Ireland

Ireland has no digital nomad visa. Short stays fall under the visitor rules, and living in Ireland needs a residence permission that matches the reason for the stay.

• Founders: the Start-up Entrepreneur Programme (STEP) suits non-EEA founders of a high potential start-up with business funding of €50,000. Holders must work full time on that business and may not take other employment.
• People with independent means: Immigration Service Delivery runs a Stamp 0 permission for retirees and people of independent means. It is not a permission to work, and this site has no page for it yet.

Visiting: visitors can come for less than 90 days for a holiday or short break, with the stay granted by the border officer on arrival (Immigration Service Delivery). Some nationalities need a visa first.

Outside Schengen: Ireland is one of the EU countries outside the Schengen area (Ireland, Cyprus). Days in Ireland don't count toward the Schengen 90-day allowance, Ireland doesn't use the Entry/Exit System and passports are still stamped at the border.

Rent takes most of the budget, and Ireland's main cities are expensive. Numbeo's crowd-sourced figures for September 2026 give these monthly totals for a single person, adding its estimate of living costs without rent to the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment outside or inside the city center:

• Dublin: about €3,050 to €3,300 (Numbeo)
• Galway: about €2,750 to €3,050 (Numbeo)
• Cork: about €2,650 to €2,950 (Numbeo)

These totals leave out coworking, travel and health insurance. Rents outside the center are only a little lower than central rents in all three cities.

• Dublin: the capital and the base of many international tech firms, with the biggest coworking and startup scene and the highest rents.
• Cork: Ireland's second city, smaller and calmer than Dublin, with a strong food scene and good access to the south coast.
• Galway: a lively university city on the west coast, popular with creatives and close to Connemara.
• Limerick: a compact city with lower rents than Dublin and good links to Shannon Airport.

Each city guide covers neighborhoods, coworking and day-to-day costs in more detail.

The Speedtest Global Index for August 2026 puts Ireland's median fixed broadband speed at 207 Mbps and its median mobile speed at 80 Mbps (Speedtest). Rural speeds can be well below the national median.

Dublin has the widest choice of coworking spaces, from international chains to independent hubs with day passes. Cork, Galway and Limerick also have coworking options, while smaller towns have fewer.

Revenue treats someone as tax resident after 183 days or more in Ireland in a tax year, or 280 days or more across the current and previous tax year. A year with 30 days or fewer in Ireland is left out of that two-year count (Revenue). The Irish tax year runs with the calendar year.

STEP carries no special tax provisions, so founders follow the normal Irish rules (STEP guidelines).

What to check:

• A day count for the current and previous tax year
• How residence and domicile together decide which foreign income Ireland taxes
• Whether the home country's tax treaty with Ireland changes where income is taxed

Revenue publishes the current rates and credits. A tax adviser can confirm how the rules apply to a specific case.

• Arrival: the border officer decides how long a visitor may stay, so travelers should carry proof of where they will stay, how they will pay for the trip and when they will leave.
• Health: visitors should carry travel or health insurance. STEP holders must keep private medical insurance (STEP guidelines).
• Money: Ireland uses the euro, and card and contactless payments are widely accepted.
• Mobile data: prepaid SIMs and eSIMs from Irish networks are easy to buy, and EU roaming rules apply on Irish plans.
• Long stays: residents on a long-stay permission register for an Irish Residence Permit after arrival.