Having a baby in Ireland as a non-EU parent

The short answer

• Register the birth within 3 months, at any civil registration office. It’s free.
• PPS number and Child Benefit: both follow automatically once the birth is registered.
• Irish or not? Irish if a parent is Irish or British, has Stamp 5, or lived here legally 3 of the 4 years before the birth.
• Not Irish? A passport from your embassy, and nothing to register with immigration before 16.
• Travel: under 16 and living here, your child comes back in with you without a visa.

Check your baby

1. Register the birth

The law gives you 3 months from the birth. It’s the same for every parent, whatever your nationality.

• Where: any civil registration office in Ireland, wherever the baby was born. The hospital sends a birth notification to the registrar, but it doesn’t register the birth for you, so wait about 3 weeks after a hospital birth before you book.
• What to bring: photo ID, such as your passport, and your PPS numbers.
• Married or civil partners: one of you can go. If you married abroad, bring the original marriage certificate, and a translation if needed.
• Not married: go together to have both parents on the register. Since 10 December 2025, a mother registering alone must give the father’s details, and the registrar writes to him. There are exceptions, for example where naming him would put the child at risk.
• Online: some parents are invited to register on MyWelfare, which needs a verified MyGovID for each parent. Not every situation can be done online.
• Cost: registering is free. A full birth certificate costs €20. Ask for the free multilingual standard form when you order it, if you’ll use the certificate abroad.

After 12 months, a birth can only be registered with the Superintendent Registrar’s consent, so don’t leave it.

2. Is your baby Irish?

Since 2005, being born in Ireland doesn’t make a child Irish on its own. It depends on the parents at the time of the birth:

Time on a student permission, time waiting for an asylum decision and time without permission don’t count towards the 3 years. A refugee’s time counts from the day status is granted. The full rules, with a checker, are in children born in Ireland.

3. Your baby’s passport

• Irish: apply for an Irish passport. It’s how you show your child is Irish: the Passport Service checks your nationality or your 3 years of residence.
• Not Irish: your baby has your nationality. Apply for a passport at your country’s embassy or consulate. Each country has its own rules for a child born abroad, so check what yours asks for.

Immigration: nothing to register

If your baby isn’t Irish, there’s no immigration step now:

• Children under 16 don’t register, so there’s no IRP card and no fee. Read children under 16 for what changes at 16.
• Born in Ireland: the Immigration Act’s duty to register doesn’t apply to anyone born here at all.
• At 16: ISD says a child born here who isn’t Irish can register, and gets Stamp 4.
• Citizenship later: ISD says a child born here may be able to apply for citizenship by naturalisation after 3 years living here. A parent applies for them.

Keep your own permission valid and renew it on time: your child lives here with you.

Travelling with your baby

• Irish baby: travels on an Irish passport, like any Irish citizen.
• Not Irish: ISD has suspended re-entry visas for children under 16 who live here, until further notice. Your child can come back in without a visa if they travel with a parent who has permission to live here.
• Carry the birth certificate to show you’re the parent, plus your marriage certificate if your surname is different from your child’s.
• One parent travelling alone? An immigration officer may ask for the other parent’s consent, so carry evidence of their consent, such as a signed letter.

The PPS number and Child Benefit

Register the birth within 3 months and your baby’s PPS number is sent to you, and the Child Benefit claim starts automatically: a partly filled form arrives for your first child, and later children are added to your claim.

Your child doesn’t have to be Irish for Child Benefit, but you must meet the habitual residence condition, which needs a right to live here, such as an employment permit, refugee status or another permission.

If you’re on Stamp 2 or waiting on asylum

• Students on Stamp 2: student time doesn’t count towards your baby’s citizenship, and Stamp 2 doesn’t allow benefits or publicly funded services, so Child Benefit isn’t available. Register the birth all the same.
• Waiting for an asylum decision: register the birth as normal, and contact the International Protection Office about your baby and your application. Applicants aren’t treated as habitually resident, so Child Benefit isn’t paid while you wait.

If your baby is Irish and you need permission to stay, read parent of an Irish citizen child.

Common mix-ups

Common questions

Sources