Éire·Destination guide · Northern Europe
Ireland
53.3498° N · Northern Europe · EU · Outside Schengen
Ireland still keeps a commercial lodging register of non-nationals — then planning and Fáilte Ireland set the short-term track.
Under Immigration Act 2004 section 10, the keeper of a hotel or other place providing lodging or sleeping accommodation on a commercial basis must keep a register of all non-nationals staying there and produce it to a member of An Garda Síochána or an immigration officer on request. That identity duty sits beside planning change-of-use rules for short-term letting (≤14 days under Planning and Development Act 2000 s.3A) and a forthcoming nationwide Fáilte Ireland Short-Term Letting register for stays of up to 21 nights — portal opening 1 December 2026, hosts required to register by 31 December 2026. Ireland is in the EU and bound by GDPR and Regulation (EU) 2024/1028, but it is not in the Schengen Area.
NextStay relevance · Ireland
5 / 5
Essential
Immigration Act 2004 s.10 requires a commercial lodging register of non-nationals (produce to Gardaí on request) — on top of planning change-of-use rules and the forthcoming Fáilte Ireland STL register (≤21 nights) from December 2026.
At a glance · Ireland
Guest register
Non-nationals · Gardaí
STL register
Fáilte · Dec 2026
Planning STL
≤ 14 days · change of use
Tourist tax
None in force
Who this is for
What hosts and hotels actually need to know
Ireland runs three tracks that hosts often blur together. First, guest identity at commercial lodging: Immigration Act 2004 s.10 requires a register of non-nationals — including other EU nationals who are not Irish citizens — kept on the premises and shown to Gardaí or immigration officers on request. Second, planning: short-term letting for periods not exceeding 14 days can be a material change of use; principal-private-residence (PPR) home-sharing and limited whole-home absence lets can be exempt (with local-authority notification forms where required), while secondary homes and PPR whole-home lets beyond 90 days generally need change-of-use permission. S.I. No. 130/2026 extended the PPR planning exemptions nationwide so they no longer depend on Rent Pressure Zone geography. Third, the forthcoming Fáilte Ireland STL register (Short-Term Letting and Tourism Bill / EU Reg 2024/1028): from December 2026, hosts offering paid accommodation for up to 21 nights must obtain and display a unique registration number — hotels, hostels and campsite-style stays sit outside that NACE 55.20 register but may still fall under Tourist Traffic Acts quality registers if they use prescribed terms. There is no national tourist or bed tax in force. Self check-in works when statutory registration and identity data are captured before access is released.
Front desk or digital, the Immigration Act duty is unchanged: keep a register of non-national guests and produce it for Gardaí or immigration officers. Prescribed-term properties also sit under Fáilte Ireland's Tourist Traffic Acts registers — separate from the new STL register.
- 01Maintain a register of all non-nationals staying at the premises under Immigration Act 2004 s.10
- 02Produce the register to An Garda Síochána or an immigration officer on request
- 03If you use a prescribed term (hotel, guest house, etc.), hold the matching Fáilte Ireland Tourist Traffic Acts registration
- 04Treat guest identity capture as the check-in gate for remote or late arrivals — there is no national tourist tax to collect
Chapter · Guest register
Immigration Act hotel registers
Immigration Act 2004 section 10 requires commercial lodging keepers to keep a register of non-nationals and produce it to An Garda Síochána or an immigration officer on request.
Statute
“It shall be the duty of the keeper of every premises to which this section applies to keep in the premises a register in the prescribed form of all non-nationals staying at the premises.”
- 01
Who must keep a register
Section 10 applies to a hotel or other place in which lodging or sleeping accommodation is provided on a commercial basis — not only star-rated hotels. Individual hosts and apartment operators who provide paid overnight lodging sit inside that commercial-lodging wording.
- 02
Non-nationals — including other EU citizens
The register covers non-nationals staying at the premises. Under Irish immigration law a non-national is a person who is not an Irish citizen, so guests who are nationals of other EU Member States are in scope. Irish citizens are outside this specific statutory register duty.
- 03
Produce to Gardaí — not an automatic daily upload
Section 10(3) requires the keeper to produce the register to a member of An Garda Síochána or an immigration officer if requested. The statute does not create a same-day electronic filing portal akin to Portugal's SIBA — the duty is keep-and-produce. The Minister may prescribe form, maintenance and retention by regulation; hosts should capture identity data sufficient to fulfil the register duty and retain it securely.
- 04
Offence for non-compliance
Contravening subsection (1), or a penal provision of regulations under the section, is an offence. Treat incomplete or missing non-national entries as a compliance gap — especially where remote arrival skips identity capture entirely.
Chapter · Planning
Short-term letting & change of use
Planning and Development Act 2000 section 3A (inserted by Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2019 s.38) defines short-term letting as ≤14 days and treats STL use in a rent pressure zone as a material change of use — with PPR exemptions now applying nationwide under S.I. No. 130/2026.
- 01
Statutory definition — 14 days
For planning purposes, 'short term letting' means the letting of a house or part of a house for any period not exceeding 14 days (including a paid licence to reside). Stays of 15 days or more fall outside that planning definition — even if they later sit inside the separate 21-night Fáilte Ireland STL register threshold.
- 02
PPR exemptions — now nationwide
Home-sharing (letting room(s) in your principal private residence while you remain present) and letting your entire PPR for a cumulative period of up to 90 days in a calendar year while temporarily absent are exempt from change-of-use permission, subject to existing planning conditions. S.I. No. 130/2026 amended the Planning and Development Regulations 2001 so those PPR exemptions no longer depend on Rent Pressure Zone geography — they apply nationwide.
- 03
When change of use is still required
Planning permission for change of use is generally required where a secondary / non-PPR house or apartment is used for short-term letting, or where a PPR whole-home absence let exceeds 90 cumulative days in a year. Local authorities assess applications against housing demand and related factors; new permissions in large towns are expected to tighten further under the National Planning Statement accompanying the STL reforms.
- 04
Local-authority notification forms
Where you rely on a PPR exemption, you must still notify the planning authority: Form 15 (start-of-year) within four weeks of year-start and no later than two weeks before the first short-term let; Form 17 (end-of-year) between 1–28 January of the following year; and Form 16 if a whole-home absence let hits the 90-day threshold. Provide evidence that the property is your principal private residence.
Chapter · Fáilte register
Fáilte Ireland Short-Term Letting register
Ireland is establishing a nationwide Short-Term Letting register managed by Fáilte Ireland — aligning with Regulation (EU) 2024/1028. The portal opens 1 December 2026; hosts must register by 31 December 2026.
- 01
Who must register
Hosts offering paid accommodation for periods of up to and including 21 nights (NACE 55.20 holiday and other short-stay accommodation, excluding hostels) must register each unit with Fáilte Ireland. The duty applies nationwide — whole homes, apartments and room lets alike. Hotels and similar accommodation, suite/apartment hotels, hostels and camping / RV parks sit outside this STL register.
- 02
Registration number on every listing
On registration, Fáilte Ireland issues a unique number per unit. That number must be displayed on all listings and advertisements. From 31 December 2026 platforms must facilitate display, verify host-submitted information, and share activity data via Ireland's Single Digital Entry Point — managed by Fáilte Ireland. Registration renews annually.
- 03
Legal declaration of planning & safety compliance
Hosts must self-declare that each unit meets planning, building and fire-safety obligations. An agent cannot complete the declaration for an individual host (company registrations use a legal representative). The STL number is not Fáilte Ireland Quality Assurance — NQAF / Welcome Standard approval remains a separate track under the Tourist Traffic Acts.
- 04
Tourist Traffic Acts still cover prescribed terms
Separately from the STL register, businesses that describe themselves with prescribed terms under the Tourist Traffic Acts 1939–2016 (hotel, guest house, holiday hostel, and related categories) must register with Fáilte Ireland on the matching statutory register. Self-catering and house rentals historically sat outside those registers — the STL register closes that gap for ≤21-night lets.
Chapter · EU layer
EU law that sits underneath — carefully
Ireland is an EU Member State bound by GDPR and the 2024 short-term rental data framework — but it is not part of the Schengen Area. Do not copy a Schengen Article 45 lodging checklist onto Irish properties.
- 01
Not Schengen — Article 45 does not apply the same way
Ireland (with Cyprus) remains outside the Schengen Area while inside the EU. Article 45(1)(b) of the Convention Implementing the Schengen Agreement — the lodging-provider guest-record purpose cited for Schengen states elsewhere in this dossier series — does not bind Ireland as a Schengen implementing measure. Ireland's commercial lodging register duty is domestic: Immigration Act 2004 section 10. Ireland also participates in the Common Travel Area with the United Kingdom, which is a separate free-movement arrangement from Schengen.
- 02
GDPR (Regulation (EU) 2016/679)
Guest identity data, register entries and STL registration details are personal data. Ireland applies the GDPR fully. Collect what the legal basis requires, inform guests, secure storage of the Immigration Act register, and respect retention limits on your own systems.
- 03
Short-term rental data — Regulation (EU) 2024/1028
From 20 May 2026 the EU framework for STR registration data and platform sharing applies where Member States operate such systems. Ireland's Fáilte Ireland STL register and Single Digital Entry Point are the national implementation path — with host registration obligations timed to December 2026 under DETE / government guidance.
Remote arrival · Still the law
Self check-in under Irish rules
Remote arrival is common in Dublin, Cork and Galway. The compliance gate is capturing the Immigration Act register data for non-national guests — and confirming planning / forthcoming STL registration status — before access is released.
Identity and register data before access
Build non-national guest identification into the check-in flow itself — name and identity particulars sufficient for the Immigration Act register — before door codes or lockbox instructions unlock. A booking confirmation alone is not a register entry.
Keep-and-produce, not a portal clock
Unlike Portugal's SIBA or Lithuania's E.turistas, Ireland does not currently run a same-day national electronic guest-filing portal for lodging. Capture and retain register data so you can produce it to Gardaí or immigration officers on request.
EU guests are still non-nationals
Other EU Member State nationals are non-nationals for Immigration Act purposes. Do not skip register capture for EU guests on the assumption that free movement removes the lodging duty.
Planning and STL number are separate prerequisites
A completed guest register does not substitute for change-of-use permission or the forthcoming Fáilte Ireland STL registration number. Confirm planning status before automating remote arrival at scale, and display the STL number on listings once issued.
City & tax layers
Guest-register and STL rules are national. Planning is administered by each local authority. Ireland has no national tourist or bed tax in force — do not invent a Dublin occupancy levy.
Dublin — planning focus
01Dublin — planning focus
Dublin is a high-demand housing market where change-of-use permission for non-PPR short-term lets is tightly scrutinised. PPR hosts relying on exemptions must still file Forms 15 / 16 / 17 with Dublin City Council (or the relevant Dublin local authority). Under DETE's forthcoming National Planning Statement, large cities and towns (census population over 20,000) face a restrictive stance on new STL permissions — Dublin sits firmly in that category.
Cork & Galway — same national stack
02Cork & Galway — same national stack
Cork and Galway apply the same Immigration Act register duty and the same planning / forthcoming Fáilte Ireland STL framework. Both are census towns above the 20,000 threshold referenced for restrictive new STL planning policy — confirm current permission status with Cork City Council or Galway City Council before assuming a secondary home can advertise short stays.
Tourist tax — none in force
03Tourist tax — none in force
Ireland has no national occupancy, bed or tourist tax. Dublin City Council and others have periodically discussed a visitor levy, but no such charge is in force without primary legislation empowering local authorities — do not collect or quote a nightly tourist tax for Irish stays as of this review date.
This is the law · Here is the reference
Sources & references
Primary statutes, EU instruments and competent authorities. Open the link when your property is at stake.
- [01]Local lawImmigration Act 2004 — section 10 (hotel registers)
Primary statute requiring commercial lodging keepers to keep a register of non-nationals and produce it to Gardaí or immigration officers on request.
- [02]Local lawResidential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2019 — section 38 (PDA 2000 s.3A)
Inserts Planning and Development Act 2000 s.3A: short-term letting defined as ≤14 days; STL in a rent pressure zone is a material change of use.
- [03]Local lawS.I. No. 130/2026 — Short Term Letting planning regulations amendment
Removes Rent Pressure Zone geographic limits from PPR short-term letting exemptions in the Planning and Development Regulations 2001 — exemptions apply nationwide.
- [04]Local lawTourist Traffic Act 1939
Foundation of Fáilte Ireland's prescribed-term accommodation registers (hotels, guest houses and related categories).
- [05]AuthorityDETE — Short-term letting in Ireland
Official host and platform guidance: Fáilte Ireland STL register (≤21 nights), December 2026 timeline, planning policy summary and NACE 55.20 scope.
- [06]Authoritygov.ie — Short-term let register from December 2026
Ministerial confirmation that the national STL register opens 1 December 2026 with a 31 December 2026 registration deadline.
- [07]AgencyFáilte Ireland — Short-Term Letting Register FAQs
Registration process, annual renewal, display duties, distinction from NQAF Quality Assurance, and planning self-declaration.
- [08]GuidanceCitizens Information — Renting your property for short-term lets
Plain-language planning exemptions, Forms 15/16/17 notification duties, and December 2026 STL register overview (page edited 23 June 2026).
- [09]EU lawConvention Implementing the Schengen Agreement — Art. 45
Cited for contrast only: Ireland is outside Schengen, so Art. 45 does not apply as a Schengen lodging duty — Immigration Act 2004 s.10 is the domestic baseline.
- [10]EU lawGDPR — Regulation (EU) 2016/679
Personal-data rules for identity, register and STL registration processing — fully applicable in Ireland as an EU Member State.
- [11]EU lawRegulation (EU) 2024/1028 — short-term rental data
EU framework for STR registration data and platform sharing that Ireland implements via the Fáilte Ireland STL register / SDEP.
- [12]AgencyEuropean Commission — STR transparency rules
Plain-language explanation of the May 2026 framework.
After the law · The product
Where NextStay fits
After the law is clear: we build identity capture into the check-in gate — so Irish hosts can run remote-friendly arrivals without skipping the Immigration Act register or the forthcoming STL number.
01
Register data before the key
Online check-in collects non-national guest identity particulars before door instructions unlock — matching Immigration Act 2004 s.10's keep-and-produce duty for commercial lodging.
02
STL-ready stay records
Structured guest and night data support annual Fáilte Ireland registration renewals and platform listing checks once the December 2026 register is live.
03
Host visibility without desk chaos
Hotels and individual hosts see who has completed check-in, who is blocked, and when access can release — including late Dublin airport arrivals.
04
Destination guidance in the workspace
This Ireland dossier stays attached to the market — Gardaí register, planning / PPR exemptions, Fáilte STL, and the EU-but-not-Schengen layer — not a generic Schengen footnote.
Cities in Ireland
Dublin
Airport volume plus tight change-of-use scrutiny for non-PPR apartments make Immigration Act register capture and planning status checks essential before keys go out — with Fáilte Ireland STL numbers required from December 2026.
Gardaí guest register · Change of use / PPR forms · STL number Dec 2026
Cork
River Lee apartments and city-break demand reward the same commercial lodging register standard as Dublin, alongside Cork City Council planning checks for secondary homes.
Commercial lodging register · Planning status · Self check-in gate
Galway
West-coast tourism peaks make timed arrivals and completed non-national register entries especially valuable — confirm Galway City Council planning status before automating remote arrival on non-PPR stock.
Seasonal peaks · Guest register · Forthcoming STL number
NextStay provides operational tools and general regulatory information, not legal advice. Hosts remain responsible for confirming the rules that apply to their accommodation in Ireland. Research last verified .