moving to Dublin

[marik]

first off, i just spent 10 minutes trying to decide which thread page to post this in, and i'm still not sure.....but here it goes.....

i'm contemplating moving to Dublin in about a years time. i'm just at that stage in your life where you have nothing holding you down, and you need a fresh start somewhere. i basically know NOTHING about a move like this, so naturally i have a few questions for those in the know.

1) does the gov't allow you to just move to another country like that? i heard somewhere that you can stay for up to 6 months as a visitor. does that mean that i can stay for 2 years as long as i make a trip back to canada every 6 months?

2) also, what's the issue with a working visa? obviously i'd like to find a job and be able to work as i live there. is this possible? how difficult? etc.

you always hear about people that say they spent 4 years in europe somewhere, so how is this exactly possible?

 

[meegannie]

I think you can only stay in Ireland for three months as a tourist without a visa. You can't work (legally) without a visa, and I imagine immigration would catch on pretty quickly if you were constantly leaving and re-entering the country. Assuming you're a Canadian citizen, you can apply for a working holiday visa.

http://foreignaffairs.gov.ie/services/visa/02.asp#02

Working Holidays

Ireland offers young people from Australia, New Zealand and Canada the chance to work casually to enable them to spend an extended holiday in Ireland. The Working Holiday Authorisation (WHA) can only be issued once and may not be renewed.

Canadian citizens should contact SWAP (Student Work Abroad Programme, Ca) which administers the programme on behalf of the Irish Embassy in Ottawa. Information and application forms are available from their website.

This scheme does not apply for citizens of any other country.