Do you see that in the distance? That’s the finish line! You’re so close to being done with all these boring processes. Run Forrest, Run!

So once your form 12A comes back, you’ll be home free and ready to make that bank appointment. In order to open an account you’ll need identification (passport is best) and proof of address. Your proof of address must be one of the following options: a utility (gas or electricity) bill in your name, your 12A or a health/motor/house insurance document. The easiest and most attainable for working holiday participants is the 12A.

Firstly, you’ll have to choose your bank, for me Permanent TSB was the best option as they have an account called an Explore Account which seemed easy to set up/most appropriate for my situation. They give you 10 cents back each time you use the card (up to 5 euro, but that’s two cans of Bulmers from Spar) which was a nice little plus. However, there are multiple other banks in Ireland that you could look into opening an account with (Bank of Ireland, AIB, Ulster Bank).

Since I work weekdays and by the time I get home the bank is closed (damn you business hours!!), I called in and made an appointment to set up an account on a Saturday. Permanent TSB has extended hours until 8pm on Thursday and limited Saturday hours at their Grafton Street branch, so make sure you call in to book one of those times if you’re unavailable during the day. If you’re free during the day, however, you can book an appointment online during regular business hours and plan it at your leisure.

When I got there I was taken to the upstairs offices where a very nice woman named Bernie took me through the steps of registering my account. She made copies of my passport and 12A and asked basic questions like where I was living, my job title/salary, how many credit cards/bank accounts I had, etc. Once all that was done and the necessary documents were signed, I made a password for my online account.

Unfortunately, your account isn’t formally open at the end of your appointment, so I wasn’t able to deposit the checks I’d had saved up that day. *Side note, in Ireland it takes five business days for checks to clear which is eternally frustrating, but it is what it is.* By the next business day (the Monday after my Saturday appointment) my account was registered and I deposited what I had into the kiosks they have in their branches.

They said that it would take about three business days for me to receive the pin for my card and then it would be up to three business days after that for me to receive my actual debit card. Which to me makes no sense because why not send them together? Or send the card first? But I have long since stopped questioning the random, long and rambling processes. My pin ended up coming on the Thursday of that next week and I was dreading having to wait all the way until Tuesday for my card, but to my surprise it came the next day (which in retrospect was bad because then  I was so excited to have access to my funds I went a little bit overboard on pub charges that night…)!

Once you have your bank account set up, you’ll be ripe and ready to take on the world as a fully functional, official Working Holiday participant. You can also set up direct deposit if your job has access to that, which will eliminate the five days of waiting for checks to clear (hallelujah).

And that, my friends, is all she wrote on the multi-tiered process of getting set up. Congrats if you’ve gotten to that point, if not, hang in there! Any questions, don’t hesitate to drop me a comment (or if you just want to vent about how frustrated you are, I will be 100% willing to join you in commiseration).