# IRP appointments and current processing times | Visas and permits | Moving to Ireland > Your Irish Residence Permit (IRP) is the card that proves you are legally in Ireland, and almost every non-EEA resident staying longer than 90 days needs… Source: https://www.movingtoireland.co/guides/visas-and-permits/irp-appointment-and-processing-times/ Visas and permits · Step 6 of 7 # IRP appointments and current processing times 4 min read · Updated 13 September 2026 Your Irish Residence Permit (IRP) is the card that proves you are legally in Ireland, and almost every non-EEA resident staying longer than 90 days needs one. Getting the first card means an in-person appointment; keeping it means renewing online before it expires. Both stages have queues, and the waits change from month to month. This guide explains how the system works in September 2026, what it costs, and what your rights are if your card runs out while you wait. ## Who must register and by when If you are not a citizen of the EEA, the UK or Switzerland and you intend to stay in Ireland for more than **90 days**, you must register your permission with Immigration Service Delivery (ISD) within **90 days** of arrival. That covers workers, students, family members and anyone else granted a residence permission. Children under 16 do not need to register. ISD says that if you cannot get an appointment inside the 90 days your permission will not be cancelled and you will not be asked to leave, so the important thing is to have a booking. ## First-time registration: Dublin or anywhere else Until early 2025, people living outside Dublin registered at their local Garda immigration office. That ended on **13 January 2025**, when responsibility for all first-time registrations nationwide transferred to ISD. Wherever you live in the Republic, your first registration now happens in person at the ISD Registration Office, **13-14 Burgh Quay, Dublin 2**. You book through your own ISD customer portal account, which anyone aged 16 or over must create with their own email address; you can set it up before you travel and book once you arrive. There is no fee to book, and no third party can get you a slot faster.
ItemFigure (September 2026)
Registration deadlineWithin 90 days of arrival
Where to register for the first timeISD Registration Office, Burgh Quay, Dublin (all counties)
Typical wait for a first-time appointmentNormally within 2 to 3 weeks (Citizens Information, page updated 18 August 2026)
Fee€300 per registration or renewal
Card delivery after a successful appointmentBy post, within about 10 working days (ISD)
Bring your passport, proof of your permission (for example your employment permit or college letter), proof of address and, where relevant, proof of private health insurance or of your relationship to the person you are joining. The fee is paid only when your registration is completed at the counter. ## What it costs and who is exempt The standard fee is **€300** each time you register or renew. You pay nothing if you are under 18, have refugee status or subsidiary protection, have leave to remain under section 49 of the International Protection Act 2015, are resident on the basis of marriage to an Irish citizen, are the family member of an EU citizen exercising treaty rights, or are a recognised victim of domestic abuse. On top of this, employment permit holders will already have paid their permit fee to the Department of Enterprise, so budget for both. ## Renewing online Renewals are done entirely online through the ISD portal: complete the form, upload scans of your passport photo page, both sides of your current IRP and the documents for your permission, pay the fee and note the reference number emailed to you. You can apply from **12 weeks** before your current card expires, and no earlier. The new card is posted to you. Processing times are published live on the ISD website and have moved a lot in 2026. In its notice of **30 June 2026**, ISD said extra staff had brought certain renewal categories down to **6 to 8 weeks** from application, with no category exceeding **16 weeks**. Citizens Information, in its page updated 18 August 2026, still warned that some categories were taking more than 17 weeks. The safe assumption is 2 to 4 months, so apply on the first day the 12-week window opens. ## If your card expires while you wait Do not panic. Provided you applied to renew before your old card expired, you keep the conditions of your previous permission for up to **12 weeks** after its expiry while ISD decides. ISD has issued a formal notice to employers confirming this, so if you are an employee show your employer the confirmation email from your renewal application as proof. If the 12 weeks pass without a decision, contact ISD through the registration queries channel with your reference number. Travel is the main problem. Airlines and immigration officers expect to see a valid IRP when you return, and an expired card plus a pending application is a poor substitute. If you have an emergency or unavoidable need to travel, you can ask ISD for an expedited renewal or an emergency re-entry visa; you will need to explain the urgency and provide proof such as a flight booking, and each request is decided case by case. For planned trips, the practical advice is simple: book travel only for dates when your card is valid. ## ★ Useful links - [ISD: register your permission for the first time](https://www.irishimmigration.ie/registering-your-immigration-permission/how-to-register-your-immigration-permission-for-the-first-time/) - [ISD: renew your registration online](https://www.irishimmigration.ie/registering-your-immigration-permission/how-to-renew-your-current-permission/renewing-your-registration-permission-if-you-live-in-the-republic-of-ireland/) - [ISD: current online renewal timelines](https://www.irishimmigration.ie/information-on-online-renewal-timelines/) - [ISD: notice to employers on the 12-week provision](https://www.irishimmigration.ie/registering-your-immigration-permission/how-to-renew-your-current-permission/notice-to-employers/) - [Citizens Information: registration of non-EEA nationals](https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/moving-country/moving-to-ireland/rights-of-residence-in-ireland/registration-of-non-eea-nationals-in-ireland/) ![](https://www.movingtoireland.co/apple-touch-icon.png) You have read 22% of this guide ## Keep reading in the Moving to Ireland app The rest of **IRP appointments and current processing times** — about 3 minutes more — is in the app, free to download, alongside 98 other guides and a checklist built around your own move. Still to come in this guide - First-time registration: Dublin or anywhere else - What it costs and who is exempt - Renewing online - If your card expires while you wait [Download free on the App Store](https://apps.apple.com/app/moving-to-ireland/id6446055261) iPhone and iPad · no account needed ## More on visas and permits [All 7 guides in this section](https://www.movingtoireland.co/guides/visas-and-permits/) - ### [Critical Skills Employment Permit: who qualifies and how to apply](https://www.movingtoireland.co/guides/visas-and-permits/critical-skills-employment-permit/) The Critical Skills Employment Permit (CSEP) is Ireland's flagship work permit for skilled non-EEA professionals. It is the fastest route to a Stamp 4… 4 min read - ### [General Employment Permit explained](https://www.movingtoireland.co/guides/visas-and-permits/general-employment-permit/) The General Employment Permit (GEP) is the route for non-EEA workers whose job is not on the Critical Skills Occupations List but is not on the… 3 min read - ### [Irish immigration stamps explained: Stamp 0 to Stamp 6](https://www.movingtoireland.co/guides/visas-and-permits/irish-immigration-stamps-explained/) Every non-EEA resident in Ireland holds an immigration permission that is recorded as a "stamp" on their Irish Residence Permit (IRP) card. The stamp… 4 min read - ### [Stamp 4 and long-term residency](https://www.movingtoireland.co/guides/visas-and-permits/stamp-4-and-long-term-residency/) Stamp 4 is the permission most non-EEA residents in Ireland are working towards. It cuts the link between your right to live here and a single employer… 4 min read Keep going ## Get the full visa roadmap in the app Moving to Ireland turns 99 guides into a personal checklist. Tell it your passport, whether you have moved yet, and who is coming with you, and it lays out every step in order — from the visa to the bins. - Step-by-step checklist - Tailored to your passport - Pre-move & post-move - Family & pet sections [![Download Moving to Ireland on the App Store](https://www.movingtoireland.co/images/app-store-badge.svg)](https://apps.apple.com/app/moving-to-ireland/id6446055261) ★★★★★ 4.9 on the App Store [![Expats who settled in Ireland, two five-star App Store reviews, and the Moving to Ireland app showing its relocation checklist](https://www.movingtoireland.co/images/app-social-proof.webp)](https://apps.apple.com/app/moving-to-ireland/id6446055261)