IT guy relocating to Ireland

saton

Hi folks!

First of all, i apologise for my potentially bad English, I’m not a native speaker
So, long story short, i am 27 y.o from Croatia and during the past few years i was thinking of moving to Ireland on some kind of work/tourist visit.
Maybe it is that movie representation of a country with big green countryside, pubs, Irish music, people… dunno, but i always liked it.
So, the plan is to come to Ireland in January 2016 and see what happens Most likely Cork, Galway or something like that (still haven’t decided), but due to apartment prices i crossed Dublin from my list.

Since i guess a lot of people here are in IT, i was wondering if you could give me few suggestion/advices

I have been working as a freelance frontend developer for the past few years and majority of projects i worked on were related to HTML/CSS, Wordpress theme coding, onsite SEO, Ecommerce (BigCommerce and Magento) visual styling, light graphic work, support to old&new clients to all “web related” questions…

I know you can’t give me a direct and correct answer, but i was wondering could you give me some rough estimate on how much could i earn with this skill set?

Except job ads on Monster and IrishJobs, where all of them seem to be coming form big companies, i was wondering is there some place where i could find ads from “smaller” IT companies, where the work atmosphere would be a bit more friendly and casual?

I hope i explained it properly with my English
Thank you for any help that you can give me!

Eoin

First off, your English is very good!

irishjobs.ie is probably the best option - it's not just big multinationals there by any means. LinkedIn can be very useful too, so keep an eye out there.

Even though most people on this forum think that recruitment agencies are the devil, you will increase your chances of finding a job if you deal with them. A lot of companies do not post roles themselves on job websites and use agencies for this. Have a search for the type of job you're looking for, and see if any particular agencies are dealing with those roles more often. Though unless you're available immediately, they'll probably not be forward thinking enough to get back to you if you're talking about early next year.

Not sure about salary scales, but if you're putting yourself out there as a front end developer, I think you'd want to mention the frameworks that you're proficient with.

saton

Hi Eoin and thanks a bunch for your reply!

Yep, my English is very good when it comes to reading/writting/understanding, but i need some practice talking

I already checked Irishjobs.ie, but yes, since i would be coming early next year, i don’t know is it smart and wise to start creating and sending my profile and CV now.

One more thing I know that first step there is to get a PPS number.
To get it, i first need to get an apartment (address), but it seems that nobody would rent the apartment to somebody who doesn’t have employment agreement, and i can’t get that without the PPS
I was wondering how does the process of getting the confirmation of address goes? I mean, is it possible that i rent a place via Airbnb for a 1-2 weeks and to ask the apartment owner can he give me that?

I know, a lot of questions, but any help is gravelly appreciated

Mrs OBumble

saton wrote: »

I know that first step there is to get a PPS number.
To get it, i first need to get an apartment (address), but it seems that nobody would rent the apartment to somebody who doesn’t have employment agreement, and i can’t get that without the PPS
I was wondering how does the process of getting the confirmation of address goes? I mean, is it possible that i rent a place via Airbnb for a 1-2 weeks and to ask the apartment owner can he give me that?

In Ireland, you CAN get a job and start working without having a PPS already.

The process most people use is:

• Get short term accommodation (hostel, AirBnB short term etc)
• If you are not an EU citizen, or are from one of the states with some restrictions, report to Garda Immigration and get the appropriate visa / stamp and tell them your address (don't forget to tell them each time you move, too).
• Get a job.
• After a certain number of weeks in the short term accommodation, the owner or manager isallowed to write a letter saying you live there. I don't know how many weeks this is - suspect it's more like 5 than 1-2, though. With this, and your birth certificate from home (and maybe some other stuff - check with wwww.welfare.ie for details), go to Welfare and apply for a PPS number.
• With the letter that Welfare send you saying what your PPS number is (one proof of address) and your job offer or another letter from the (2nd proof of address), go to a bank and open a bank account.
• Ask your employer for their tax registration number, and get a form 12a from the Revenue website (or your employer, if they have one). Fill in the form, and send it back to Revenue.
• Get longer term accommodation. (Landlords will usually look for a reference from work and from a past landlord or similar).

In many government offices, the process is that you arrive, take a ticket with a number on it from the machine, and wait for your number to be called out and/or flashed up on the screen. (This can seem strange if it's no what you are used to.)


NB I've added a few extra bits that you didn't ask about, but do need to know anyways. And it's a few years since I went thru this myself, so things may have changed a bit. Updates from more recent migrants very welcome.

saton

Thanks a bunch for your help!

Yes, i found few examples where people managed to get the job without the it, but majority of people advise that PPS needs to be taken care of first (since Croatia is in EU, i dont need a visa).

If i understood it right, after i take the letter from landlord and bring it to Welfare, i will get my number in few days by mail on the address i used.But the card itself takes little longer to make and i was wondering does that arrives too by mail (in case i rent an apartment in the meantime)?

Also, what happens when i change the apartment, do i need to go to Welfare with new proof of address?

Yep, ticket system functions the same way here in banks and some government institutions.

Thanks for all the help guys&gals!

saton

*without it, not "without the it" Edit function isnt working properly

Mrs OBumble

saton wrote: »

Yes, i found few examples where people managed to get the job without the it, but majority of people advise that PPS needs to be taken care of first (since Croatia is in EU, i dont need a visa).

If i understood it right, after i take the letter from landlord and bring it to Welfare, i will get my number in few days by mail on the address i used.But the card itself takes little longer to make and i was wondering does that arrives too by mail (in case i rent an apartment in the meantime)?

Also, what happens when i change the apartment, do i need to go to Welfare with new proof of address?

People may advise getting a PPS first - but it's not essential. Without it, you will pay emergency tax for perhaps a few weeks - but you will get this back from your employer, provided you write on your Form 12a that you intend to stay in Ireland for 12 months or more. (Even if you don't currently intend to do so, it's a good idea to say that you do - lots of people end up staying for longer than they intend, and it makes some things work more smoothly).

You need more than just a letter from the LL to get a PPS, you also need proof of identify: passport, birth certificate etc. Do not underestimate the importance of this. (I had to delay getting PPS by several week while I contacted home and got a long-form birth certificate sent over.)

I do not know if you get a card as well as a letter with your number: most people didn't get cards when I applied, but that may have changed.

You don't need to tell Welfare when you change address: because you are working, you will have no contact with them at all. The welfare "stamps" that you need to pay will be handled by Revenue.

But you should always tell Revenue when you change address or when you change jobs.

saton

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

People may advise getting a PPS first - but it's not essential. Without it, you will pay emergency tax for perhaps a few weeks - but you will get this back from your employer, provided you write on your Form 12a that you intend to stay in Ireland for 12 months or more. (Even if you don't currently intend to do so, it's a good idea to say that you do - lots of people end up staying for longer than they intend, and it makes some things work more smoothly).

You need more than just a letter from the LL to get a PPS, you also need proof of identify: passport, birth certificate etc. Do not underestimate the importance of this. (I had to delay getting PPS by several week while I contacted home and got a long-form birth certificate sent over.)

I do not know if you get a card as well as a letter with your number: most people didn't get cards when I applied, but that may have changed.

You don't need to tell Welfare when you change address: because you are working, you will have no contact with them at all. The welfare "stamps" that you need to pay will be handled by Revenue.

But you should always tell Revenue when you change address or when you change jobs.

No, no, i am not underestimating this, i already know that i need additional paperwork, but most of it i already have and some of it i will get before i move (school diplomas, birth certificate, certificate from police that i haven't had any felonies and procedures against me, passport, ID card... all of them will be translated to English), i am just saying that it would make me a little more comfortable if i could get it done first so i can take it "off my chest".

Thank you about the Revenue informations, i didnt know anything about this If i get few more questions about this, you wont mind if i message you?

Once again, thanks!

Mr. G

As far as I know you don't get a card/fingerprints. The GNIB card is for Non-EU citizens. Since you're an EU citizen it's a lot more straightforward.

We also don't have National ID cards like in Croatia, but your Croatian card can be used as proof of ID like a passport for the majority of things but bring your passport and birth cert with you as you will need most likely them.

To get a bank account I think you need a proof of PPS number (letter with your PPS on it).

saton

Ah, so only a paper with the PPS on it! Yes, i know that banks ask for that paper, national ID card/passport and employment contract (it seems that in smaller cities it is possible to open it without this, it depends on the branch).

You dont have any kind of national ID card? How do you prove who you are in, lets say bank, or when police stops you? Driver licence?

professore

Yep driver licence or in bank's case they ask for recent bills in your name and with your address.

You will probably find our bureaucracy quite easy and straightforward, most European countries have far more "red tape" than here.

Mrs OBumble

saton wrote: »

You dont have any kind of national ID card? How do you prove who you are in, lets say bank, or when police stops you? Driver licence?

Nope, no national identity cards in Ireland.

If you're driving, you have to carry your drivers license.

If you look young and want to get in to the pub (ie prove your age) then drivers license, passport (there's something about they're introducing a credit-card size card to go with passports that will make this easier), or the guarda will issue you an age-card.

When you get a job, your employer is supposed to see something (eg passport, drivers license) that confirms your identity, and to check that it matches the details on the P45 (tax form from your last job) you give them.

To open a bank account, rent a car, do various other things, you often also need "proof of address" - a bank statement posted to you, a utility bill posted to you, a letter from Revenue posted to you. These are getting harder to find though, as more things move on-line.

saton

professore wrote: »

Yep driver licence or in bank's case they ask for recent bills in your name and with your address.

You will probably find our bureaucracy quite easy and straightforward, most European countries have far more "red tape" than here.

Yep, i heard about that, everything is done quickly and easily.
There is one 30 min documentary about Croatians in Ireland on Youtube and one guy said that his former employer offered him to take his hair salon (rent it from him) and that it took him only 30 minutes to sort out the paperwork.

Here, it would took ages! Tons of papers, tons of fees for this and that...

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Nope, no national identity cards in Ireland.

If you're driving, you have to carry your drivers license.

If you look young and want to get in to the pub (ie prove your age) then drivers license, passport (there's something about they're introducing a credit-card size card to go with passports that will make this easier), or the guarda will issue you an age-card.

When you get a job, your employer is supposed to see something (eg passport, drivers license) that confirms your identity, and to check that it matches the details on the P45 (tax form from your last job) you give them.

To open a bank account, rent a car, do various other things, you often also need "proof of address" - a bank statement posted to you, a utility bill posted to you, a letter from Revenue posted to you. These are getting harder to find though, as more things move on-line.

Interesting, never heard about something like that.

Here, you need to have your ID with you if you want to get something done (for example in bank, post, police...).
Without it (and maybe passport), no matter what kind of other documents you have, they wont help because there is no picture on it to prove that you are the person you are saying you are.



One more question about the address and PPS.
If i understood everything right, every landlord can issue me the paper proving that i live on his address (ofcourse, if he wants to do that).Basically, that is just a paper that says "I, the landlord am proving that Jon Doe is living on this address"?

I am asking this because 2 years ago i worked with a guy from Ireland online on few websites and he said that if i ever need anything that i can contact him for help.So i tough, if it is that simple to write that paper, maybe i can ask him to rent me out a room and help me out in beginning


Once again, really thanks a bunch folks for all your help!