Burgh Quay Registration Office: Appointments, What to Bring, and What to Expect

Many people arriving in Dublin discover a frustrating gap in the official guidance: they know they need to register their immigration permission, but the ISD website is not entirely clear about when they must show up in person at Burgh Quay versus when they should use the online portal. Getting this wrong can mean wasted trips, missed deadlines, or a registration bottleneck that delays everything downstream.

Here is a plain-language breakdown of who needs a Burgh Quay appointment, how to get one, what to bring, and what the office experience is actually like in 2026.

What Burgh Quay Is and What It Handles

The Burgh Quay Registration Office is the Dublin headquarters of Immigration Service Delivery (ISD). It sits at 13–14 Burgh Quay, Dublin 2, directly across from the River Liffey. For most immigration purposes, it is the relevant office if you live in Dublin city or county.

It is important to understand that Burgh Quay handles registrations and first-time IRP card issuances — not visa applications or work permit applications. Those go to different bodies (the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service for visas, the Department of Enterprise for employment permits). Burgh Quay's role is to formally register your presence in the State, confirm your stamp type, and issue your Irish Residence Permit (IRP) card.

When You Must Attend in Person

You are required to attend Burgh Quay or a regional GNIB office in person in the following situations:

First-time registration after arriving in Ireland. If you have just arrived on a long-stay visa (a "D visa") or have been permitted to land, you must register in person within 90 days of arrival. This is when you receive your IRP card for the first time. There is no online option for first-time registration — the biometric data (photograph) that goes onto your IRP card must be taken in person.

Children's first-time registrations. Dependants who are being registered for the first time must attend with their parent or guardian.

Zambrano and other complex permission types. Some humanitarian and family-based permissions require an in-person assessment before the IRP card can be issued.

If you are already registered and your permission is being renewed or upgraded — including the transition from Stamp 1 to Stamp 4 — you use the ISD online portal and do not attend Burgh Quay.

How to Book a Burgh Quay Appointment

As of 2026, Burgh Quay appointments must be booked online through the ISD portal at irishimmigration.ie. Walk-in appointments are not available. The booking system releases slots in batches, and demand frequently outpaces supply, particularly for first-time registration categories.

Practical steps:

1. Go to irishimmigration.ie and navigate to "Book an Appointment."
2. Select the correct appointment category — the categories correspond to your visa type and the reason for attendance. Selecting the wrong category will result in your documents not matching the appointment type, and staff may turn you away.
3. Check the available dates. If no slots are visible, check back early in the morning (slots often release at midnight) or try mid-week rather than Monday mornings.
4. You will receive a confirmation email with your appointment reference number. Keep this — you will need it on arrival.

If you are struggling to find an appointment and your 90-day registration deadline is approaching, do not wait passively. Send an email to the ISD contact address explaining your situation and deadline. ISD has a process for accommodating urgent cases, though it is discretionary.

What to Bring to Your Appointment

The document list varies by your immigration category, but the baseline for most first-time registrations is:

• Passport — bring the entire passport, not just a copy. Staff need to see all pages containing Irish entry stamps.
• Long-stay D visa — the visa sticker in your passport if you entered on one.
• Employment permit — if applicable (CSEP, GEP, etc.), bring the original DETE-issued document.
• Evidence of address — a utility bill, bank statement, or signed lease agreement in your name, dated within the last three months, showing a Dublin address.
• Appointment confirmation — the email you received when booking.
• Fee payment — the IRP registration fee is €300. Payment at Burgh Quay is by card only; cash is not accepted.

For specific categories (spouse of Irish citizen, EU Treaty Rights family member, refugee, etc.), additional documents are required. Check the ISD website for the exact checklist for your category before attending — arriving with an incomplete document set will result in your appointment being rescheduled.

What Happens at the Appointment

Burgh Quay operates a numbered queue system. On arrival, you check in at reception with your appointment confirmation, are assigned a queue number, and wait to be called. Average wait times vary — arriving exactly on time or slightly early is better than arriving early and waiting through the queue of the previous hour's appointments.

When called, a registration officer will:

1. Check your documents against the appointment category.
2. Verify your identity and biometric details.
3. Take your photograph if this is your first IRP card issuance.
4. Confirm your stamp type and the duration of your permission.
5. Take payment for the €300 IRP registration fee.

You will not leave Burgh Quay with a physical card. The IRP card is produced separately and mailed to the address you provide, typically within 10 to 15 working days of your appointment.

Outside Dublin: GNIB Regional Offices

If you live outside Dublin — Cork, Galway, Limerick, Waterford, and other areas — registrations are handled by Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) offices at regional divisional headquarters. These offices operate similarly but may require appointments made via phone or email rather than through the national online booking system. Contact your local GNIB office directly for their current booking process.

Using the ISD Online Portal for Renewals and Upgrades

If you are already registered and need to renew your IRP card or upgrade from Stamp 1 to Stamp 4, the process is entirely online — no Burgh Quay appointment is needed or available.

The ISD online portal at irishimmigration.ie handles:

• IRP renewals (same stamp, new card)
• Stamp upgrades (e.g., Stamp 1 to Stamp 4 for CSEP holders after 21 months)
• Changes of condition (e.g., adding dependants to a permission)

The portal has a 1MB file size limit per uploaded document. Most PDFs from Revenue, bank statements, and scanned employer letters exceed this limit. Before uploading, compress your files using a PDF compression tool — many free browser-based options exist. A blurry or cropped document is better than a high-resolution one that the portal rejects.

After submitting, you will receive an email acknowledgment with an OREG reference number. Keep this number — it is how you track your application and reference your submission in any correspondence with ISD.

The Stamp 4 Transition and Burgh Quay

One common misconception: you do not need to go to Burgh Quay to apply for Stamp 4. The Stamp 4 upgrade application — whether you are a CSEP holder applying at 21 months or a GEP holder applying at 57 months — is submitted entirely through the ISD online portal.

Burgh Quay comes into your Stamp 4 journey only at the very beginning (your initial first-time registration) and potentially for certain family-based applications that require in-person verification. The upgrade itself, the processing, and the new IRP card issuance are all handled remotely.

For a complete walkthrough of the Stamp 4 application process — including the ISD portal submission steps, document preparation, and what to do while your application is being processed — the Ireland Stamp 4 (Long-Term Residency) Guide covers the end-to-end process in detail.

See more Ireland guides →