Visas & Immigration
If you are thinking about coming to Ireland to study, you will need to know if you require a Student Visa or not. You will also need to know if you require a visa in order to travel to Ireland.
- If you are from a country which is part of the European Union (EU) or the European Economic Area (EEA) & Switzerland, you do not need a visa to travel to Ireland.
- If you are from a country which is not part of the EU, EEA & Switzerland, then you will need to check if you need a visa before travelling to Ireland.
- If you need a visa, you must apply for your visa before travelling to Ireland.
- If you plan to stay in Ireland for more than 90 days, you must also register with immigration after you arrive in Ireland to be issued with your Student Visa.
- If you do not require a visa to travel to Ireland, you will still need to register with immigration after you arrive to Ireland if you plan to stay for more than 90 days.
Travelling to Ireland
- You must apply online for your student visa before you come to Ireland. Supporting information from the Department of Justice is available in several languages.
- When you complete the online application form, you will be given a unique reference number which can be used to track your application. You will also receive a summary of the supporting documentation required, the fee you need to pay, and where everything should be submitted to (often the nearest Irish Embassy or Consulate).
- If you are from a non-EEA country, but do not need a visa to travel to Ireland, you will still need to explain to the immigration officer at the border control that you are coming to Ireland to study.
- You will need to have copies of your acceptance letter from your school, college or university and have proof that you have paid the course fees. If you are are staying for more than 8 months, then you must show proof that you access to at least €7,000.
- If you are staying for 8 months or less, you must show that you have access to €585 per month or €4,680 (in total).
- If you are from a non-EEA country, and you need a visa to travel to Ireland, you must show proof that you have access to at least €10,000 when you apply for your visa. You will also need to have copies of your acceptance letter from your school, college or university and have proof that you have paid the course fees.
- You can find more information on immigration financial requirements can be found here.
(Important: it is not normally possible to change to student status if you receive a tourist immigration stamp on arrival).
You will also need to register with immigration authorities soon after arrival in Ireland if staying for more than 90 days (or before the date on your passport stamp, if earlier). Continue reading for further details.
Documents to support your Student Visa application
Here is a summary of some of the key requirements (the full list of requirements can be found here):
- You must provide a letter of acceptance from a school, college or university which has courses on the Interim List of Eligible Programmes (ILEP)
***NOTE: You need to check that the course you are interested in is on the ILEP. If you choose a course that is not on the ILEP your visa will be refused!***
- Evidence that you have paid the course fees (currently you an not expected to pay more than €6000 before your visa has been approved).
- Evidence that you have sufficient funds to support yourself while studying in Ireland. You will need to show that you or your sponsor have access to €7000 - the current estimated cost of living in Ireland for a student for one academic year.
***NOTE: You must explain where the money in your bank account has come from - personal savings, a loan, a sponsor etc***
- Evidence of private medical insurance. Learn more
- A passport valid for at least 12 months after your proposed arrival date.
FAQs
- If you include incorrect or incomplete documents in your application.
- If you submit false documents, you will automatically be refused a visa and you will be prohibited from applying for another visa for 5 years.
***NOTE: It may not be possible to recover your course fees if your visa application is refused due to submitting false documents***
- When applying for your student entry visa, you will need to show that you have sufficient funds to cover the entire period of your course, without having to rely on income from a part-time job.
- The immigration officer can refuse you entry if they are not satisfied with your documentation or your answers to their questions.
- Be sure to bring all of the documents you have received from your school or university (e.g. acceptance letter, insurance cover, proof of finance etc) so that you can show a complete record to the immigration officer.
On approval, you will get a temporary immigration permission stamped into your passport.
- One of the reasons to take care in choosing your course is because there are immigration restrictions on changing course/college.
- A change is not normally permitted during the first year of study and a student would need to show exceptional circumstances to receive permission to do so.
Dependants
Non-EEA international students are generally not permitted to bring family members to Ireland.
Yes, there are a few exceptions:
- PhD students (Level 10 on the National Framework of Qualifications) may be permitted to bring their immediate family if they have sufficient funds on a yearly basis to support themselves and their families. PhD students will be required to complete their doctorate within 4 years.
- The student is a participant in an academic programme agreed between the Irish State and another State whereby the student and dependents are sufficiently funded for all expenses in Ireland.
- The child is on a short visit to their parent(s) who can prove that the child will return to their home county at the end of their visit.
- More information about family reunification can be found here.
Children born in Ireland are not automatically entitled to Irish citizenship unless they have an Irish or British parent. In all other cases, a parent must be a legal resident in Ireland for at least 3 of the 4 years before the birth. Learn more
Student Holidays
The Irish immigration service operates standardised holiday periods during which non-EEA students with a Stamp 2 permission can work full-time. These apply for all types of course - from English language to PhD.
The two periods of the year allowed for full time work reflect the traditional summer and winter college holidays for academic programmes. These are currently defined as:
Summer: 1 June to 30 September (4 months)
Winter: 15 December to 15 January (1 month)
Full-time work means up to 40 hours per week. At all other times, a limit of 20 working hours per week applies.
Under immigration regulations, total holidays can never exceed one third of the period since the start of a course. A request to vary college holidays should always be made in writing (e.g. email). The written agreement of the college is required, and any such arrangements should be part of the study timetable issued to a student to register with the immigration service at the start of the course.
English Language Students
Advice from the immigration service makes clear that non-EEA students can only take holidays during an English course if the dates are part of their agreed timetable. This means that a student who would like to take a short holiday during their course should first get agreement in writing when they book their course.
Students should be aware that there is no requirement for English language schools to allow such holiday requests at the time of booking, and some may not have the flexibility to do so.
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