Canadians In Ireland

Once you've decided that Ireland is for you there is a lot of planning/work ahead.

• Preparing For Your Move
• GNIB Registration
• SWAP Participants
• PPS Number
• Bank Accounts

Preparing For Your Move

The most important thing to sort out before leaving Canada is a credit card, a debit card, and online banking. Telephone banking will be of no use to you as you will pay a fortune to ring long distance or the 1-800 numbers simply cannot be dialled from outside of Canada (this goes for all Canadian 1-800 numbers, bring local/collect call numbers for any person/business you will need to contact while away). Credit/debit cards here use a chip and pin system called Laser, debit cards here are referred to as Laser cards. Your debit card WILL NOT work in shops here in Ireland but WILL work in bank machines (ATM) found at bank branches and a few non bank branch machines. Credit cards can be used anywhere that accepts them (often they are confused by the lack of a chip but simply tell them it can be swiped and you should be ok. Credit/Laser are widely accepted but as many stores and shops here are smaller operations you may find that some stores only accept cash or carry a high minimum spend to pay by card.

GNIB Registration

Once you've arrived and slept off your jet lag your first stop should be the Garda National Immigration Bureau ("GNIB") to register. In Dublin the GNIB can be found on Burgh Quay in the city centre (nearest DART stop is Tara Street), elsewhere you should consult your nearest Garda station.

The GNIB in Dublin opens at 8:00am and have a policy that students are only allowed to register after 9:00am, the lines (queues) can be extremely long and take hours to get through so I recommend you're there waiting when they open the doors at 8:00am, it will cut hours of boredom and frustration (bring an iPod or book with you, they have tv's in the waiting area but they're on mute, not entertaining) off registration. Registration with the Garda costs 150 euro and can only be paid by credit card in your own name or a bank giro (http://www.garda.ie/pub/feeinformation.pdf). You will need to fill out a form found on the counter between the seats (it will be clear when you're there) so make sure you bring a pen with you and something to write on, when handing over your paperwork for processing they take your photo for your Garda card which will be issued to you in about 20 minutes, and they will retain your passport while your paperwork is being processed, don't panic, you'll get it back in one piece.

Once you're registered and have your Garda card in hand take good care of it, you will need to keep this with you at all times and most importantly you will need it upon re-entry to Ireland when travelling to/from, so when you're off visiting the rest of Europe make sure you take it with you and keep it with your passport for your return. http://www.garda.ie/gnib.html

SWAP Participants

If you are moving over on a SWAP working holiday visa I have to strongly recommend you bring more cash than their minimum required. Opening a banking account in Ireland is a long slow process that can tie you up for weeks, so even though you can start earning money right away you won't be able to access it. There is also the matter of Emergency Tax, when you start working here you apply for a PPS number (like our SIN cards in Canada) your wages are deducted 42% of your earnings, which is held until your PPS is issued and the tax office releases your funds, which will be added on to a future pay cheque once this is all done.

In short you need to plan to fund your first 3 months on a cash basis from your Canadian account, things can move quicker than 3 months but you'll be in a crunch from the reduced wages and the expense of your rent/deposit and the various fees for setting up services. In this country you're much better off to prepare/budget for delays in everything you try to get done. Much of this is explained at the SWAP orientation but I found (and I'm not the only one) that I came out of that session with more questions than answers.

PPS Number

*Insert PPS info

Bank Accounts

A new term you will learn and know well is "Anti-Money Laundering". Anything/everything to do with money is Ireland is controlled and tracked to prevent criminals from laundering money through Irish banks, you will need very specific documents to prove your are who you say you are and live where you say you live in order to open a bank account. This can take weeks to sort out, not only because you have to wait to get this paperwork from other services and areas but because your only chance to get to a bank will likely be your lunch hour. Banking hours here are very "traditional" or as I call it, stone aged! Banks open from Monday to Friday at 10:00am and close at 4:00pm, closed on weekends and bank holidays.