Hey Kim, Great to have you here 🙂 We don't have too many South Africans, so it's nice to hear from you. Looking forward to assisting as you come up against stumbling blocks. Also, if at some Point you have time to document some tips/info about the FBR process, I'd love to publish it here for others like you to benefit from. Best wishes, and welcome Liam

Hey Nikki! Welcome to the site. Definitely stay in touch as things come up. Happy to help and Point you the direction of info as you need it. Have you picked a moving company for your dog?

Hey Everyone, Liberty also insures drivers on an American License - it is expensive, but your options are limited. I WAnted to Point out that it is possible to get insured on an American license for a second year, as long as you have a Provisional Irish license. We are now entering our second year here in Ireland, and started the Irish License process about 5 months ago. Obviously, it is best to start this as soon as you possibly can, however with work and kids it can prove difficult to find the time for the lessons. I think it is assumed that you can o ...

... lose at this Point. But we'll see, right? Anyway, I currently live in the US with my wife, and my prospective employer is willing to sponsor a Stamp 4 visa for me. My main concern is about my wife's status. Obviously, I'm hoping she can stay with me in Ireland while I work there. Would she need to apply for a special visa to stay longer than 6 weeks if she is the spouse of someone with a work permit? Also, assuming she can stay with me, would she be able to work as well? Or would she also need to find an employer to sponsor her? I have some other question ...

... stay for a year if immigration allows us. We applied as "persons of independent means" from the US, and the paperwork to package WAs considerable. At this Point, we still don't know if we will be allowed to live more than 3 months. I'll update as we learn. My general advice to anyone WAnting to move to Ireland is to make friends there. Our friends have made this all possible. Find your community and become and active, generous part of it.

Hi Liam, I'll give you a few quick responses, and Point you to resources as appropriate. Broadband - check out the coverage map here Healthcare - private is definitely a better option if you can do so. The public health system isn't quite at the level of that in the UK. Passports - can your wife apply for an Irish one? Who knows how things are going to pan out post-Brexit. Driving license - if you move before Brexit, I'd recommend 'trading in' your license. It'll make life easier in the long run, and again, who knows how the rules will change in the coming years. Cars - you'll find them more expensive in Ireland. Weigh up the cost of bringing it over (registration, testing etc) vs selling and re-buying. Buying a house - pitfalls? Haha, you bet! Read more here Banking - might be easier to switch to an Irish account. I don't know of any HSBC locations in Ireland. If there are, then that might work out too. Overall, depending on your current setup, you might be in for a little bit of shock in rural Ireland. It's not going to have the same level of service (buses etc) as what you might be used to. However, I think the move won't be a huge culture shock or anything, especially if you've been making regular trips back over the years. I hope this helps 🙂 Liam

Hi Yvonne, At the Point that you WAnt to stay in Ireland for longer than the allowed 90 days as a visitor, that's when you will WAnt to apply for a Stamp 4. In my opinion, you should do it sooner rather than later into that 90 days. Obviously you will need to have the evidence required, address etc, but the sooner you take care of it, the better. The length of validity may be different from case to case, but in some cases, readers here have said theirs WAs good for up to one year. See here I hope this helps. Best of luck, and feel free to ask other questi ...

@fionaz and anyone else having difficulty with this. I played around with Daft.ie today searching for rentals that will allow pets. If you go to their 'advanced search' option, you can choose that as one of your criteria in the search. As an example a search in Dublin city, with no other options set, returned 65 results. Of course, other factors will limit your selection e.g. price, location etc, but at least it's a starting Point.

@dorzak, I think the lack of formatting (headers etc) on that page leads to the confusion. Right below the section you quoted the following appears: Entry into Ireland from outside of the EU Dublin Airport is the only entry Point permissible for pets entering Ireland from non-EU countries. These animals must travel as manifested freight (cargo) on an approved airline or with an approved cargo company.

Hey Kelsey, I thought about what you said a little more, and WAnted to follow up to be sure of something.... Where did you originally hear that the MRF is good for 6 months? Do you think that it is possible that is still the case? Providing accurate documentation or info isn't the strong Point of many Irish gov't agencies, so I'm just hoping you're not assuming it's validity is indefinite just because there's no expiration date on whatever you received.