How to get your PPS number in one day: going to Galway

When you get your first job in Ireland, or for other things but this is mostly for foreigners living here, you need to get your PPS Number (Personal Public Services Number).

To do this you need a job offer and the biggest problem is that in Dublin, where the majority of people are, scheduling an appointment to do this can take several weeks.

The solution is to do the appointment in Galway
It works like this: you can't work without a PPS and you can only get a PPS with a job offer. You can't just come to Ireland and get a PPS number. You apply for a job and if the company decides to hire you, it has to give you a letter saying that it is offering the position, then you take this and go get your PPS.

It's a relatively easy process, for which you need:
- Your passport
- GNIB card
- evidence of address: bank statement with your address and date of no more than 10 weeks prior
- employer letter: it has to have the company information, its registry number and the express intention that the company wants to hire you.

Then you go to welfare.ie and makes an appointment to go to a registration centre to apply for a PPS number. The trouble is if you or your employer are in a hurry, it could take up to two weeks or more to get a place there, depending on the demand. At this website you choose the city and the centre in there, if it has more than one. I looked in Dublin and the closest date available was in two weeks time.

Searching in the closest cities from Dublin the waiting times went down a little, but not much. I looked in Galway and every subsequent day there was availability for any time on the next day, and basically, everyday. You have to spend a little money with transportation but we have two options to go and come back on the same day.

The first time i went there was by train. Pretty cool, comfortable with tables, empty out of the peak hours and with a great view. You can buy tickets online and print them on touchscreen machines in the station.

Frente do prédio onde você vai. A entrada é bem na esquina
e você vê a estação de ônibus à direita dela

On my second go i went by bus. Comfortable too but with less leg space. Better to sleep if you can seat at the back, where the seats of the two rows are connected by another seat, making a pretty good bed.

The two means of transport take kind of the same time to get there, two and a half hours. The train goes to almost 200 kilometres an hour and you won't even feel it, but it stops a lot. The bus goes non-stop and the with the great motorways is quiet and fast. The bus is cheaper: 20-25 euros for the return trip. I went with GoBus but there are other companies, worth a research. The train costs 30 euros.

O X marca o destino: o ônibus te deixa do
lado e o trem a um quarteirão

In Galway is ease, both the bus and train leave you up to a block away from where you need to go for the appointment. Look at the map here and the picture of the front of the building, because the address is a little confusing.

Then you just need to go to the second floor, take a left out the elevator or stairs and go into a room with boots. Take a ticket beside the door and it won't take long, the two times i went it was almost empty. Going without an appointment is an idea, mainly because of the ticket you get there, but it's too easy to make the appointment on the website. They tell you to bring the appointment printed, but nobody asked for it for the both times i went.

Another tip: make sure your employer will be available at the time you're there, since they call to confirm that the company is really offering you the position.

If you have the time, it's even possible to take a walk around the city, it's worth it. That square on the map is pretty cool and has several shops around, like a mall with a Burguer King, an AIB agency and much more.

If you have any questions, shoot in the comments.