I get this question all the time from readers and clients. Most recently while talking with one of my Let's Talk clients last week.
Not too long ago (~2- 3 years or so) this wasn't possible to do. Or at the very least it was really difficult. Now, Bank of Ireland do offer this service to overseas clients. It helps to get your account set up ahead of time for so many reasons - think currency transfer!
So what will you need to do:
BOI require that you get in touch with them through one of a variety of ways. You can get in touch via phone, Facetime, or even Skype. Full details here https://personalbanking.bankofireland.com/bank/coming-to-ireland/contact-us/
Client Tip: A recent client of mine opened his account with BOI last month. When we spoke last month on our call, he told me that in addition to all the other info you'd expect to provide (copies of ID, proof of residence, etc), he was asked to take a selfie of himself with his passport showing in the picture. You should probably expect this request too. Smile 🙂
p.s. the tip above (re: the selfie) came from one of my readers recently. If you have something similar to share please do so. It's always helpful to be able to share this kind of info with everyone.
Oh btw, this banking info was pulled from my most recent consultation call summary write up. You can read the whole thing here. We covered lots of other topics too 🙂