What do I have to sort out first, and in what order?
First 30 days in Ireland
What do I have to sort out first, and in what order?
Proof of an Irish address first: the PPSN and the bank account both need it. Then apply for the PPSN and open the account in parallel — an account does not legally need the number. Payroll is what genuinely waits on it, so register the job with Revenue the week it arrives.
Address, PPSN, bank account and Revenue — what genuinely blocks what, and what only looks like it does.
9 steps
The first month is not a list of errands. It is four documents that each want one of the others first, and the order below is the one that actually unlocks.
Tick things off as you go — your progress stays in the link, so you can send it to yourself and pick it up on another device.
The shape of it
How long each step takes, and where the process stops being reversible.
9 steps. Each is listed in full below with what it costs and how long it takes.
- Book somewhere to stay that will give you a letterBook before you fly
- Ask your employer for a letter of employmentSame week you start
- Get one document with your name and an Irish address on itWeek 1
- Apply for a PPSN2–6 weeks from applying to the number arriving
- Open a current account1 day to 2 weeks
- Register for Revenue myAccount and register the jobSame week the PPSN arrives
- Check whether you are on emergency tax, and get it backFirst 1–3 payslips
- Sign a real tenancy and check it is registered with the RTBWeeks 2–6
- Register with a GP and decide about health coverMonth 1
The deadlock everyone hits is that a PPSN wants an address, a bank wants proof of that address, and a landlord wants a bank account and Irish references. The way through it is an address you can evidence before you have a lease: an aparthotel or short-let that will write a letter confirming you stay there, a host who will add you to a utility bill, or an employer letter giving their address. Ask before you book — a hotel that will not write the letter is worth less than one that will.
Cost €900–€2,000 for the first monthTakes Book before you fly
One page on headed paper: your name, the address they hold for you, your start date, your role, and that the employment is ongoing. It is the single most useful document of the first month — it unlocks the PPSN appointment and most bank accounts, and it costs nothing. Ask HR before your first day so it is waiting for you.
Cost FreeTakes Same week you start
You need Book somewhere to stay that will give you a letter first.
Banks and the PPSN appointment both want evidence, not a claim. What is usually accepted: a tenancy or short-let agreement, a letter from the accommodation provider, a utility bill, or an employer letter with their address. What is usually not: a screenshot of a booking, or a letter you wrote yourself.
Cost FreeTakes Week 1
You need Get one document with your name and an Irish address on it, and Ask your employer for a letter of employment first.
Apply online through MyWelfare, then attend the appointment you are offered. Bring your passport, your proof of address and the reason you need it — a job offer or employment letter is the clearest reason there is. Without a PPSN you cannot be registered properly with Revenue, and emergency tax starts eating your first payslips.
Cost FreeTakes 2–6 weeks from applying to the number arriving
Open the tool for this stepThe official page (opens in a new tab)
You need Get one document with your name and an Irish address on it first.
Easier with Apply for a PPSN — but you can start without.
What you must have: photo identity and proof of an Irish address. What you are often asked for and do not legally need: a PPSN. A branch that refuses without one is applying its own policy, not a rule — so do not queue behind the PPSN here. If you are asked, ask about a basic payment account, or one opened on the employer letter, or try another provider. An Irish IBAN is what a landlord and a payroll department are actually looking for, and it is usually the faster of the two to get.
Cost Free to €6 a monthTakes 1 day to 2 weeks
You need Apply for a PPSN first.
Once the PPSN exists, register for myAccount and add your employer under Jobs and Pensions. This is what moves you off emergency tax, and it is the step people skip because nobody tells them it exists. Do it the week the number arrives, not the month after.
Cost FreeTakes Same week the PPSN arrives
If your first payslips are short, you are almost certainly on emergency tax rather than being underpaid. It is refunded once Revenue has you matched to the employer, usually through payroll rather than as a separate payment.
Cost Refunded, not lostTakes First 1–3 payslips
You need Open a current account, and Apply for a PPSN first.
With an Irish account, a PPSN and a payslip, you are a normal applicant rather than an unknown one. When you sign, your landlord must register the tenancy with the RTB — that registration is what protects the deposit and the notice periods, so confirm it rather than assume it.
Cost One month rent plus a deposit of up to one monthTakes Weeks 2–6
Open the tool for this stepThe official page (opens in a new tab)
A GP practice takes new patients when it has room, not when you need it, so register early and do not wait for a reason. Public care is available to anyone ordinarily resident; private insurance mostly buys speed and choice, and most policies have waiting periods for pre-existing conditions.
Cost €50–€80 a GP visit, or insurance from about €50 a monthTakes Month 1
Sources
- Department of Social Protection — how to get a PPS number (opens in a new tab)checked 2026-09-11
- Citizens Information — opening a bank account in Ireland (opens in a new tab)checked 2026-09-11
- Revenue — registering for myAccount (opens in a new tab)checked 2026-09-11
- Residential Tenancies Board — register a tenancy (opens in a new tab)checked 2026-09-11
What has changed
- 2026-09-11 First published.
- 2026-09-14 The summary said a bank account waits on the PPSN while the bank step said a PPSN is not a legal requirement for one. Both cannot be read at once, and the harder-sounding of the two is the one a reader acts on — by waiting weeks they did not have to wait. The PPSN is now marked as helpful before the account rather than blocking it, and the summary says what actually blocks what.