theForum » Travel » Travelling to Europe » Why don't more SOs move to Ireland?

Why don't more SOs move to Ireland?

Stersco83 — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 10:29:35 GMT

No UK register obligations
British-like culture, intertwined with British economy. London-linked work from home opportunities exist. Dublin is like an extremely chill version of London.
Slightly diminished Google Effect (UK stories don't cling to the top of Google the same way , I find)
Clean criminal record by default (ok if you say you're a British citizen they may ask for the British record but there's a chance they may not or may forget)
Convenient port of call for spontaneous unnotified onward travel (e.g. USA), which after many months there is not narratively suspicious in the eyes of UK police, and if it is, who cares - you're in Ireland?.
Can slip in and out the UK potentially without notification, although you'd be breaching the law if more than 3 days
Within easy reach of all you hold dear. Even your own British family will not feel too abandoned by your move to Ireland.
It's a comprehensive, civilised nation state, not a weird colony.

Moreover....

Vote
Draw benefits and pensions
Live there indefinitely

Granted..

They allegedly have their own SOR which they expect permanent foreign residents to sign up to, but do you really need to announce this? Just by hanging around Ireland longer than usual? Also it's a very threadbare thing, not like the British one.

It's what I'd be doing right now if I was on the SOR for life. A little cottage near the border.

Whenever I read all these stories along the lines "oh well my work coach this or that, my PPU will eventually let me do this or that" -- I just keep thinking "good God please just get out from under it, do yourself a favour, go live with your uncle in Spain, anything". Of course we don't all have uncles in Spain, but we do have Ireland.

RE: Why don't more SOs move to Ireland?

JASB — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 10:29:35 GMT

[quote]

[b]Stersco83 - 10 Jun 26 12:46 PM[/b]

[quote]

[b]JASB - 9 Jun 26 10:38 AM[/b]

[quote]

[b]Stersco83 - 26 May 26 4:16 PM[/b]

No UK register obligations
British-like culture, intertwined with British economy. London-linked work from home opportunities exist. Dublin is like an extremely chill version of London.
Slightly diminished Google Effect (UK stories don't cling to the top of Google the same way , I find)
Clean criminal record by default (ok if you say you're a British citizen they may ask for the British record but there's a chance they may not or may forget)
Convenient port of call for spontaneous unnotified onward travel (e.g. USA), which after many months there is not narratively suspicious in the eyes of UK police, and if it is, who cares - you're in Ireland?.
Can slip in and out the UK potentially without notification, although you'd be breaching the law if more than 3 days
Within easy reach of all you hold dear. Even your own British family will not feel too abandoned by your move to Ireland.
It's a comprehensive, civilised nation state, not a weird colony.

Moreover....

Vote
Draw benefits and pensions
Live there indefinitely

Granted..

They allegedly have their own SOR which they expect permanent foreign residents to sign up to, but do you really need to announce this? Just by hanging around Ireland longer than usual? Also it's a very threadbare thing, not like the British one.

[/quote]

Hi
I have dual irish british citizenship and looked into this a couple of years back and from memory it is not exactly as you say I am afriad.
First the Irish authorities would know as you would have to declare to your OM you was leaving the country, who would possibly inform them
You are probably going to have to become / apply to become legal to work etc and then required to notify them and yes they do have a SOR

I do not think many things have changed since I last looked but please anyone thinking do your own investigation as the consequences are not worth any risk.

[/quote]

Yyyees but at no point did you mention a juncture at which I'm informed the Irish register exists let alone told to go on it. That's my core point. I'm British. You're Irish -- by birth or otherwise -- maybe it featured in your civics class or citizenship test -- but I assure you to a purely British mind, the existence of the Irish sex register is a piece of arcane wisdom indeed.

I was physically in Ireland last month, as a 2nd undeclared port of call, working for my British company, from a hotel, officially unaware of any Irish register. If I was on the British Register permanently for life (I'm off it next month so no worries), I would have just stayed in Ireland until someone made me register. That's basically my point. I don't know why more people don't continue where I left off.

So yes do your own research people but also do your own thinking, and research procedures and practices, not just laws.

Add to that the possibility that the Irish Register might be less draconian that the British -- or the possibility that being on the Irish Register might take the heat off of your British life -- I thought that might at least be a discussion, the moving parts presented by Ireland.

[/quote]

Hi
I appreciate your reply but the basic premise of my words is to try and ensure that individuals do research to make a valid and self protecting decision.

You may be coming off the register soon (good luck) but if your words make someone think its a way around and so conflicts with UK requirements then all I say is it worth it? What are the possible consequences?

We are all most reading this because we did not think about "consequences".

RE: Why don't more SOs move to Ireland?

expatofff — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 00:38:25 GMT

Just a few points on this, apologies if it's been covered but it's late and I haven't read the entire thread.

I moved to Ireland while I was still on the British SOR and had a SOPO (I have neither now).

Due to how I moved around the world the British didn't know I landed in Ireland to live there. I chose to notify the Irish Garda (police) because I wanted to apply to have my SOPO removed, plus I knew if I got caught it'd be worse.

When I did notify them one of the first things they told me was they were surprised the UK police hadn't notified them, as they usually do.

The visits from the Irish equivalent of the PPU are a lot more intrusive. Yes someone has mentioned you don't need to let them in, but you will. Simply because if you don't they bang on your windows to get your attention, they knock on your neighbours doors and windows looking for you and they are not discreet.

They also get you to meet with TULSA, even if you have no kids and no interaction with them, and that's an unpleasant interaction.

Apart from the odd one, they are simply rude.

I am sure the UK police do normally notify of convictions but as my entry wasn't initially documented they did tell me for several months they were struggling to get the UK police to actually tell them what I'd done. Possibly this is why they were even harsher with me, I don't know.

I know when I was going through the SOPO removal process the UK police asked them to get me to do a lie detector. I know from my day in court that they'd refused that request.

Interestingly I was only on the SOR still in the UK because I had an indefinite SOPO at the time. During one visit as I was going through the process to have my SOPO removed I lost my temper with the Irish Garda during a visit (they used to visit really late, sometimes after midnight) and I told them I was going through the process to have my SOPO removed, but it wasn't valid outside of the UK, and it was the only reason I was still on the SOR in the UK and the equivalent length in Ireland I wouldn't still be in it and I threatened to seek legal action for harassment.
My next visit from them they informed me the UK police had finally told them my convictions and I would no longer be registered with them and I wouldn't get any more visits. So while that is totally anecdotal, they do seem to be be wary of not overstepping the law.

Long story short, yes while it seems like it's easier being a SO in Ireland, it's not pleasant. Plus throwing cost of living which has been high since years before COVID, lack of housing and decent jobs, it's not a walk in the park moving here. I was just just that I have a decent job here, or I wouldn't afford to live.

If anyone is planning on moving here, don't let me put you off, I just advise you take off the rose tinted glasses and do some proper research first.

RE: Why don't more SOs move to Ireland?

CB Root — Sun, 14 Jun 2026 08:42:51 GMT

[quote]

[b]Stersco83 - 13 Jun 26 2:28 PM[/b]

[quote]

[b]punter99 - 13 Jun 26 12:07 PM[/b]

[quote]

[b]Stersco83 - 13 Jun 26 10:17 AM[/b]

[quote]

[b]Evan Davis - 11 Jun 26 2:13 PM[/b]

[/quote]

That's not me missing the point. That's the whole reason why Ireland is interesting as a concept, is that it's not very "away", and only very recently was part of the Kingdom. It's a way of being physically close to Britain while being legally distant.

"And I don't see why anyone who is trying to be a law-abiding citizen returning to their community would want to. "

Really? You can't see, for example, why a 25 year-old kid who just landed a lifetime on the British register wouldn't go off to live with his Auntie in County Cork and maybe build an online business -- visiting UK 2x a month? Able to be in UK too from time to time also but without dragging all that heat around with him?

This is not some furtive attitude speaking. This forum is full of people who would perhaps rather live as normal Irishmen -- or as Irish SOs -- than live as a British SOs. Well I'm telling you, you already have something bordering on full citizenship rights in Ireland, and no automatic registration, and a different sort of register anyway, less harsh. There's no opposite number to this forum anywhere saying "help I'm Irish", is there? There is a lot of anxiety in these forums about life on the register, people resigned to having their lives ruined, when I tell you my life was not in ruins when I was in Ireland.

There was zero heat on me in Ireland -- and I say that not in the dodgy fugitive sense, I mean it would have taken a LOT of effort -- I would have had to bother the authorities quite a lot, in order to get myself told to go on the Irish Register.

It's not just "notification requirements and occasional police visits" is it? We're not errand-phobic on this forum. Being on the SOR changes everything. It's permanent risk of interference, a sword of Damacles. People on the register will know exactly what I mean. Even those who don't intend to reoffend ever, live their lives on a totally different psychological plane from other ex-cons. I have to think about what I'm browsing every day, not in case it's illegal, but if it's the Alizee music video "Moi Lolita", or I'm showing an excessive interest in East Asian countries, or whatever. Or maybe I have politics that the zeitgeist of the age registers as extreme, in the obtuse minds of the police? Whereas the ex-burglars or whatever can partner up with other human beings normally, eke out a life for themselves provided they don't trumpet their criminal record -- SOs are permanently vulnerable to being SHPOed on a whim, or pulled over for nothing with friends in the car, or having their employment or family actively interfered with etc. And we've covered elsewhere the whole travel restrictions stuff and entering the USA.

As for the risk involved -- done properly I just don't see the risk. You're free to fall in love with an Irish girl on holiday and stay there. The Western Hemisphere just doesn't function like that -- jailing you for failing a register nobody told you existed in the first place.

The devil's in the detail yes -- some young men can go live with their auntie in County Cork and never feel the heat of the law ever again, others have thicker ties -- but lightening this burden is a permanent theme of these forums, and continuing this theme, I don't understand why more people don't walk out from under the burden. But the point of Ireland -- as opposed to Germany for example, is that is only a medium-sized upheaval. It is not far from family or friends (15 euros away every weekend if need be). And you're allowed to live there permanently. If I had a friend who was on the register for life, who I truly believed didn't deserve it, I'd say move to Ireland and smile.

Hence my original point. With all this agonising over legalities that goes on in this forum, I don't understand why there isn't more talk about just walking out from under the legalities. And if you thought the legalities were perfectly proper, you wouldn't be agonising over them in quite this way.

This isn't world's smallest violin playing just for the SOs. Lightening the burden is already the pet topic of SOs here. I'm just saying there is a large swath of the British isles where the burden doesn't exist -- not in the same way, and possibly not at all.

[/quote]

There is plenty in what you say. SHPOs are a burden and there is always the risk of being tripped up by an over zealous PPU inventing new conditions by reinterpreting the wording of the SHPO to make it more restrictive. The reason there are no Irish SO complaining on here, may well have something to do with the fact that SHPO or its equivalent are very rare in Ireland. In UK the courts are handing them out to everyone, irrespective of offence, irrespective of risk. The Irish system does appear to be more relaxed and they may well leave you alone, even if you are on the SOR.

My concerns are more with the practicality of moving to Ireland. If you have family in UK and did intend to hop back and forth, then you run a constant risk of the police in UK or Garda becoming alert to your prescence. The Irish register requires you to notify every time you leave the country for 3 days or more.

Also, isnt there a housing shortage in Ireland? Might be harder than you think to find somewhere.

[/quote]

"My concerns are more with the practicality of moving to Ireland."

I think we may be in denial as to the freakish impracticality of life on the register?
Being in jail was a massively impractical move on my part.

I can have an Irish girlfriend. I can't have a British girlfriend without second-guessing the attitudes of police etc.

Moving to Ireland is something normal Britons do.

"then you run a constant risk of the police in UK or Garda becoming alert to your prescence."

You're not a fugitive in any of my proposed scenarios. Merely encountering the police doesn't get you put on Irish register, or if it does, Irish register's not so bad. You don't need to hide from police whenever you visit UK -- you can declare yourself in and out the UK just fine, or take as much or as little risk as you can muster. I just mean it's good not to have a permanent address in the UK where you're being poked and prodded.

"Also, isnt there a housing shortage in Ireland? Might be harder than you think to find somewhere. "

That's a "nice problem" though isn't it, it means it requires some patience. I'm just saying, for the benefit people reading this, Ireland should be a potential factor for anyone trying to eke out a tolerable existence while on the SOR. It has 3 interesting properties 1) Full residence and working rights for Britons, 2) No automatic registration 3) Saner less intrusive register. For a many a British person facing life on the register, I would have thought a permanent vacation in Ireland -- whatever the obsctacles -- looks like the more practical option than hanging about in Britain.

That's my main conclusion anyway, on the topic.

[/quote]

One thing which I don't think has been discussed is the relative size of Ireland's population centres. In the UK, all other things being equal, you can move to a new city, keep your head down and live a (relatively) normal life. Even if you are not perfectly hidden, you can effectively get "lost in the crowd". In Ireland on the other hand, in the majority of places a new face excites curiosity & discussion. Irish people do love to chat about anything and everything so good luck escaping their attention.

RE: Why don't more SOs move to Ireland?

Stersco83 — Sat, 13 Jun 2026 14:28:54 GMT

[quote]

[b]punter99 - 13 Jun 26 12:07 PM[/b]

[quote]

[b]Stersco83 - 13 Jun 26 10:17 AM[/b]

[quote]

[b]Evan Davis - 11 Jun 26 2:13 PM[/b]

[/quote]

RE: Why don't more SOs move to Ireland?

punter99 — Sat, 13 Jun 2026 12:07:29 GMT

[quote]

[b]Stersco83 - 13 Jun 26 10:17 AM[/b]

[quote]

[b]Evan Davis - 11 Jun 26 2:13 PM[/b]

[/quote]

RE: Why don't more SOs move to Ireland?

Stersco83 — Sat, 13 Jun 2026 10:17:13 GMT

[quote]

[b]Evan Davis - 11 Jun 26 2:13 PM[/b]

[/quote]

RE: Why don't more SOs move to Ireland?

Evan Davis — Thu, 11 Jun 2026 14:13:19 GMT

I think people are missing the fundamental points in all of this...

Do people really want to run away from their home country, to get away from the 'intrusion' that is notification requirements and occasional police visits? Uproot your life, leave any family/friends that did stick by you behind, leave everything you know behind, all to avoid having to pop to the police station once or twice a year to update some details, a process that should take less than an hour per year (0.01% of your life), or to avoid having the police pop to your house twice a year and ask some uncomfortable questions?

There is no 'legal' way to do this, as has been described within the thread. If somebody wants to 'run away' (ie without notifying UK authorities) to Ireland and then try to claim ignorance of Irish law to justify why they didn't notify authorities there, then that's an option (that I wouldn't recommend), but I don't think we should be pretending that this is likely to lead to anything other than further legal trouble, or, at the very least, a complicated and prolonged legal headache. And even if they did it 'correctly' from a UK perspective, and notified authorities here, why would they then want to go to Ireland and not notify, unless that is for some nefarious reason? Think about this clearly too. Would somebody really want to be seen as a 'sex offender' that is 'running away' from notification requirements? This is only likely to lead to further stigmatisation (and investigation), not just of themselves, but of anybody in a similar situation who might in the future want to do any kind of travelling. I appreciate that oftentimes people can be selfish and can only think of what they want in the moment and how to make their situation better. Sometimes, as some of us will know from our own experiences, that can be what leads to offending in the first place. But these are the kind of generally bad, ill-thought out ideas that lead to extra regulations being implemented on everybody, to cover off the 'bright ideas' of a few.

The Irish law is quite clear that their Notification Requirements apply to people convicted of qualifying offences in other States. Whilst there is a defence for somebody to show that the offence they were convicted of elsewhere is not an offence in Irish law, there is, as far as I can see, no defence of "sorry gov, didn't know". It would also be a bit hard to argue this if somebody had indeed left the UK failing to notify in line with... notification requirements: Revised Acts | Law Reform

In addition to this, the most obvious thing is that somebody would be spending that portion of your life, 'safe' from notification requirements in Ireland, but still inevitably looking over their shoulder and waiting for the day it all catches up with them. Which will probably be the day after they land themselves a top job in Ireland having potentially committed further offences of fraud etc by not disclosing their conviction for the role, just as one possible example. See where this goes?

And if they have complied with the UK notification requirements in doing this, if they don't give a return date, expect the UK authorities to alert the Irish when they notice they're still not back in six months, and if they did give a return date but fail to return, expect the UK authorities to issue an arrest warrant.

I just don't see what 'benefit' is to be gained by doing this. And I don't see why anyone who is trying to be a law-abiding citizen returning to their community would want to.

RE: Why don't more SOs move to Ireland?

punter99 — Thu, 11 Jun 2026 11:18:47 GMT

There are quite a few differences between the UK register and the Irish one. So it does appear to be less draconian.

1. There are PPU/MOSOVO or equivalent in both countries. Home visits are routine in UK. In Ireland there is provision for visits but no ability to force entry into your home like in the UK, so you can refuse to let them in.
2. Both countries require annual notification of name and address. There is no requirement to notify bank details in Ireland. Both countries require notification of foreign travel.
3. Ireland does have civil orders, which work like the UK SHPOs, but they are far less common than in the UK. An SHPO from the UK would not be enforceable in Ireland, so they would have to apply for their own version through the Irish courts.

Also worth saying the numbers on the Irish register are a lot smaller than in UK, even taking into account the smaller population.
Ireland has 5 million people and about 2,000 are on the register. UK has 60 million people and about 80,000 are on the register across England, Scotland and Wales.

If someone on the SOR in UK tells the police they are travelling to Ireland, then the police have the same options for notifying this via Interpol as they do for any other country. But with it being a low risk country, it is probably unlikely they would notify the Garda, unless the person was considered high risk. However once the Garda are notified, they will visit the person and tell them all about the SOR and what the rules are. https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/question/2021-05-25/500/

So in summary, you probably could sneak into the country and go under the radar, especially if you are considered low risk by the UK police.

RE: Why don't more SOs move to Ireland?

Stersco83 — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 12:46:49 GMT

[quote]

[b]JASB - 9 Jun 26 10:38 AM[/b]

[quote]

[b]Stersco83 - 26 May 26 4:16 PM[/b]

No UK register obligations
British-like culture, intertwined with British economy. London-linked work from home opportunities exist. Dublin is like an extremely chill version of London.
Slightly diminished Google Effect (UK stories don't cling to the top of Google the same way , I find)
Clean criminal record by default (ok if you say you're a British citizen they may ask for the British record but there's a chance they may not or may forget)
Convenient port of call for spontaneous unnotified onward travel (e.g. USA), which after many months there is not narratively suspicious in the eyes of UK police, and if it is, who cares - you're in Ireland?.
Can slip in and out the UK potentially without notification, although you'd be breaching the law if more than 3 days
Within easy reach of all you hold dear. Even your own British family will not feel too abandoned by your move to Ireland.
It's a comprehensive, civilised nation state, not a weird colony.

Moreover....

Vote
Draw benefits and pensions
Live there indefinitely

Granted..

They allegedly have their own SOR which they expect permanent foreign residents to sign up to, but do you really need to announce this? Just by hanging around Ireland longer than usual? Also it's a very threadbare thing, not like the British one.

[/quote]

RE: Why don't more SOs move to Ireland?

JASB — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 10:38:43 GMT

[quote]

[b]Stersco83 - 26 May 26 4:16 PM[/b]

No UK register obligations
British-like culture, intertwined with British economy. London-linked work from home opportunities exist. Dublin is like an extremely chill version of London.
Slightly diminished Google Effect (UK stories don't cling to the top of Google the same way , I find)
Clean criminal record by default (ok if you say you're a British citizen they may ask for the British record but there's a chance they may not or may forget)
Convenient port of call for spontaneous unnotified onward travel (e.g. USA), which after many months there is not narratively suspicious in the eyes of UK police, and if it is, who cares - you're in Ireland?.
Can slip in and out the UK potentially without notification, although you'd be breaching the law if more than 3 days
Within easy reach of all you hold dear. Even your own British family will not feel too abandoned by your move to Ireland.
It's a comprehensive, civilised nation state, not a weird colony.

Moreover....

Vote
Draw benefits and pensions
Live there indefinitely

Granted..

They allegedly have their own SOR which they expect permanent foreign residents to sign up to, but do you really need to announce this? Just by hanging around Ireland longer than usual? Also it's a very threadbare thing, not like the British one.

[/quote]

RE: Why don't more SOs move to Ireland?

Stersco83 — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 16:25:15 GMT

[quote]

[b]punter99 - 4 Jun 26 10:57 AM[/b]

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[b]Stersco83 - 3 Jun 26 9:25 PM[/b]

[quote]

[b]punter99 - 3 Jun 26 11:10 AM[/b]

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[b]Stersco83 - 2 Jun 26 6:44 PM[/b]

[quote]

[b]CB Root - 2 Jun 26 2:55 PM[/b]

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[b]Stersco83 - 2 Jun 26 12:41 PM[/b]

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[b]punter99 - 2 Jun 26 11:39 AM[/b]

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[b]Stersco83 - 1 Jun 26 8:55 PM[/b]

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[b]AB2014 - 28 May 26 11:27 AM[/b]

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[b]punter99 - 28 May 26 10:10 AM[/b]

Notwithstanding the right to move to Ireland if you are a UK citizen, you would still be required to register with their police within 3 days of arriving in the country.

https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/justice/criminal-law/criminal-trial/sex-offenders-register/

Do these notification requirements apply to someone convicted outside the State?

Yes. If you are convicted of a sexual offence outside Ireland and that offence is a sexual offence in Ireland, you are subject to the same Garda notification requirements if you come to live in Ireland. If you fail to notify the Gardaí of your details, the Gardaí can prosecute you for non-compliance with the requirements.

[/quote]

I had a cellmate many years ago who just decided to move to Ireland while on the SOR, but didn't notify the police over here. It wasn't a problem in Ireland, even though he didn't tell the Gardai, as the police over here tracked him down to Ireland and asked the Gardai to find him and arrest him. They found his "hideout" by checking his website and looking him up in the phone book. The arresting officer said that if he'd just notified them, they wouldn't have bothered him. Even the judge in the extradition court said that if he opposed the application to deport him, he would reject it and that would be the end of it forever. That was in 2008, though, so things might have changed since then. Just not on the scale of hysteria we've seen over here.

[/quote]

Ok but your story is about a man being tracked down by British police, having gone to Ireland and failed the British register.

I'm talking about going to Ireland legit (notifying UK authorities), as if on holiday, no funny business.

One key takeaway is, you notify British police that you're going to Ireland, without saying where or how long, this doesn't bring any Irish heat on you. They don't make you register in Ireland, unless you come to their attention somehow as an SO maybe.

Go for a duly notified permanent vacation with your auntie in County Cork, live normally and freely. Mmmmaybe say it's open ended in terms of time span and don't announce the auntie's address, just initial hotels etc.

Guys...if you don't believe me, try it. Book a full week in Ireland, notifying in advance, but say you don't know the return date, and use unplanned impromptu hotels etc that you don't notify in advance. Nobody will sit you down and tell you about any Irish register. And when you're there, ask yourself why the hell you can't just stay there.

[/quote]

No doubt it is possible to visit Ireland for a holiday, without arousing suspicion. Your PPU probably did not know about the SOR rules in Ireland and did not care enough to investigate them. If they had done, they might have tipped off the Garda that you were coming. It really depends on the PPU and their attitude.

We see similar things with travel companies that have rules against knowingly accepting bookings from SO. How do they find out then? In most cases, the PPU will not bother to read the travel companies t&c and tell you that you cannot go, or threaten to inform them , if you do go, so people can and probably do, just get away with it.

But every so often, on forums like this, we come across the one situation where the PPU were really keen and did do all the checks they were supposed to do. The same thing could happen with your trip to Ireland. You just got lucky that last time your PPU was lazy. Next time could different.

The Irish notification requirements are that you have to tell them your address every 12 months, so a short trip might well go under the radar. But the longer you stay there, the more the risk increases. If the UK police think you are coming back soon, they may also do nothing, but suppose you are still missing after 6 months, when they do their home visit? At this point they may start to ask questions and then the Garda could become involved.

On the other hand, we know that UK police forces have lost track of thousands of SO. Again, due to high volumes of work and general laziness, they may have just decided not to bother looking for them. There could be hundreds of SO already living off the grid in Ireland, for all I know.

At the end of the day, it is a gamble and it might pay off. Just depends if you are willing to take that risk.

[/quote]

I don't think I was taking a risk though. Until someone mentions to you that Ireland has a SOR, I don't see how you can be held accountable.

I'm sure if the PPU were supposed to notify the Irish police as a matter of routine, they would have been trained to do so.

I just can't game out a series of events where an open-ended vacation in Ireland results in you being made to register.

If you do what I do and fashion a nice open-ended excuse (for me I honestly told them it's conference season so I don't know how soon I'll be back, I have a bunch of random projects connected with Trinity College etc), then go to Ireland, then stay in Ireland at a place of your spontaneous choosing while already there ... I just don't see how you could wind up on the SOR.

It's not like being a fugitive. You can even interact with police etc and should be fine. Even if you get "caught", "ah well I didn't know there was an Irish register, maybe I'll just go home now if it's all the same"

All I'm saying is .. Ireland is about as good a home as England for most purposes, and by default you won't end up on the SOR just by being there. Even if you did, it might be a different sort of SOR. They might not have your paperwork etc, or be as imposing / draconian with the same confidence.

So for all the brainstorming that goes on here among those seeking a more normal life, I'm amazed there's not more attention given to Ireland.

[/quote]

I think I may have missed something in the above discussion.

According to Citizens Information (https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/justice/criminal-law/criminal-trial/sex-offenders-register/):

Do these notification requirements apply to someone convicted outside the State?
Yes. If you are convicted of a sexual offence outside Ireland and that offence is a sexual offence in Ireland, you are subject to the same Garda notification requirements if you come to live in Ireland. If you fail to notify the Gardaí of your details, the Gardaí can prosecute you for non-compliance with the requirements.

Also, a quick search of the Irish statutes (https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2001/act/18/section/13/enacted/en/html#sec13) backs this up..

So if you fall into the above category, my reading of it would suggest you have to notify the Garda within 3 days of arrival and annually thereafter.

Just rolling up and hoping tor the best is unlikely to end well...

I guess if you have a SHPO or similar, that has no force while you're outside the UK, so...

[/quote]

I'm not contradicting your source.

I would simply add that procedurally -- although I'm not a lawyer -- I truly expect that someone has to sit you down and tell you a sex register EXISTS...before you can be blamed for not registering.

I was in Ireland for a week without having heard of there being a register there. I'm pretty sure I'm not in trouble -- even if all the facts be known to everyone. I'm not about to be arrested for "failure to read the CIA World Factbook properly and the fascinating chapter on the Irish Sex Offender Register"

It's not one of those things like paying tax, where everyone is assumed to know the practice exists. I don't know these things, but it sounds like a basic feature of the rule of law that a unique practice such as a particular sex register has to be made known to me, before I can be said to have any kind of obligation to it.

[/quote]

In my experience, there are plenty of things the PPU forget to tell you about how the SOR works, or how an SHPO is going to be be interpreted. No one told me about what to do when my debit card expired for example.

But that does not prevent the PPU from arresting for a suspected breach. They do have discretion and can give you a warning if they want to. But they do not have to, so it is still a risk. If it went all the way to court, then the judge may decide to let you off with a fine, if they conclude you really did not know about the Irish SOR, or they may take a tougher line and say it was your responsibility to find out what the rules are, before you went to Ireland.

In this hypothetical scenario we are discussing, there is a clear intent to deceive the authorities and they would no doubt take a very dim view of that, resulting in a more serious level of breach and even potentially a prison sentence. Ignorance of the law, as a general rule, is no excuse.

[/quote]

"Ignorance of the law, as a general rule, is no excuse."

Nah. In this case ignorance of the law is an absolutely first class excuse, or else fie on their law. I am never going to spontaneously guess my way onto the Irish Sex Offender Register. Less still can you expect anyone to guess that the Irish penal system would ever be applied to foreign legislation -- even if you tell people they scarcely can believe it.

This side of Jerusalem, a person in authority (e.g. a judge) has to tell me the Sex Offender Register exists, and that I belong on it, if they want me to join the Sex Offender Register.

You can't expect me to go to Ireland and offer myself up to their register without any prompting or knowledge, based purely on my own personal curiosity and personal perception of the similarity between UK and Irish law, etc ("hmm, I was reading the newspaper and I just noticed that Ireland has a law about "illegal recording" that reminds me a bit of the law I broke in England about "voyeurism", so I'd better offer myself up to their penal system"). They might -- as per your source -- maintain that I indeed theoretically should have been on it all along, but to hold me actually culpable, is just too ludicrous for words.

"Grey area" doesn't even begin to cover it. Right now, for all I know, my actions would not have been illegal in Ireland, what with nuances about deleted status of files etc, which may easily vary from country to country. Are we counting on my investigative skills in that regard? As part of holiday preparation? Also how long till I'm "off" the Irish register? Which I never joined to begin with? There's no judgement to speak of here, no sentence, no prompt, nothing to go by. And is this image possession business even a "sex crime" in Ireland? Or a matter of general contraband instead? How would I know "sex crime" is even an official category in Irish law? It wasn't always, and isn't everywhere. What about if I came to Ireland from "bongo bongo land" where the concepts around sex are all different and don't translate into Irish concepts of legal transgression? These are just rhetorical questions to highlight the fact that I don't see any coherent obligation here.

So I accept your source, but the bit that's missing is the how the culpability actually works, in a procedural sense. Who needs to have initiated what, etc. There is a reason, for example, why people aren't prosecuted for TV License dodging on the first visit of the inspector, even if they've had a TV 10 years. It's because TV tax is a unique peculiarity of British life and if you're never prompted to sign up, you can't really be held responsible for not doing so.

The Irish SOR is not a guessable reality. It is a surprise, esoteric detail of life in Ireland that did not exist 3 decades ago, and which no tourist can guess at in advance. This isn't tax we're talk about, some universal practice which all states perform. Most European states don't have a SOR. The Irish SOR is a totally unique and little known facet of Irish life. Vanishingly few Britons are aware the RoI has a SOR.

[/quote]

I admire your confidence. When I searched online for examples of tourists/visitors successfully using ignorance of the law as a defence, in any country not just Ireland, I could not find a single example. Not a single one, anywhere in the world. .

But bear in mind that having read this article you are now fully aware of the laws in Ireland, so you have no ignorance excuse in future. if the police were to take you to court, they would probably use your internet browsing history and maybe this conversation, as proof of your knowledge too.

[/quote]

It doesn't affect me anyway -- I'm off the books soon and have no motive to move to Ireland.

And obviously anyone reading this should ask an (Irish?) lawyer (don't trust me), but ask the right questions -- i.e. will a person unprompted by any authorities (British or Irish) to register, be prosecuted for not registering in Ireland? It's barely even a legal question, just a question of rule of law really. I really don't think so. I really don't think it's possible to be prosecuted for not guessing your way onto the Irish Sex Offender Register. A compelled action like that -- expected without any prompting -- just goes against everything I've ever come to expect from legality and law throughout the West and beyond.

As for not finding evidence of ignorance of the law being an excuse -- it's not so much as an excuse as a cause for not being prosecuted.

You see it in action whenever an American doesn't pay their British TV license unprompted.

Not trying to get anyone into trouble -- just being realistic. I went to Ireland without ever being told to join any register. Consequently, I got to wondering, why don't more SOs move to Ireland, given the desperation and desperate brainstorming and plotting that goes on in these forums with regards to moving abroad.. You could give me a story to the contrary, but I would be amazed and basically shout "fie on your law".

That, in my book, is a fact that belongs under one's hat. That's all I have to say, without further info.

Then again, we've ruined it everyone now by drawing attention to the law, ending the ignorance. So now you'll need a night of heavy drinking in order to remove the knowledge and stay legal/excusable.

RE: Why don't more SOs move to Ireland?

punter99 — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 10:57:23 GMT

[quote]

[b]Stersco83 - 3 Jun 26 9:25 PM[/b]

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[b]punter99 - 3 Jun 26 11:10 AM[/b]

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[b]Stersco83 - 2 Jun 26 6:44 PM[/b]

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[b]CB Root - 2 Jun 26 2:55 PM[/b]

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[b]Stersco83 - 2 Jun 26 12:41 PM[/b]

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[b]punter99 - 2 Jun 26 11:39 AM[/b]

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[b]Stersco83 - 1 Jun 26 8:55 PM[/b]

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[b]AB2014 - 28 May 26 11:27 AM[/b]

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[b]punter99 - 28 May 26 10:10 AM[/b]

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RE: Why don't more SOs move to Ireland?

Stersco83 — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 21:25:07 GMT

[quote]

[b]punter99 - 3 Jun 26 11:10 AM[/b]

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[b]Stersco83 - 2 Jun 26 6:44 PM[/b]

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[b]CB Root - 2 Jun 26 2:55 PM[/b]

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[b]Stersco83 - 2 Jun 26 12:41 PM[/b]

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[b]punter99 - 2 Jun 26 11:39 AM[/b]

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[b]Stersco83 - 1 Jun 26 8:55 PM[/b]

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[b]AB2014 - 28 May 26 11:27 AM[/b]

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[b]punter99 - 28 May 26 10:10 AM[/b]

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punter99 — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 11:10:46 GMT

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[b]Stersco83 - 2 Jun 26 6:44 PM[/b]

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[b]CB Root - 2 Jun 26 2:55 PM[/b]

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[b]Stersco83 - 2 Jun 26 12:41 PM[/b]

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[b]punter99 - 2 Jun 26 11:39 AM[/b]

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[b]Stersco83 - 1 Jun 26 8:55 PM[/b]

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[b]AB2014 - 28 May 26 11:27 AM[/b]

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[b]punter99 - 28 May 26 10:10 AM[/b]

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RE: Why don't more SOs move to Ireland?

Stersco83 — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 18:44:26 GMT

[quote]

[b]CB Root - 2 Jun 26 2:55 PM[/b]

[quote]

[b]Stersco83 - 2 Jun 26 12:41 PM[/b]

[quote]

[b]punter99 - 2 Jun 26 11:39 AM[/b]

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[b]Stersco83 - 1 Jun 26 8:55 PM[/b]

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[b]AB2014 - 28 May 26 11:27 AM[/b]

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[b]punter99 - 28 May 26 10:10 AM[/b]

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RE: Why don't more SOs move to Ireland?

CB Root — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 14:55:39 GMT

[quote]

[b]Stersco83 - 2 Jun 26 12:41 PM[/b]

[quote]

[b]punter99 - 2 Jun 26 11:39 AM[/b]

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[b]Stersco83 - 1 Jun 26 8:55 PM[/b]

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[b]AB2014 - 28 May 26 11:27 AM[/b]

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[b]punter99 - 28 May 26 10:10 AM[/b]

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RE: Why don't more SOs move to Ireland?

Stersco83 — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 12:41:27 GMT

[quote]

[b]punter99 - 2 Jun 26 11:39 AM[/b]

[quote]

[b]Stersco83 - 1 Jun 26 8:55 PM[/b]

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[b]AB2014 - 28 May 26 11:27 AM[/b]

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[b]punter99 - 28 May 26 10:10 AM[/b]

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punter99 — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 11:39:05 GMT

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[b]Stersco83 - 1 Jun 26 8:55 PM[/b]

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[b]AB2014 - 28 May 26 11:27 AM[/b]

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[b]punter99 - 28 May 26 10:10 AM[/b]

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RE: Why don't more SOs move to Ireland?

AB2014 — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 08:49:55 GMT

[quote]

[b]Stersco83 - 1 Jun 26 8:55 PM[/b]

[quote]

[b]AB2014 - 28 May 26 11:27 AM[/b]

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[b]punter99 - 28 May 26 10:10 AM[/b]

[/quote]

Yes, it was about someone who had breached his requirements and was living abroad. The main point, though, was that the arresting officer said that if he had just registered with them, they wouldn't have bothered him at all. It sounded like it was a formality so they could say they had Done Something, but they didn't go any further than taking details and just let people get on with their lives. He might still have been extradited for that breach of requirements, but if he'd turned up legally and just registered, there would have been no repercussions for him.

RE: Why don't more SOs move to Ireland?

Stersco83 — Mon, 01 Jun 2026 20:55:01 GMT

[quote]

[b]AB2014 - 28 May 26 11:27 AM[/b]

[quote]

[b]punter99 - 28 May 26 10:10 AM[/b]

[/quote]

RE: Why don't more SOs move to Ireland?

Stersco83 — Mon, 01 Jun 2026 20:48:32 GMT

[quote]

[b]punter99 - 28 May 26 10:10 AM[/b]

Notwithstanding the right to move to Ireland if you are a UK citizen, you would still be required to register with their police within 3 days of arriving in the country.

[/quote]

Probably not, no?

I just came back from a week in Ireland having notified UK police beforehand, flight and all, and nobody had even informed me that Ireland even has a SOR! So either I didn't need to register, neither British or Irish authorities made me register or told me I must, and so I presume at least cannot be held accountable.

So if indeed indeed I am supposed to be on the Ireland SOR, nobody has yet brought it to my attention.

That's what prompted this post. I wondered "why don't I just stay here forever?"

Yes I don't deny the literature you just showed me, but what I'm saying is, it looks as if the occasion never arises where you become forced to register in Ireland under threat of prosecution.

In Britain they sit you down, tell you a Register exists, and that you must do such and such. That situation never arises in Ireland if you're just wandering in from the UK.

You set foot in Ireland, be in Ireland, that's the whole process.

RE: Why don't more SOs move to Ireland?

AB2014 — Thu, 28 May 2026 11:27:08 GMT

[quote]

[b]punter99 - 28 May 26 10:10 AM[/b]

[/quote]

RE: Why don't more SOs move to Ireland?

punter99 — Thu, 28 May 2026 10:10:36 GMT

RE: Why don't more SOs move to Ireland?

AB2014 — Thu, 28 May 2026 09:21:19 GMT

[quote]

[b]punter99 - 27 May 26 10:35 AM[/b]

[quote]

[b]Stersco83 - 26 May 26 4:16 PM[/b]

No UK register obligations
British-like culture, intertwined with British economy. London-linked work from home opportunities exist. Dublin is like an extremely chill version of London.
Slightly diminished Google Effect (UK stories don't cling to the top of Google the same way , I find)
Clean criminal record by default (ok if you say you're a British citizen they may ask for the British record but there's a chance they may not or may forget)
Convenient port of call for spontaneous unnotified onward travel (e.g. USA), which after many months there is not narratively suspicious in the eyes of UK police, and if it is, who cares - you're in Ireland?.
Can slip in and out the UK potentially without notification, although you'd be breaching the law if more than 3 days
Within easy reach of all you hold dear. Even your own British family will not feel too abandoned by your move to Ireland.
It's a comprehensive, civilised nation state, not a weird colony.

Moreover....

Vote
Draw benefits and pensions
Live there indefinitely

Granted..

They allegedly have their own SOR which they expect permanent foreign residents to sign up to, but do you really need to announce this? Just by hanging around Ireland longer than usual? Also it's a very threadbare thing, not like the British one.

[/quote]

There is a housing shortage in Ireland, but assuming you did buy a property, then the issue of residency would probably arise.

[/quote]

Under the Common Travel Area agreements, UK citizens have the right to travel freely to and within Ireland and live there for as long as they want.