,000, pay them in full first. Over €6,000, you must have paid at least €6,000, and your enrolment letter should show it.
• If you didn’t need a visa, you also need to show you had access to €10,000 when you arrived (courses giving more than 8 months’ residence), or €833 a month, €6,665 in total, for 8 months or less.

The fee

The registration fee is €300 per person, paid at the appointment by debit or credit card. Contactless works; cash doesn’t. You don’t pay if you’re registering as, for example:

• a minor under 18,
• the spouse, civil partner, widow, widower or surviving civil partner of an Irish citizen,
• the spouse or dependant of an EU national who has a residence permit, or
• a refugee, a person with subsidiary protection or permission to remain under the International Protection Act 2015, or a family member reunited with a refugee.

ISD’s fees section has the complete list.

Who can come with you

• A friend to help translate: yes.
• Your children: yes, if you don’t have childcare.
• Your sponsor: must come, if your permission depends on them.
• A guardian: must come with students aged 16 or 17.

The office is wheelchair accessible. If you have special needs or need a translator, tell ISD through the Customer Service Portal before you go.

Common mix-ups

After you register

Your IRP card shows your stamp and the date your permission ends. From then on everything is online: you renew from 12 weeks before the expiry date. The renewal guide explains how, with a planner for your dates.

Common questions

Sources