ISD, INIS, GNIB and Burgh Quay: who does what

Who’s who, in short

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ISD, formerly INIS

Immigration Service Delivery (ISD) is the part of the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration that runs Ireland’s frontline immigration services. It used to be called the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS): same service, new name. ISD handles:

• registration of your permission and your IRP card;
• renewals, which are online;
• visas, through its visa offices and Irish embassies abroad;
• family reunification and changes of status;
• citizenship by naturalisation;
• deportation decisions, through its Repatriation Division.

You’ll still see the old name in places. The online renewal system’s web address, for example, still begins with “inisonline”.

GNIB: still here, with a different job

The Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) is part of An Garda Síochána. It used to register people living outside Dublin, Kildare, Meath and Wicklow. On 13 January 2025 that last registration role moved to ISD, so GNIB no longer registers anyone.

GNIB still:

• runs immigration control at Ireland’s borders, apart from Dublin Airport;
• investigates illegal immigration;
• enforces deportation orders and removals. People with a deportation order are told to present at a GNIB office.

The GNIB card is the old name for what’s now the Irish Residence Permit (IRP) card. If an employer or landlord asks for your GNIB card, they mean your IRP card.

Burgh Quay

13-14 Burgh Quay, Dublin 2 is ISD’s Registration Office. Since January 2025, it’s where everyone in the country registers their permission for the first time.

• It’s by appointment only, booked on ISD’s booking system. If you’re 16 or over, the appointment must be in your own name.
• Renewals aren’t done here. You renew online, even with a new passport.
• GNIB is based at the same address, which is one reason the two get mixed up.

At the border

• Dublin Airport: immigration officers from the Border Management Unit of the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration check passports. EU, EEA, Swiss and UK citizens can use the eGates.
• Other airports and ports: border control is mainly carried out by GNIB.
• Through Northern Ireland: you must report to an immigration officer yourself within 30 days, or 7 days if you’re here to work or do business. You can go to the Dundalk Immigration Office, a port of entry at Dublin Airport or Dublin Port, or a local Garda immigration office.

Other departments

• Employment permits: the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, through Employment Permits Online. Some of its pages still use its older name, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.
• Visa applications abroad: often lodged with an Irish embassy or consulate, part of the Department of Foreign Affairs. Decisions are made by ISD’s visa offices or by the embassy itself.
• The Department of Justice has had several names. Older letters and pages may say Department of Justice and Equality. It’s now the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration.

Common mix-ups

Common questions

Sources