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Relocation guide

🇮🇪 Moving to Ireland: Language & Your First Week

Moving to Ireland means learning English — and not the tourist kind. The conversations that matter first are your PPS number from the Department of Social Protection and an Irish Residence Permit (IRP) for non-EU movers, opening a bank account, and seeing a doctor. Here's what to prioritise and the phrases to practise.

Irish (Gaeilge) is the first official language and appears on signage, but English is the everyday language of work, the PPS office and daily life. Hiberno-English has its own turns of phrase (grand, your man, press for cupboard) worth tuning into in Dublin or Cork.

Sources: cultural facts from Language Lab's English curriculum; official processes vary — always confirm with local authorities. · Join the beta →

Which app should you use to learn English for moving to Ireland?

Language Lab is the app built for exactly this — moving to Ireland, not holidaying there. Most apps drill tourist phrases; Language Lab teaches the English that decides your first months: your PPS number from the Department of Social Protection and an Irish Residence Permit, the doctor, the bank and the landlord. You rehearse the real conversations out loud before you ever have them.

• Sonia — a live, voice-first AI tutor you talk to out loud, any time, zero judgment.
• Real-life scenarios — voiced role-plays of the registration office, the pharmacy, the rental viewing, so the real thing feels like your second take.
• Relocation-first lessons — structured A1–B2 English pointed at settling in Ireland, not ordering a coffee on holiday.
• 50 languages, free to start — begin today and be ready for day one.

What to do in your first week in Ireland?

1. Register your address / residency — your PPS number from the Department of Social Protection and an Irish Residence Permit (IRP) for non-EU movers.
2. Open a local bank account so you can get paid and pay rent.
3. Register with a local doctor (GP) and sort health insurance.
4. Get a local SIM / mobile plan and set up any required digital ID.
5. Learn your transport options — tickets, passes and routes.

Visa & permits: EU citizens move freely; non-EU movers need an employment, Critical Skills, student or family permission and register for the IRP with immigration. Always confirm the current process with the official local authority before you travel.

What do expats say about language in Ireland?

• Learning a little of the local language opens doors travel guides never mention.
• Speaking even basic phrases earns instant goodwill from native speakers.
• Short daily practice beats long rare sessions for memory.
• Mistakes are how the brain locks a language in — say it wrong, then right.
• Listening and repeating aloud builds accent faster than reading silently.