# Moving to Ireland from the Democratic Republic of the Congo | Moving from | Moving to Ireland > The Democratic Republic of the Congo has one of the older and better-established African communities in Ireland, and people continue to arrive for… Source: https://www.movingtoireland.co/guides/moving-from/moving-to-ireland-from-the-democratic-republic-of-the-congo/ Moving from · Country guide # Moving to Ireland from the Democratic Republic of the Congo 8 min read · Updated 15 September 2026 The Democratic Republic of the Congo has one of the older and better-established African communities in Ireland, and people continue to arrive for postgraduate study, healthcare and care work, engineering and IT, family reunification, and in some cases a fresh start after difficult times at home. Many have lived in Belgium or France first and want to build a career in English inside the EU. Congolese newcomers are often surprised by how quiet Irish streets are compared with Kinshasa, and by how much social life happens indoors in pubs, churches and homes.
Quick factsThe Democratic Republic of the Congo to Ireland
Visa to enterYes, long stay D visa
Permission to stay beyond 90 daysYes, needs a permit or scheme, then an IRP
Congolese licence exchangeableNo
Double taxation agreementNo
Social security agreementNo
PetsUnlisted country, rabies blood test
## Do you need a visa? Yes. Congolese citizens are **visa required**, so you need an Irish visa before you travel and then an immigration permission to stay. For a move the visa is a **long stay D visa**, applied for online through AVATS and submitted with your passport and documents to the Irish embassy or visa office that covers the Democratic Republic of the Congo, or through its VFS partner where one is used. Allow at least eight weeks. The visa gets you to the border; your permission to live here comes from the permit, course or family relationship behind it. You cannot enter on a short stay C visa and switch to a work permission from inside Ireland. - **Critical Skills Employment Permit** for jobs on the critical skills list (from 1 March 2026 the minimum salary is 40,904 euro, or 68,911 euro for other eligible roles). Spouses and partners can join you and work on Stamp 1G without their own permit, and you can apply for Stamp 4 after two years. - **General Employment Permit** for most other jobs, minimum salary 36,605 euro from 1 March 2026, usually after the employer runs a labour market needs test. Healthcare assistants, home carers, chefs and construction trades come in on this permit. - **Stamp 2 study permission** for a degree or a recognised English language course, with the right to work 20 hours a week in term time (40 in the holidays). Graduates of Irish degrees get the **Third Level Graduate Programme** (Stamp 1G) to look for work for one to two years. - **Family** routes if you are joining an Irish citizen, an EU citizen exercising treaty rights, or a permit holder. Whichever route you take, you must register for an **Irish Residence Permit** (300 euro) within 90 days of arriving: online in Dublin, or at the local Garda immigration office elsewhere. If you have an Irish born parent or grandparent, check the **Foreign Births Register** first, because once registered you are an Irish citizen and none of the above applies. ## Finding work and getting your qualifications recognised French and Lingala are the everyday languages for most Congolese, so confident English is the main preparation for interviews and a concise CV. Employers rarely ask for IELTS, but universities and registration bodies often do. Irish appears on signs but is not needed. Because most routes need a job offer first, the search happens from home. Irish CVs run to two pages, carry no photo and no date of birth, and lead with what you did rather than your job title. Most hiring runs through LinkedIn, IrishJobs, Jobs.ie and the employers' own sites; agencies are strong in tech, finance, pharma and healthcare, and employers used to sponsoring permits say so in the advert. Get your degree assessed by **NARIC Ireland** (free, through QQI) before you apply; it maps a Congolese qualification onto the Irish framework and employers recognise the letter. Regulated professions register with their own body: nurses with NMBI, doctors with the Medical Council, teachers with the Teaching Council, engineers with Engineers Ireland, and physiotherapists, radiographers and social workers with CORU. Those bodies, not employers, are the ones that ask for an English test. ## Your driving licence The Democratic Republic of the Congo is **not on the NDLS list of recognised states**, so you cannot swap a Congolese licence for an Irish one. You can drive on your Congolese licence for up to 12 months as a visitor, ideally with an International Driving Permit, but once you are resident you must go through the Irish process: pass the driver theory test, get a learner permit, complete Essential Driver Training and pass the driving test. The good news is that experienced foreign licence holders only need **6 EDT lessons instead of 12** and can skip the usual six month wait before the test. Learner permit holders must be accompanied by a full licence holder, which is the part that catches people out. Remember that Ireland drives on the left. ## Tax, pensions and money Ireland and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have **no double taxation agreement**. For most people this matters less than it sounds: once you become Irish tax resident (183 days in a tax year, or 280 over two) and your job is here, Irish PAYE applies to your salary and your Congolese tax obligations usually end with your residence there. It matters if you keep Congolese income, such as rent or a business, which could be taxed in both countries; Revenue may grant unilateral relief for foreign tax paid, and a tax adviser is worth it in that case. Register with Revenue through myAccount as soon as you have a PPS number. There is **no social security agreement** between Ireland and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, so the two records stand alone. You need at least 520 paid PRSI contributions (ten years) to qualify for any Irish State Pension (Contributory), and the full rate takes 40 years of contributions. Check whether your Congolese state pension can be paid to you in Ireland, and whether you can keep contributing voluntarily from abroad. Your credit history does not follow you. Irish lenders only see the Central Credit Register, so expect to build a record from scratch before a mortgage or car loan. Moving money from the Congolese franc into euro is cheapest through a specialist transfer provider rather than a bank; open the Irish account first, because you need an Irish IBAN to receive salary. ## Healthcare Ireland has a public system run by the HSE, but it is not free at the point of use. Once you are ordinarily resident (living in Ireland or intending to for at least a year) you use public hospitals as a public patient, and inpatient charges were abolished in April 2023. A GP visit costs roughly 50 to 70 euro unless you qualify for a medical card or GP visit card on income grounds (children under 8 get GP visits free), and prescriptions are paid for up to a monthly cap under the Drugs Payment Scheme. Emergency departments charge 100 euro without a GP referral. Students, Stamp 0 holders and most visa applicants must show private medical insurance, so many people arrive with a policy already. Around half the population holds private health insurance from VHI, Laya or Irish Life Health, mainly to shorten waiting lists. If you are 35 or older, buy it within 9 months of arriving to avoid a Lifetime Community Rating loading. Register with a GP as soon as you have an address; practices in Dublin often have closed lists, so ask several. ## Bringing your things and your pet Goods arriving from the Democratic Republic of the Congo are imports from outside the EU. You can bring your household belongings free of duty and VAT under **Transfer of Residence relief** if you have lived outside the EU for at least 12 months and owned the goods for at least 6 months; your removals company files the declaration and you cannot sell the goods for a year. A car qualifies for VRT relief on the same terms, but shipping a car from the Democratic Republic of the Congo rarely makes sense once freight, registration and Irish insurance are added up. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is an **unlisted country** under the EU pet rules, which adds a blood test. Your dog, cat or ferret needs a microchip, then a rabies vaccination, then a rabies antibody titre test at least 30 days after the vaccination at an EU approved laboratory, and then a **three month wait** from the date of the blood sample before travel. Add an EU animal health certificate issued within 10 days of travel and, for dogs, a tapeworm treatment 24 to 120 hours before arrival. Pets must arrive as manifest cargo or with an approved airline on an approved route (Dublin Airport handles most). Start the process at least four months before you fly. ## Settling in: community and daily life The Congolese community in Ireland is one of the larger African communities, long-established and centred on Dublin with smaller groups in Cork and other towns. People find each other through lively church congregations, music and dance events, football, cultural associations and busy WhatsApp groups. The cool, damp climate and short winter days are the biggest change from Kinshasa, and the long summer evenings are a real pleasure. Renting is expensive and requires references. Groceries and eating out cost more, cash is rarely used, and the working day is regular and punctual, with the pub as the default place to socialise. There are no regular direct flights between Dublin and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, so getting home usually means one stop, most often via London, Paris, Amsterdam, Istanbul, Addis Ababa, Doha or Dubai; budget for the time as well as the fare. ## First 30 days checklist - Apply for a PPS number through MyWelfare.ie with your passport and proof of Irish address. - Register for your Irish Residence Permit within 90 days (300 euro); book the appointment the week you land because slots fill up. - Register with Revenue myAccount once you have a PPS number so your employer can tax you correctly. - Open an Irish bank account; a utility bill, tenancy agreement or employer letter usually counts as proof of address. - Register with a GP and, if you want it, buy private health insurance within 9 months. - Get a Leap card for public transport and book the driver theory test if you plan to drive. - If a pet is following later, get its rabies blood test done now so the three month clock is running. ## ★ Useful links - [Immigration Service Delivery: visas and permissions](https://www.irishimmigration.ie/) - [Employment permits](https://enterprise.gov.ie/en/what-we-do/workplace-and-skills/employment-permits/) - [NARIC Ireland: qualification recognition](https://www.qqi.ie/what-we-do/qualifications-recognition) - [National Driver Licence Service](https://www.ndls.ie/) - [Revenue: moving to Ireland](https://www.revenue.ie/en/life-events-and-personal-circumstances/moving-to-or-from-ireland/index.aspx) - [Department of Agriculture: bringing your pet to Ireland](https://www.gov.ie/en/service/1b1e5-bringing-your-pet-to-ireland/) - [Health Insurance Authority](https://www.hia.ie/) ## More movers from Sub-Saharan Africa [All 154 guides in this section](https://www.movingtoireland.co/guides/moving-from/) - ### [Moving to Ireland from Angola](https://www.movingtoireland.co/guides/moving-from/moving-to-ireland-from-angola/) Angola sends a small but growing number of people to Ireland, most often via Portugal, where many Angolans first studied or worked before moving on for… 8 min read - ### [Moving to Ireland from Benin](https://www.movingtoireland.co/guides/moving-from/moving-to-ireland-from-benin/) Benin sends a modest but steady stream of people to Ireland, most often students heading for postgraduate courses, healthcare workers, and IT… 8 min read - ### [Moving to Ireland from Botswana](https://www.movingtoireland.co/guides/moving-from/moving-to-ireland-from-botswana/) Botswana is a small country with a well-educated, English-speaking workforce, and the people who move to Ireland are usually nurses and other healthcare… 8 min read - ### [Moving to Ireland from Burkina Faso](https://www.movingtoireland.co/guides/moving-from/moving-to-ireland-from-burkina-faso/) Burkina Faso is not a traditional source of migration to Ireland, but a small number of Burkinabè arrive each year, most often as postgraduate students… 8 min read ## In-depth country guides in the app - ### [Moving to Ireland from the US](https://www.movingtoireland.co/guides/moving-from/moving-to-ireland-from-the-us/) Census 2022 counted 13,412 US citizens living in Ireland, up 27.5% on 2016, plus another 30,044 people holding dual Irish and American citizenship… 4 min read - ### [Moving to Ireland from the UK](https://www.movingtoireland.co/guides/moving-from/moving-to-ireland-from-the-uk/) UK citizens are the second largest non-Irish group in the country. 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