· Written and maintained by Nonimo
If you hold an Irish Residence Permit, it’s the card people keep asking you for a picture of: the letting agent, the new employer, the bank, an agency sorting out work for you. The picture rarely comes back. It sits in someone’s inbox, a shared drive or a WhatsApp chat for years. A line of text across it records who the copy was meant for, why and in which month, so if it ever surfaces somewhere else, it gives itself away.
The tool above does this in your browser. Add one side of the card or both, name the recipient in the watermark and download the result. The card never goes further than your own phone or laptop. It comes from Nonimo, which helps you use AI without handing over people’s details.
What the IRP card is, and what’s printed on it
The Irish Residence Permit is the card Immigration Service Delivery (ISD), part of the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, posts out once you’ve registered your immigration permission. Citizens Information explains that if you’re a non-EEA national, and not Swiss or British, staying more than three months, you register with ISD and that is how you get your IRP. The stamp number on the card shows what you’re allowed to do here, whether that’s working, studying or something else.
According to ISD’s own page on the card, it’s a credit-card sized plastic card showing your name, signature, photo, date of birth and registration number, a short description of your permission with its stamp number, and a microchip holding a copy of your photo, your fingerprints and your personal details. ISD is just as clear that the IRP is not an identity card, even though it is the document that proves you’re in Ireland legally, and that you should carry it with you and show it to the authorities if asked.
The current design has been issued since 1 March 2022. ISD said at the time that the new card complies with updated EU common format specifications and adds the holder’s signature and extra security features. Put simply, one photo of it holds your face, signature, birth date and immigration status together. That’s worth a watermark.
How to watermark your IRP card
1. Add one side of the card, or both
There are two slots, Front and Back, and each has a Photos button and a Camera button. Add the side you’ve been asked for, or both. The tool takes JPG, PNG, WEBP, HEIC (what an iPhone saves by default) and PDF, and it all happens in your own browser.
2. Name the recipient and the reason
The Watermark text box opens with a ready-made line, “For this application only”, followed by the current month and year. You can leave it, rework it to name the recipient and the reason, or tap one of the other lines under “Suggested wording”: COPY, For identification purposes only, or Not valid for any other purpose. The last suggestion is the line you started with, For this application only plus the month, so if you change your mind, one tap brings it back. Inside “Customise your watermark” you’ll find Layout, where you choose between All over, Diagonal and Horizontal, along with Font, Size, Colour, Angle and Opacity; “Reset settings” undoes any changes. To move the watermark, drag it with your mouse or finger.
3. Save the marked copy
Pick PDF, PNG or JPG and press Download for each side. If you added two sides, “Download both sides as PDF” puts them on a single page, the front above and the back below, each one marked. The line becomes part of the image pixels and the picture is saved again from scratch, so the file goes out with no EXIF, no GPS position and nothing else that was hidden in the original. Word files and PDFs leak in the same quiet way, as you’ll see in stripping hidden data out of Word files and PDFs. Send the new file, not the photo you took.
What to write on an IRP copy
Three things are enough: the recipient, the reason, and the month. Name the recipient as precisely as you can without putting anyone’s private address on it.
For Grand Canal Dock letting agent use only · October 2026
For HR onboarding use only · October 2026
For current account application use only · October 2026
For solicitor's client file use only · October 2026
Employers are the most likely to ask, because your stamp is what tells them whether you can work, and ISD publishes notices addressed to employers about IRP cards and renewals. Landlords come next, but timing matters. The Data Protection Commission’s guidance for landlords on what to ask tenants for says that collecting proof of identity and similar documents from lots of applicants before any specific offer is made will generally not fit the GDPR. A watermarked copy belongs to the moment you’ve actually been offered the place. Letting agents writing up those applications with AI can see how an estate agency uses AI without the tenant’s details.
Banks are a different case. The CCPC’s list of what you need to open a bank account gives a passport, an EU driving licence, a travel document, a national ID card or a public services card as examples of proof of identity, and the IRP isn’t among them. If a bank wants it as well, the line on your watermark should say exactly which application it was for.
Always put in the month as well as the year. A copy dated October that resurfaces next spring for something you never applied for is a clear sign someone has reused it.
All over, Diagonal or Horizontal
Put the watermark through the details rather than along an edge. Anything near the border takes a second to crop off, and then the copy tells nobody anything.
All over repeats your line across the whole card, through your name, your photo and the registration number. There’s no strip left to cut away, so it’s the sensible pick for a letting agent, a recruitment agency or an app you’re trying for the first time.
Diagonal and Horizontal lay down a single line and look tidier. They suit someone you already trust, like your own accountant or the HR team at a company you’ve joined. Drag the line until it crosses your name and number, not the margin.
Whichever layout you use, keep the opacity at a level where the card can still be read, so the person who receives the copy can see your details and what your stamp allows.
Which side of the IRP to send
ISD lists what the card shows but doesn’t say which side each item sits on, so take a proper look at your own card before you photograph the back. Then send the side that answers what you’ve been asked. If someone wants both, add both and download the one-page PDF: each side carries its own watermark, and there’s no unmarked side that could be pulled out and used alone.
One upload is the exception. When you renew online, Citizens Information explains that ISD asks for the front and back of your current IRP alongside the photo page of your passport. That goes into ISD’s own system, so do it the way ISD tells you.
Sending it
A copy of the card can’t stand in for the card itself: Citizens Information notes that a soft copy of your IRP is not acceptable for travel, and you need the real card to get back into Ireland. So a watermark takes nothing away from you. What it can’t do is look after the route the file takes.
Use the recipient’s own portal or HR system where there is one, rather than email or a chat app, where the image lands on two phones and often in a cloud backup too. Make sure the request is genuine before you reply to it. Once it’s all sorted, clear the original out of your gallery and ask whoever got the copy to get rid of theirs. The DPC’s page on the data protection principles backs you on that: personal data should be kept no longer than the purpose needs.
For the passport itself, see safe ways to share your passport, and if you also hold an Irish licence, the Irish driving licence guide. Irish citizens can do the same thing with a watermark on the Passport Card. And if the photo was heading for an AI chatbot, check whether ChatGPT holds on to the images you give it before you send it.
Sources
- Immigration Service Delivery, Irish Residence Permit (page updated 22 April 2026). The IRP as a credit-card sized card showing name, signature, photo, date of birth, registration number, a description of the permission with its stamp number, and a microchip with photo, fingerprints and personal details; not an identity card; carry it and show it if asked. irishimmigration.ie
- Immigration Service Delivery, New Irish Residence Permit cards introduced (1 March 2022). New card complying with updated EU common format specifications, with the holder’s signature and additional security features. irishimmigration.ie
- Immigration Service Delivery, interim Notice to Employers regarding renewal of registration (13 July 2026). Employers and IRP cards during renewals. irishimmigration.ie
- Citizens Information, Registration of non-EEA nationals (page edited 18 August 2026). Who must register and get an IRP; online renewal with the front and back of the current IRP; a soft copy of the IRP is not acceptable for travel; immigration stamps. citizensinformation.ie
- Data Protection Commission, guidance note for landlords on prospective tenants’ data (July 2019). Proof of identity and similar documents from many applicants before a specific tenancy offer generally not consistent with the GDPR. dataprotection.ie
- Data Protection Commission, the principles of data protection. Personal data kept no longer than the purpose needs. dataprotection.ie
- Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, Opening a bank account. Examples of documents accepted as proof of identity and address. ccpc.ie
Common questions
What should I write on a watermarked IRP copy?
The recipient, the reason and the month, for instance: For Grand Canal Dock letting agent use only, followed by the month and year. Should the copy turn up anywhere else later, the line itself shows where it came from. A bare COPY says nothing about who it was for, so it points nowhere if the copy is ever misused.
Where on the IRP card should the watermark sit?
Over your name, photo and registration number, never tucked into a corner, which anyone can trim off. All over repeats the line across the entire card and leaves no clean strip, so it is the safest choice for a letting agent, a recruitment agency or an app you're trying out.
Does the back of the IRP need to go too?
Only when they ask for it. Look at your own card before you photograph the back, and send the side that answers the question being asked. If both are wanted, each side gets its own watermark and the tool joins them on a single PDF page.
Can my employer still check my permission on a watermarked copy?
Yes. The watermark is a see-through line of text laid over the card, so at a sensible opacity your name, photo, stamp number and the description of your permission can still be read. HR can see what your permission allows, and the line tells them the copy was for them alone.
Is the IRP card an ID card?
No. Immigration Service Delivery says plainly that the IRP is not an identity card, though it is an important document proving you are in Ireland legally. The CCPC's examples of proof of identity for opening a bank account don't mention it either, so if someone asks for the IRP on top of your passport, it is fair to ask what they need it for.
Can I use a watermarked photo of my IRP to travel?
No, and neither can you use a clean one. Citizens Information notes that a soft copy of your IRP card is not acceptable for travel: you need the card itself to come back into Ireland. So marking a copy costs you nothing. It is only ever a picture for someone else's file.
Should I watermark the scan I upload to renew my IRP?
When you renew online, Immigration Service Delivery asks you to upload the front and back of your current IRP through its own system, so follow its instructions for that upload. The watermark is for the copies that go everywhere else: landlords, employers, agencies and anyone else who wants one on file.
Will this work on my phone?
It will. Open the page in your phone's browser, take the picture with Camera or pick it from Photos (HEIC from an iPhone is fine), type the line, move the watermark with your finger and save the result straight to the phone. There is nothing to install.