What it costs to move a family to Ireland

Covers a permit of up to 24 months. If the application is refused, 90 percent of the fee is refunded. The Dependant/Partner/Spouse Employment Permit that lets a permit holder's spouse work is issued with no fee.

Applies to roles on the Critical Skills Occupations List where the applicant holds a relevant degree or higher. A role not on that list qualifies instead at EUR 68,911 a year. An applicant who received their qualification in the 12 months before applying qualifies at EUR 36,848. Remuneration excludes bonuses.

Immigration Service Delivery also requires access to a lump sum to cover sudden major expenses, which it states should be equal to, for example, the price of a residential dwelling in the State. Finances must be verified by an Irish accountancy firm. Stamp 0 does not permit work and carries no entitlement to State benefits. Average processing time is four months.

Payable by card only. Children aged 15 and younger are not obliged to register unless directed by the Minister, and any child under 18 who is required to register is exempt from the fee. Permission must be registered within 90 days of arrival.

Many State-funded schools ask for a voluntary contribution, which is optional. There is no central application system; you apply school by school by the deadline in each school's annual admission notice. The school year begins in September.

An exemption cannot be granted where the child attends a Gaelscoil. On school ethos: in 2025 more than 88 percent of primary schools had a Catholic patronage and ethos, 6 percent had another religious patronage, and 5.5 percent had a non-religious patron (Citizens Information, Choosing a primary school, https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/education/primary-and-post-primary-education/going-to-primary-school/choosing-a-primary-school/, checked 2026-08-26).

Low end is St Andrew's College Dublin secondary day tuition for 2026/2027 at EUR 9,560 for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th year; the same school charges EUR 12,240 for its Junior School and EUR 12,600 for its International Baccalaureate programme (school fee letter dated 26 June 2026, https://www.sac.ie/page/?title=Admissions+and+Fees&pid=81). High end is Nord Anglia International School Dublin Grade 11 and Grade 12 at EUR 25,296 for 2026-2027; its lowest year group, KG3, is EUR 16,561. Examinations, camps, trips, bus transport, lunches and individual music lessons are charged separately at both schools.

Non-refundable, payable on acceptance of an offer. Half of it is deducted from the first tuition invoice. This is one school's own figure; Dublin schools set enrolment charges individually.

An emergency department visit without a GP referral costs EUR 100 and an injury unit costs EUR 75 (Citizens Information, Charges for hospital services, https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/health/health-services/gp-and-hospital-services/hospital-charges/, checked 2026-08-26). Private medical insurance is a condition of the Stamp 0 route only: Immigration Service Delivery requires an original policy covering accidents and medical incidents including hospital stays in Ireland, valid for 12 months or the length of the stay, and does not accept cash-back policies (checked 2026-08-26). A Critical Skills Employment Permit carries no such condition. We do not publish a family premium figure because we could not source one from an insurer's own published rate for a stated plan.

Standardised average rent for new tenancies, Table 3. The RTB report was published in May 2026 and Q4 2025 is the most recent quarter available. A two-bedroom apartment in Dublin was EUR 2,315 for new tenancies. Existing tenancies in the same quarter averaged EUR 1,807 for a two-bedroom house, so an arriving family should budget the new-tenancy figure.

Standardised average rent for new tenancies, Table 3. Existing tenancies averaged EUR 2,051 for a three-bedroom house in Dublin in the same quarter. A Dublin apartment with three or more bedrooms was EUR 2,901 for new tenancies. Across all property types the Dublin new-tenancy standardised average was EUR 2,232 a month against EUR 1,939 for existing tenancies.

Separately, from 1 March 2026 a national rent control system applies to all private tenancies: rent can be increased once a year by 2 percent or the rate of CPI inflation, whichever is lower, with an exception for newly built apartments commenced from 10 June 2025 (RTB, https://rtb.ie/renting/setting-and-reviewing-private-rents-from-1-march-2026/, checked 2026-08-26).

No rabies antibody blood test is required from the United States, because the United States is on the EU list of non-EU countries and territories exempt from that test, Annex II to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/636 (European Commission, https://food.ec.europa.eu/animals/live-animal-movements/dogs-cats-and-ferrets/listing-territories-and-non-eu-countries_en, checked 2026-08-26). A non-compliant animal can be refused entry and returned at the owner's expense, or held in quarantine until it complies, also at the owner's expense. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine states there is no ban on pets entering Ireland and that your pet must arrive with you or within five days before or after you travel.

If you are resident and domiciled in Ireland for tax purposes you are chargeable to Irish tax on worldwide income, subject to relief under a relevant Double Taxation Agreement.

The Convention allocates taxing rights between the two countries. It does not remove a US citizen's obligation to file with the IRS.