Useful documentation to bring when leaving Ireland

Information

If you are leaving Ireland, you may be travelling for reasons of work, study, holiday or retirement abroad. Whatever it is you intend to do, you will need to take with you certain documentation (for example,  proof of your citizenship, identity, address in Ireland). It is always easier to get hold of these documents while you are still in Ireland than retrospectively to seek these items when you move abroad.

It is always highly recommended that you bring your passport with you, even if you are travelling to the UK and your passport is not a requirement for travel. In fact, given Ireland is not a member of the Schengen Agreement, you will find that you are required to carry your passport when travelling to most other countries. If you need information about applying for an Irish passport you can find this information elsewhere on this site.

In addition to your passport, other useful documents include:

• Your birth certificate
• Your driving licence and/or international driving permit
• Your student card
• Any visas or work permits you may need
• European Health Insurance Card and/or other documents relating to health insurance
• Your Curriculum Vitae
• Any relevant certificates from education or training courses you have completed
• References for work
• Contact names and numbers of your family/friends/next-of-kin in Ireland
• Contact information for your nearest Irish embassy/consulate in the country to which you will be travelling

Emergency contact details

The Department of Foreign Affairs in Ireland recommends that you make a note of the contact details of the nearest Irish embassy or consulate while you are abroad in case you need to contact them urgently. You are also advised to leave your own contact details with someone at home who can pass them to the Consular Section of the Department of Foreign Affairs in the event of an emergency. You could also register your contact details with the Department of Foreign Affairs.

If you are going to remote areas where you will be far from an Irish embassy, leave two passport photographs and two signatures, ideally on a passport application form, with friends in Ireland or near an Irish embassy. If your passport is lost or stolen this could speed up the process of replacing it.

Before you travel, it can be useful to make photocopies of the most important of these documents. Carry the photocopies separately so that you will have some form of identification in the event that they are stolen.

If you are travelling in countries where there are a lot of restrictions, it can be useful to bring a number of passport photographs with you, for use on additional visas and permits.