Ireland
Citizens Information provides unbiased, legally sound information on life in Ireland.
Why Ireland?
- Since September 2015, trans people in Ireland can apply to have their preferred gender legally recognised by the State. If you were born outside of Ireland but are ordinarily resident, you can also apply but evidence of your birth is required.[1]
Why not Ireland?
- There are currently no laws to recognise non-binary gender.
Political situation for trans people
Access to trans healthcare
Ireland's autism charity, As I Am: https://asiam.ie/
ADHD Ireland: https://adhdireland.ie/
Ireland's youth support and information platform, Spun Out: https://spunout.ie
Trans and non-binary resources (Spun Out again): https://spunout.ie/category/lgbti/trans-non-binary/
Public system
The Health Service Executive (HSE) (Irish: Feidhmeannacht na Seirbhíse Sláinte) is the publicly funded healthcare system in Ireland, responsible for the provision of health and personal social services.
Private system
In Ireland, private health insurance is encouraged, but not (yet) mandatory.
Immigration
Information on moving to Ireland: https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/moving-country/moving-to-ireland/before-you-come-to-ireland/
It is worth investigating citizenship by descent, as this could mitigate the need for residence permits.
Types of residence permission for non-EEA nationals
Employment permit
An employment permit, grants permission to remain in Ireland for as long as your employment permit is valid.
Employment permits are usually applied for after being offered a job, and must be granted before you come to Ireland in most cases. You can apply for the employment permit yourself, or your employer can apply for you.
Types of employment permits can be found on Citizens Information.
Students
If you are a non-EEA national coming to study in Ireland you must be enrolled in a full-time course on the Interim List of Eligible Programmes (ILEP), and will be allowed to take up casual employment of up to 20 hours part-time work per week in term time or up to 40 hours per week during holiday periods.
If you are not attending a course on the ILEP, you will not be entitled to take up part-time work or engage in any business or profession.
Citizenship
Citizenship through birth or descent
You may be entitled to Irish citizenship if a parent or grandparent is Irish, even if you were born outside of Ireland, but you may need to register your birth.
If one of your grandparents was born in Ireland, but neither of your parents was born in Ireland, you may become an Irish citizen. You will need to have your birth registered in the Foreign Births Register(FBR).
Citizens Information has more details, including a useful table to work out if you are entitled.
Foreign Births Register
The Foreign Births Register typically has a processing time of 9 months. Applications cost €278 for Adults and €135 for Children.
Citizens Information lists the steps and documentation required to register a foreign birth.
Community & Social Support
Trans-friendly cities
National Organisations
Housing & Cost of Living
- Expensive in major cities, less expensive in smaller cities and rural areas
- May need temporary accommodation initially
- References and deposits usually required
- Limited availability of pet-friendly rentals
- May require additional deposit
Ease of travel to other countries
- Budget airlines make travel cheap and easy.
- EU residency may allow work rights in other European countries.
Animal policies
For information on travelling with your pet to the EU, see: Traveling with pets.
Living in Ireland
Car insurance is mandatory, as is motor tax. Various sites are used to find second-hand cars. One is https://www.donedeal.ie/
Housing is expensive. Here's the most frequently used site for buying/renting accommodation: https://www.daft.ie/
You'll need to set up utilities, bank accounts, mobile phones etc., a great site for agnostic info is here: https://switcher.ie/
The two main airports are Dublin and Shannon (Belfast is also a good airport, but technically it's in the UK, not Ireland).
Dublin: https://www.dublinairport.com/
Shannon: https://www.shannonairport.ie/
Belfast: https://www.belfastairport.com/
Jobs
There are jobs to be had, and here are links to a few websites. Some international sites also work here (Monster, for example):
Indeed - https://ie.indeed.com/
Irish Jobs - https://www.irishjobs.ie/
Jobs in Ireland - https://www.jobs.ie/