Registering for a PPS number from Abroad

mayotom

My Estonian Girlfriend needs a PPS number, but we are currently living in Dubai, Can we sort this before we come back to Ireland, so that things can be speeded up so that she can sort out driving licences etc.

Emerald Lass

according to the Citizens info site:

citizens information website wrote:

You cannot apply for a PPS Number before your arrival in Ireland. You must be already living in Ireland in order to apply for a PPS Number. You will be asked to produce documentary evidence of identity and residence in Ireland. Different documentary evidence will be required, depending on your nationality. A complete list of documents required as evidence of your identity is here.

Xiney

It truly only took me a couple of days back in Sept 2007 to get my PPSN. I'm sure they're a little backlogged now but it won't be the end of the world.

If she has an Estonian driver's license it will be recognized here. If she doesn't have an Estonian driver's license, It's a 6 month process anyway, an extra week or two won't be the problem.

Fran79

Hi I second that.

I applied for my PPS on a Monday in Nov 2008, and received it via the post on Thursday. I'm British and had my driving licence, birth cert, and a letter from my father in law stating I was staying with him (plus one of his utility bills).

HTH

Fran

mayotom

Fran79 wrote: »

Hi I second that.

I applied for my PPS on a Monday in Nov 2008, and received it via the post on Thursday. I'm British and had my driving licence, birth cert, and a letter from my father in law stating I was staying with him (plus one of his utility bills).

HTH

Fran

Dose she have to physically have to go the Social welfare offices, or can it be done in the post.

Xiney

She must physically go into the office. They have to take a photocopy of all her relevant documents and make sure it's her in the picture(s).


It really isn't as big a deal as you're making it out to be!

Mrs OBumble

Why does she need the number?

If she starts working soon after arriving here, she'll be charged emergency tax for the first weeks, until her number comes through and then the Revenue can assign her tax credits. Once those credits are assigned, she gets the overpayment back on the next pay day.

If she's going to be studying, then yes, the IT (or whatever) may need the number. But I'm sure they have procedures to cope with foreign students who've not got one yet.

Can't think of any other things that mean she'd need it immediately.

Fran79

She will need it to be on a rental agreement.

Its also a handy proof of address - AIB allowed me to open a bank account with passport and PPS letter.

Fran

Mrs OBumble

Fran79 wrote: »

She will need it to be on a rental agreement.

Its also a handy proof of address - AIB allowed me to open a bank account with passport and PPS letter.

Fran

No: there's a space for it on many standard rental agreements, but it's not required there.

And it was the letter itself, not the number that AIB used as proof of address. If the OP's partner applied at the moment, the letter would go to their current residental address, which would not be acceptable to a bank here.

Emerald Lass

JustMary wrote: »

Why does she need the number?

If she starts working soon after arriving here, she'll be charged emergency tax for the first weeks, until her number comes through and then the Revenue can assign her tax credits.

why would anyone want to pay emergency tax if they can avoid it? and with the back log etc it may take a few weeks, and emergency tax can seriously damage a pay packet. Also I know from past experience that a lot of recruitment agents and employers ask for a PPS, and they hassle you for it, or some may not actually process your wages without the PPS no.
If you plan on working I would suggest it is one of the first things you apply for.

Xiney

She'd get the money back though, Emerald Lass. Might not even be on emergency tax at all unless she gets paid weekly.

And it only takes a short while to sort out getting a PPS number.

Emerald Lass

yeah I know you get it back - but my mate provided her PPS no to an employer (recently, was doing a 1 mth contract). She didn't get paid. Why? because they lost her PPS no! she pointed out that it is ON THE P45 SHE GAVE THEM (Duh!). By the time they processed it, she was 2 weeks late getting paid (paid fornightly), and then when she did get her wages, she ended up with......€105 out of her wage of €520! €415 stopped in emergency tax. Now fair enough she will get it back, but €105 is less than the dole, and she had to manage on it regardless! Great she will get a little windfall in a few weeks, but until then she is stoney broke. She rang the tax office and gave emp no etc, so hopefully next wages won't be on emergency tax.
But I just wonder why anyone would want to pay emergency tax IF they can avoid it.

And like I said, this employer refused to pay her without the PPS no (even though the dingbats actually DID have it on her P45!:rolleyes:)

mayotom

Xiney wrote: »

She must physically go into the office. They have to take a photocopy of all her relevant documents and make sure it's her in the picture(s).


It really isn't as big a deal as you're making it out to be!

Basically the PPS is to get a Driving licence, we currently live in Dubai and plan to stay here for the long term because there just isn't work in either of our countries, (its bad here too, but we have jobs) but for her job she needs a driving licence, but because she is on an Estonian licence(btw they have a much tougher system there, about 4 different tests)
she can't transfer her licence to a UAE one, she basically has to go through the full process of getting a licence here, which is minimum 25 lessons, then 3 different stages of tests, all spread over a minimum timeframe of 5 months and about 5000EUR, the issue for us is that she needs the licence more urgently than that for her job, and the cost is crazy. so basically we hope to get her Estonian licence converted to Irish then the Irish to a UAE one,

for me I brough in my irish licence filled out some forms, paid 20EUR and got my new UAE licence back straight away. So thats the up front senario, we had hoped to be able to do it from here in Dubai,
but it seems we'll have to do it while home for holidays

Xiney

Given the way employment is at present, the OP's girlfriend is unlikely to get work before she gets her PPS number anyway, if they apply for it the first business day they're here.

Xiney

mayotom wrote: »

Basically the PPS is to get a Driving licence, we currently live in Dubai and plan to stay here for the long term because there just isn't work in either of our countries, (its bad here too, but we have jobs) but for her job she needs a driving licence, but because she is on an Estonian licence(btw they have a much tougher system there, about 4 different tests)
she can't transfer her licence to a UAE one, she basically has to go through the full process of getting a licence here, which is minimum 25 lessons, then 3 different stages of tests, all spread over a minimum timeframe of 5 months and about 5000EUR, the issue for us is that she needs the licence more urgently than that for her job, and the cost is crazy. so basically we hope to get her Estonian licence converted to Irish then the Irish to a UAE one,

for me I brough in my irish licence filled out some forms, paid 20EUR and got my new UAE licence back straight away. So thats the up front senario, we had hoped to be able to do it from here in Dubai,
but it seems we'll have to do it while home for holidays

Unfortunately she is only supposed to exchange her driver's license for an Irish one if her normal residence is in Ireland - she has to declare so on the form.

mayotom

Xiney wrote: »

Unfortunately she is only supposed to exchange her driver's license for an Irish one if her normal residence is in Ireland - she has to declare so on the form.

yes unfortunately those are the rules,


then again rules are made to be broken, you seem very serious, eh,

this is just to get around a complicated situation

Mrs OBumble

Having read the situation, I can see your point. (Had to go through the whole driving-test BS here myself, really wished I'm included six weeks in Australia on my trip, could have got an "exchangeable" licence there, and saved myself a lot of bother.)

Best bet is a helpful Irish relative who's willing to supply a utility bill and a letter saying she's now living with them. Visit the Welfare office's PPS issuing counter the day you come to Ireland, and hope that it doesn't take too long to come through. As soon as it does, a hand-on-heart declaration (perhaps with the same letter and bill!) at the motor tax office that she's now living here. The licence itself will take a week or to two arrive, but the helpful Irish relative could post it to you .

Mrs OBumble

Emerald Lass wrote: »

... my mate provided her PPS no to an employer (recently, was doing a 1 mth contract). .... when she did get her wages, she ended up with......€105 out of her wage of €520! €415 stopped in emergency tax.

I'm sure there's WAY more to this story: emergency tax is simply the full rate (20%, then 41% above a certain level) with no tax credits applied. Even with PRSI and health levy on top, there is NO WAY that it would reach 80% (ie 4/5) of the wages.

Emerald Lass

ok JustMary - I'm a liar. thanks for that. :rolleyes: God people like you really irritate me. The wages were for 2 weeks, not one week. So it is possbile that it can happen - it DID. FACT. There was no more to the story than that - the company lost her PPS number, did not pay her on time, she had to wait a further two weeks, then when dshe received her wages for a fortnight she was stopped over €400 which they claimed was emergency tax. Maybe someone made a mistake in payroll, maybe someone made a mistake in the tax office, regardless, under the heading of 'tax' on her payslip there was the amount of €415 stopped with "emergency" written in the notes section. You post is unneccessary and pompus. IMO you are very condescending and have a real 'know it all' attitude which is not at all appreciated by me for one.

Now go tell someone else what is and is not possible - they might want to listen to you. I don't.

JB04

Xiney wrote: »

She'd get the money back though, Emerald Lass. Might not even be on emergency tax at all unless she gets paid weekly.

And it only takes a short while to sort out getting a PPS number.

Just getting a PPS Number will not take someone off emergency tax. They will still pay emergency tax until revenue issue the employer with the tax credit cert. Providing a pps number should prevent the higher rate of emergency tax being deducted for the first 8 weeks.