09 May 2024
An OECD Library report said about one million Ghanaians live outside the country. A few hundred thousand Ghanaians have also relocated to Ireland to find jobs and earn a living. They send money to Ghana from Ireland to offer financial aid to their families.
But have you ever considered the financials of traveling to Ireland? Or do you just travel there randomly?
Well, chances are… You struggle to break down the financials properly.
But don’t you worry!
This blog is exactly what you need access to, for understanding the complete and holistic financial breakdown while moving to Ireland and how to properly budget these expenses.
Whether moving to Ireland or another country, you must consider several areas, such as accommodation, job opportunities, where to live, healthcare, etc. Right? Budgeting for all of it is essential.
But it comes after you have understood the costs involved. But before all else, the first step is to understand their visa types and requirements.
The first step to enter Ireland from Ghana is to know about the visa you require to travel there. Remember that every country offers different types of visas, which cater to various needs. You can apply for the following visa types for Ireland.
If you visit Ireland for less than three months, you can apply for this visa type, called a short-stay ‘C’ Visa.
You can apply for this visa type if you go to Ireland for an extended stay for study or jobs. In most cases, you go to Ireland to earn a living and then send money online to Ghana from Ireland to financially aid your family. Right? So, for this purpose, you should apply for a Long Stay ‘D’ Visa.
You will need one of the above visas if you travel there only once for the specified purposes. But if you want to keep traveling between Ghana and Ireland, you will need a multiple-entry visa.
Since applying for a visa is the first step in travelling to Ireland, you can have ample time to prepare your budget for the visa and all the associated fees. However, you must determine what visa type you need to budget effectively in this area.
The cost of housing and accommodation mainly depends on the longevity of your stay. Whether you choose renting or purchasing property depends on your stay type. Surprisingly, an Irish Times report recently revealed that in Dublin, buying property can be around 42% cheaper than renting.
It depends only on your living requirements. If you want to live alone, you will have to budget differently compared to if you're going to share your accommodation with your friends or colleagues. But try to find accommodation on the outskirts of the city of your residence. You can find places to live on the peripheries of the central city that are cheap and cost-effective.
One of the biggest challenges when moving to another country is choosing the right mode of transportation. In developed countries, there are several means of transportation, such as buses and trains.
There are more feasible options than driving your car in Ireland. So, the best mode of commuting is by bus if you are traveling within the same city and by train if you are traveling between cities.
This is an area where you have to be extremely careful because:
a) You commute daily for several reasons, such as reaching out to a service provider for transferring funds depending on how you choose to money transfer from Ireland to Ghana and
b) You incur costs each time you commute. Therefore, Google Maps can be used to determine the destination, find the shortest possible route, and then find the most suitable mode of travel.
Getting insurance of different types, like travel and health insurance, is necessary in developed countries like Ireland. Therefore, you have to get insurance for other kinds. But remember that your employer can help you buy insurance. But that largely depends on where you work and the nature of your job.
Costs will be incurred if you get insurance from your employer or get one yourself. Therefore, create an insurance slot in your budget, which is straightforward if you know the best techniques to budget effectively as an expatriate.
Read More: The Best Budgeting Techniques for Expat Workers - Everything to know
Ireland's robust economy, with a nominal GDP of $533.14 billion (2022) and a GDP Per Capita income of $103,983.3 (2022), attracts many expatriates. This has made Ireland fairly diverse. It leads to the immense diversity in Irish cuisine, where you can find every type of food and delicacy unique to a specific region or country.
But what you eat and where you eat will determine the cost of your food, right? So, create a budget for it, too.
Since you can find any type of food in Ireland due to the country’s cultural diversity, you need to find places where you can find food at cheaper rates. Remember that visiting eateries in Ireland late at night can help you find food at a low cost. The reason? Restaurants have to dispose of the remaining meals before closing.
Therefore, following this tip, you can find food at low prices without settling for compromised food quality for less-than-normal payments.
Although the above areas require your attention, it is advisable to seek the advice of a financial expert. Try to find a local one rooted in the country you are traveling to. Their expert financial advice will help you create adequate budgets in the abovementioned areas.
You pay service charges every time you make an online money transfer from Ireland to Ghana, right? Now, imagine that you do this regularly and pay fees for every transaction.
Does it not throw your finances into disequilibrium if left unchecked?
Therefore, make sure to budget effectively when sending funds online. The best way to do this is to choose ACE Money Transfer for this purpose. The firm charges a low fee and offers live and market-competitive currency exchange rates, which can compensate you for the service charges you pay for your transactions.
In addition, you get the psychological satisfaction of optimal transaction and fund safety coupled with lightning transfer speed.
The best part of choosing ACE Money Transfer is that the firm applies fees only if the amount you transfer reaches a specific limit. If it’s below that, get fee-free transactions!
If you are living and working in Ireland, you will get several benefits. Some of these benefits are flexible working conditions and hours, protection of income, employer’s contribution to pension, excellent private healthcare, paid leaves, employee assistance programs, gym membership, training and development courses, and so on.
Some of the areas you must consider and plan a budget for before traveling to Ireland are understanding the different types of visas with their documents and fees, accommodation and housing, insurance for various kinds, commuting and traveling, utilities, and the Irish cuisine, and so on.
The best way to budget for your stay in Ireland is to first mark all the areas listed above and then ascertain the costs on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. Make sure to break these costs down to the last bit and also know the basic concepts of budgeting.
Yes. You can and must get expert financial advice for your finances during your stay in Ireland as a Ghanaian migrant. Seeking the advice of a local financial expert will help you a long way in effective budgeting and seeking financial freedom during your stay there.
It is essential to consider this financial area, too, because you transfer funds regularly and thus pay for the services. Therefore, choose a remittance transfer service provider like ACE Money Transfer, which offers you live and market-competitive currency exchange rates that compensate you for whatever little service charges you will pay, along with several other excellent benefits.
