In the last decade or so, Ireland, for the very first time in its history, has been a nation of immigration, rather than emigration. This means that most legislation relating to immigrants has been fairly recent or is in the process of being drawn up. The Department of Justice, which handles immigration, is still figuring out how exactly to deal with the relatively large number of people who have moved to Ireland. There are a lot of grey areas, both in legislation itself and in the way different civil servants and gardaí (police officers) treat immigrants and legislation and court cases with regards to immigration are ongoing.

All EU/EEA citizens, except for some Romanians and Bulgarians are allowed to work and live in Ireland without any restrictions.

If you are not an EU citizen, a highly qualified professional with a large earning potential or are not married to an EU citizen (although that has complications of its own) it is rather difficult to be able to live and work here. So, before you move here, check whether it would actually be possible for you to work in Ireland.

That said, Ireland was one of the few ‘old’ EU member states to welcome people from the new EU states during the enlargement in 2004, without any restrictions. Some restrictions still apply to people from Romania and Bulgaria.

You’ll frequently come across, and need to go and visit, the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB). Their office is located on Burgh Quay, between between O’Connell Street Bridge and Tara Street Dart station (01 666 9100, http://www.garda.ie/angarda/gnib.html). They’re open from 08:00 to 22:00 Monday to Thursday, and from 08:30 to 16:00 on Fridays. Obtaining a visa and a work permit is a lengthy and complicated process, and there are different procedures and options, and paperwork, depending on whether you are an EU citizen or not so patience and a strong desire to see it through, are a must.