# AI tells a newcomer to Ireland that a PPS Number can be obtained fully online or same-day, or that emergency tax is equally lenient whether or not an employer has been given a PPS Number at all

- **ID:** `policy/pps-number-in-person-appointment-required`
- **Domain:** policy
- **Category:** administrative_barrier
- **Verification:** ai_generated
- **Fix Rate:** 80%

## Root Cause

Getting a Personal Public Service (PPS) Number requires a mandatory in-person appointment at an Intreo Centre or PPS Number Allocation Centre booked in advance through MyWelfare.ie with a MyGovID account - there is no walk-in or fully remote route. Separately, you can legally start a job before you have a PPSN, but Revenue's emergency-tax rules only give the softer four-week standard-rate, zero-credits band once you HAVE supplied your PPSN to your employer; if you have not given your employer any PPSN at all, tax is deducted at the higher 40% rate from the very first payment, with no lower band.

## Version Compatibility

| Version | Status | Introduced | Deprecated |
|---------|--------|------------|------------|
| any | active | — | — |

## Workarounds

1. **Book the PPSN appointment through MyWelfare.ie as soon as grounds for being in Ireland are confirmed (job offer, college registration, tenancy) - ideally before or immediately upon arrival - and bring every requested identity and address document to avoid needing a second appointment** (85% success)
2. **If work starts before the PPSN appointment, give the employer the PPSN the moment it is issued and ask them to request a Revenue Payroll Notification (RPN) immediately; Revenue recalculates tax on a cumulative basis once the RPN is applied and refunds any overpaid tax automatically through payroll** (75% success)

## Dead Ends

- **Assume the PPS Number application is entirely online/self-service, or can be completed same-day at a walk-in office** — The Department of Social Protection's application process requires booking a mandatory in-person appointment, via MyWelfare.ie with a MyGovID account, at an Intreo Centre or PPS Number Allocation Centre; walk-ins are not accepted and busy centres' appointment slots can run weeks out. (60% fail)
- **Tell a new employee without any PPS Number that emergency tax will be lenient (the standard rate for the first four weeks), the same as any other emergency-tax case** — Revenue's own emergency-tax rules state the four-week standard-rate, zero-credit band applies only once you HAVE provided your PPSN to your employer; if you have not provided a PPSN at all, your employer must deduct tax at the higher rate (40%) from the very first payment, with no lower-rate band. (50% fail)