Immigrating to Ireland

[Gtx Gaming]

Just want to add these are ‘early days’ observations.

Thanx for info, going there in 2 weeks time for a holiday, might come back to stay

 

[Freshy-ZN]

Thanx for info, going there in 2 weeks time for a holiday, might come back to stay

Im sure you will love it. It is a great and friendly place and for sure it is a fantastic place for a visit. I am looking at it, or trying to, from a long term view in my observations. Look forward to hearing about your visit.

 

[Lupus]

Was disappointed at the amount of people who litter. The place looks clean and tidy thanks to the constant activities of cleaning crews but stop and watch people for a little while and you see it.

There’s seems to be no real spirit and passion. Politics and society are glum with a few frothy sideshows. I get a distinct feeling of ‘lazyness’. People play everything safe and non-committal.

I suppose I wanted safe and boring for my kids sake mainly and I seem to have gotten what I wished for. But a little spark and joie de vivre would be nice.

Also it’s a bit liberal for my liking.

You've come from SA and you're disappointed by the littering? I've seen people literally throw rubbish next to the bin without a regards.

 

[Freshy-ZN]

You've come from SA and you're disappointed by the littering? I've seen people literally throw rubbish next to the bin without a regards.

Yes I'm disappointed. I was hoping for better. Where are you talking about when you say you've seen people throwing next to bins? Ireland or SA?

 

[Lupus]

Yes I'm disappointed. I was hoping for better. Where are you talking about when you say you've seen people throwing next to bins? Ireland or SA?

South Africa, but did see it in the UK many years ago.

 

[Smokey888]

My mate and his wife Moved to Ireland about 2 years ago. She is from the UK originally. after about 14 or so months in Ireland they decided to move to Scotland, merely due to Ireland being so damn expensive to live in.

 

[RandomGeek]

Was disappointed at the amount of people who litter. The place looks clean and tidy thanks to the constant activities of cleaning crews but stop and watch people for a little while and you see it.

There’s seems to be no real spirit and passion. Politics and society are glum with a few frothy sideshows. I get a distinct feeling of ‘lazyness’. People play everything safe and non-committal.

I suppose I wanted safe and boring for my kids sake mainly and I seem to have gotten what I wished for. But a little spark and joie de vivre would be nice.

Also it’s a bit liberal for my liking.

The Irish lasses do have a beautiful accent...that should count in their favour at least!

 

[Freshy-ZN]

Im married I have no idea what you mean.....

 

[MrG]

Yes but you will be subjected to the same kind of scrutiny as if applying for a visa on other countries and will have to satisfy Immigration that you intend to return. Proof would include return tickets, bank statements, proof of employment and other commitments back home etc etc etc

When I entered the country on my South African passport I only verbally answered a few questions. No paperwork or anything. Was through the border control within 1 minute.

 

[JayneBloggs]

Hi! If anyone can point me in the direction of information, it would be greatly appreciated. I am a South African citizen; my husband holds dual South African and non-domicile German citizenship. If he were to relocate to Ireland, would I be able to apply for a spousal visa?

 

[Some Eejit]

Hi! If anyone can point me in the direction of information, it would be greatly appreciated. I am a South African citizen; my husband holds dual South African and non-domicile German citizenship. If he were to relocate to Ireland, would I be able to apply for a spousal visa?

Home

www.citizensinformation.ie

 

[Deleted member 369928]

Sadly our papers are still stuck. Apparently we have to pay again.

 

[Gtx Gaming]

Hi! If anyone can point me in the direction of information, it would be greatly appreciated. I am a South African citizen; my husband holds dual South African and non-domicile German citizenship. If he were to relocate to Ireland, would I be able to apply for a spousal visa?

Not called a spousal visa.

You apply once you in ireland for EU4FAM stamp( you will get temp stamp before this one, eu4fam is the stamp that allow stay for 5 years), in short the german passport holder has to be working, or self sufficient, then you apply and they should grant permissions to stay. Apply citizen after 5 years, just over 1000euro the cost atm.

 

[Botha22]

Did anyone ever make the move to Ireland? Are you happy with the move? Is Ireland a temporary stepping stone on a more permanent move to England?

I have seen a number of adverts in SA media, for jobs in Ireland and am wondering whether this is worth pursuing.

 

[Slingshot]

We've been in Ireland since 2018. We're happy here, and will stay here at least until I get my Irish citizenship, and then either stay in Ireland (most likely), or move to another EU country. We're not interested in the UK at all.

Pros:
- Safety. People go jogging on their own, even at night.
- Low crime rate. If a crime is committed, people talk about it for days. If it's a murder, people talk about it for years.
- Postal system that works. You post something, and you know it will arrive. If it's to a local county, probably the next day. If somewhere else in Ireland, within 2-3 days. Elsewhere in the world, within a week or two.
- You can buy online from Amazon and receive your order within days.
- Less corrupt government. Every government have some degree of corruption, but the Irish government seems to stay on track most of the time.
- Cheap healthcare. You don't need medical insurance, although you do get appointments and procedures a bit faster if you have medical insurance. Regardless, an operation, or scans/tests etc. will cost you at most €80. If you're on medical insurance, which starts from €42 per month per person, it will cost you nothing.
- A police force that works. The Garda does their job, and are mostly very polite and willing to help.
- A beautiful country with lots to explore.
- Friendly people. Most Irish are super friendly and mean no harm.
- Very little classism. You can be a street sweeper or a doctor, and will be treated similarly.
- Lots of work available. Unemployment rate is currently just over 5% and consist mostly of people too lazy to work, or with a disability. If you're not too picky, you can find work immediately and earn a liveable wage. Worth a note: If you have a truck drivers license, you stand a good chance of getting a work permit here even if you or your partner don't have an EU passport. They're in desperate need of truck drivers.
- Within easy reach of other European countries. Plane tickets are cheap and you can easily fly over to UK, Spain, Portugal etc for a weekend away without breaking the bank.
- Long summer days. In summer it's light until 10pm and you can do gardening, have a braai, or go for a walk without running out of light anytime soon.
- Good central heating (radiators in every room, heated by burning kerosene oil). This is standard in most houses here.
- Decent public transport that's mostly on time. You can take the train or bus to almost anywhere in Ireland and it doesn't cost an arm or leg. They're clean and don't fall apart.

Cons:
- The weather. It does get cold and it rains more than you're used to in SA, but the houses are mostly well insulated as are the offices and shops. You dress for the weather and carry on regardless.
- Short winter days. It gets dark at around 5pm in winter, and the days tend to be cold and sucky while you wait for summer to arrive.
- Expensive rental and property prices especially within 1 hour's drive from the major cities, and a shortage of rental properties in the more popular areas. Rural properties go for cheaper but then you will have to commute or work from home.
- Childcare is expensive.
- You do your own housework, as cleaning services are expensive compared to SA.
- Underaged brats get away with anything. Especially in the cities you get groups of youth who are bored and like to harass people. They know there's not much the Garda will do to them as they're under 18 and mostly "untouchable".
- People living off the dole (welfare benefit / "jobseekers" benefit). You get a lot of people abusing the system and living on welfare or "jobseekers" benefit, who are fully capable of working. The pluspoint in this is that there's a lot of work available that the Irish don't want to do, as it's too much....work.

That's all I can think of for now.

 

[theratman]

We've been in Ireland since 2018. We're happy here, and will stay here at least until I get my Irish citizenship, and then either stay in Ireland (most likely), or move to another EU country. We're not interested in the UK at all.

Pros:
- Safety. People go jogging on their own, even at night.
- Low crime rate. If a crime is committed, people talk about it for days. If it's a murder, people talk about it for years.
- Postal system that works. You post something, and you know it will arrive. If it's to a local county, probably the next day. If somewhere else in Ireland, within 2-3 days. Elsewhere in the world, within a week or two.
- You can buy online from Amazon and receive your order within days.
- Less corrupt government. Every government have some degree of corruption, but the Irish government seems to stay on track most of the time.
- Cheap healthcare. You don't need medical insurance, although you do get appointments and procedures a bit faster if you have medical insurance. Regardless, an operation, or scans/tests etc. will cost you at most €80. Nothing if you're on medical insurance, which starts from €42 per month per person.
- A police force that works. The Garda does their job, and are mostly very polite and willing to help.
- A beautiful country with lots to explore.
- Friendly people. Most Irish are super friendly and mean no harm.
- Very little classism. You can be a street sweeper or a doctor, and will be treated similarly.
- Lots of work available. Unemployment rate is currently just over 5%. If you're not too picky, you can find work immediately and earn a liveable wage.
- Within easy reach of other EU countries. Plane tickets are cheap and you can easily fly over to UK, Spain, Portugal etc for a weekend away without breaking the bank.
- Long summer days. In summer it's light until 10pm and you can do gardening, have a braai, or go for a walk without running out of light anytime soon.
- Good central heating (radiators in every room, heated by burning kerosene oil). This is standard in most houses here.
- Decent public transport that's mostly on time. You can take the train or bus to almost anywhere in Ireland and it doesn't cost an arm or leg. They're clean and don't fall apart.

Cons:
- The weather. It does get cold and it rains more than you're used to in SA, but the houses are mostly well insulated as are the offices and shops. You dress for the weather and carry on regardless.
- Short winter days. It gets dark at around 5pm in winter, and the days tend to be cold and sucky while you wait for summer to arrive.
- Expensive rental and property prices especially within 1 hour's drive from the major cities, and a shortage of rental properties in the more popular areas. Rural properties go for cheaper but then you will have to commute or work from home.
- Childcare is expensive.
- You do your own housework, as cleaning services are expensive compared to SA.
- Underaged brats get away with anything. Especially in the cities you get groups of youth who are bored and like to harass people. They know there's not much the Garda will do to them as they're under 18 and mostly "untouchable".
- People living off the dole (welfare benefit / "jobseekers" benefit). You get a lot of people abusing the system and living on welfare or "jobseekers" benefit, who are fully capable of working. The pluspoint in this is that there's a lot of work available that the Irish don't want to do, as it's too much....work.

That's all I can think of for now.

Thanks, the SO is in the process of getting her Irish medical registration sorted and we're heading that side next year.

 

[Hamster]

Is Ireland a temporary stepping stone on a more permanent move to England?

This is like two steps forward, one step back.

 

[Slingshot]

Thanks, the SO is in the process of getting her Irish medical registration sorted and we're heading that side next year.

There's several South African doctors in Ireland. They tend to be better than Irish doctors, who would often treat symptomatically rather than find the cause of the problem.
Also, if you book an appointment with an Irish doctor to have your knee checked out, they will check out your knee and nothing else, so don't go discussing your failing kidney at the same appointment. That's for another appointment... Or so I've heard.

The funny thing with doctors here, is that they only take a certain amount of patients on their books and will often refuse new patients. You might have to phone around to several doctors in your area before you can find one that's willing to interview you before they add you to their books. Yes, they interview you to see if you're a suitable patient for them. Once you're on their books you're good to go though.

 

[theratman]

There's several South African doctors in Ireland. They tend to be better than Irish doctors, who would often treat symptomatically rather than find the cause of the problem.
Also, if you book an appointment with an Irish doctor to have your knee checked out, they will check out your knee and nothing else, so don't go discussing your failing kidney at the same appointment. That's for another appointment... Or so I've heard.

The funny thing with doctors here, is that they only take a certain amount of patients on their books and will often refuse new patients. You might have to phone around to several doctors in your area before you can find one that's willing to interview you before they add you to their books. Yes, they interview you to see if you're a suitable patient for them. Once you're on their books you're good to go though.

Yeah she's got quite a few Dr friends that side, which is why its an easier transition. The specialist paperwork is insane though, the current hold up is waiting for certificates from the useless HPCSA (it's been months) as we were planning to leave early this year. That's been pushed out to next year thanks to their incompetence.

 

[Botha22]

We've been in Ireland since 2018. We're happy here, and will stay here at least until I get my Irish citizenship, and then either stay in Ireland (most likely), or move to another EU country. We're not interested in the UK at all.

Pros:
- Safety. People go jogging on their own, even at night.
- Low crime rate. If a crime is committed, people talk about it for days. If it's a murder, people talk about it for years.
- Postal system that works. You post something, and you know it will arrive. If it's to a local county, probably the next day. If somewhere else in Ireland, within 2-3 days. Elsewhere in the world, within a week or two.
- You can buy online from Amazon and receive your order within days.
- Less corrupt government. Every government have some degree of corruption, but the Irish government seems to stay on track most of the time.
- Cheap healthcare. You don't need medical insurance, although you do get appointments and procedures a bit faster if you have medical insurance. Regardless, an operation, or scans/tests etc. will cost you at most €80. If you're on medical insurance, which starts from €42 per month per person, it will cost you nothing.
- A police force that works. The Garda does their job, and are mostly very polite and willing to help.
- A beautiful country with lots to explore.
- Friendly people. Most Irish are super friendly and mean no harm.
- Very little classism. You can be a street sweeper or a doctor, and will be treated similarly.
- Lots of work available. Unemployment rate is currently just over 5% and consist mostly of people too lazy to work, or with a disability. If you're not too picky, you can find work immediately and earn a liveable wage. Worth a note: If you have a truck drivers license, you stand a good chance of getting a work permit here even if you or your partner don't have an EU passport. They're in desperate need of truck drivers.
- Within easy reach of other European countries. Plane tickets are cheap and you can easily fly over to UK, Spain, Portugal etc for a weekend away without breaking the bank.
- Long summer days. In summer it's light until 10pm and you can do gardening, have a braai, or go for a walk without running out of light anytime soon.
- Good central heating (radiators in every room, heated by burning kerosene oil). This is standard in most houses here.
- Decent public transport that's mostly on time. You can take the train or bus to almost anywhere in Ireland and it doesn't cost an arm or leg. They're clean and don't fall apart.

Cons:
- The weather. It does get cold and it rains more than you're used to in SA, but the houses are mostly well insulated as are the offices and shops. You dress for the weather and carry on regardless.
- Short winter days. It gets dark at around 5pm in winter, and the days tend to be cold and sucky while you wait for summer to arrive.
- Expensive rental and property prices especially within 1 hour's drive from the major cities, and a shortage of rental properties in the more popular areas. Rural properties go for cheaper but then you will have to commute or work from home.
- Childcare is expensive.
- You do your own housework, as cleaning services are expensive compared to SA.
- Underaged brats get away with anything. Especially in the cities you get groups of youth who are bored and like to harass people. They know there's not much the Garda will do to them as they're under 18 and mostly "untouchable".
- People living off the dole (welfare benefit / "jobseekers" benefit). You get a lot of people abusing the system and living on welfare or "jobseekers" benefit, who are fully capable of working. The pluspoint in this is that there's a lot of work available that the Irish don't want to do, as it's too much....work.

That's all I can think of for now.

Thanks. Appreciate you taking the time to prepare such a detailed response.