International
students coming from a state not included in
Table 1 should contact the Irish Diplomatic
Mission in their home country.
Those who do not have an Irish diplomatic mission in their home
country should apply directly for a visa application form, well
in advance of their departure, to:
Department of Foreign Affairs The Visa Office
13-14 Burgh Quay
Dublin 2
Ireland Tel: +353 1 4780822 (open from 14.30 to 16.00
Monday to Friday) Fax: +353 1 4751201. E-mail:
visa@iveagh.gov.ie
visa@iveagh.gov.ieThis email address is being
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Please note that, although applications may be made through the
Department of Foreign Affairs, the decision on visa applications
will be made by the Department of Justice, Equality and Law
Reform.
In
their application students will be asked to supply the following
information:
Valid
passport: Your passport must be valid for at least 6
months after the expected completion of your studies in
Ireland. If you hold any previous passport, you should also
submit this with your application.
Evidence of Course: A letter of Acceptance from the
college, confirming you have been accepted and enrolled on a
course of full-time education, involving a minimum of 15 hours
organised daytime study each week. This letter should specify
the course you will be studying. It should confirm the amount
of fees payable for your course, and that this amount has been
paid. If the college has taken out medical insurance on your
behalf, details of this must be contained in this letter of
acceptance.Note: The educational
and other credentials of a college will be taken into
consideration by the Department of Justice, Equality and Law
Reform in reaching a decision on a visa application.
Ability
to Follow Your Chosen Course: You must provide
evidence that you have attained the necessary level of
academic achievement required to follow your chosen course.
Such evidence will include - exam results, qualifications
obtained and certificates proving this.
Level
of English: You must show that you have the capacity
to fully partake in your chosen course through the medium of
English and satisfy the Visa Officer in this regard.
It is
recommended that all applicants, regardless of nationality
or educational background, undertake the IELTS test, and
provide the original certificate with your visa application.
Other
acceptalbe certificates will be those from an
internationally recognised test such as TOEFL or Cambridge
Failure to
provide such a certificate may result in delays in
processing your application, and possible refusal of same.
Submission of
false or fraudulent certicates with your application will
result in it being refused and no appeal will be permitted.
Any
certificate must have been issued within 2 years of the
expected commencement date of your course.
The
recommended band scores are:
IELTS -
minimum score of 5
TOEFL -
minimum score of 173
Cambridge -
First Certicate in English or higher
If the
English language requirement of the college is higher than
the score above, you must meet the college requirements
Fees:
Where the course fees are less than €6,000, fees must
be paid in full to the college, prior to applying for your
visa. Evidence of the amount paid should be included in your
Letter of Acceptance from the college. Where the course fees
are in excess of €6,000, you must pay at least this amount
prior to applying for your visa, and evidence of this should
be shown in your Letter of Acceptance.
Private
Medical Insurance: Every student should have full
private medical insurance. Evidence of such insurance cover
will be taken to be the Letter of Acceptance provided by the
host school, college, university or other education
institution.This Letter of Acceptance will contail details of
the insurance cover taken out on behalf of each student by the
host school, college, university or other educational
institution on behalf of the student. Alternative evidence
will be taken to be a Certificate of Private Insurance taken
out by the student in his or her own country prior to travel.
Family
Members: Applicants should disclose details of family
members who are already residing in Ireland or in other EU
countries. For this purpose family members include first
cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews or grandparents. The
granting of a student visa does not entitle you to have family
members join you in Ireland.
Applicant's Self-sufficiency: Applicants must provide
evidence that they have sufficient funds to support their stay
in Ireland, including emergencies, without recourse to State
funds. You must also demonstrate that you or your sponsor has
ready access to an amount of at least €7000 for each
subsequent year of your studies, in addition to the course
fees for each of those years.
Bank statements which clearly
identify the holder together with a translation and details
of conversion rates at the approximate date of application
are required.
Please note that
although you may be permitted to work part-time in
Ireland during your
Studies, these potential earnings will not be taken into
account when assessing your financial capabilities .
If your studies were funded by
a scholarship please provide details of the funding
and a letter in support of this.
A
statement of purpose explaining why you wish to study
in Ireland
A detailed
Curriculum Vitae with no gaps in history
Employment Details of applicant in Country of origin:
If the applicant is in employment the employer must state
That all
course costs are being met by the Employer or, if the
employee is meeting the costs, the employer must state that
in the opinion of the employer the employee has the
financial resources to meet all such costs
The length of
leave being granted to the employee and this must not differ
from the stated duration of the course on which the
applicant has been accepted
The purpose
of participating in the proposed course of study
The
applicants level of pay and the currency it is received in
3 Recent passport photographs
The granting of a Student Visa does not entitle you to have any
family members join you in Ireland.
The processing
times for Student Visa Applications vary depending on the
volumen of applications lodged, and the time it takes for an
application to reach the Visa section in Dublin from the
Embassy in which it was lodged
You should
allow as much time as possible when applying for a visa but a
minimum time of 8 weeks is recommended.
Visa decisions
are published weekly on
www.justice.ie You can check a decision by entering the
Visa Reference Number.
Right of Appeal
If you are
refused a visa you may appeal this decision within 2
months
Appeals must
be submitted in writing to:
The Visa
Appeals Officer,
Department of Justice, Equality & Law Reform
13-14 Burgh Quay
Dublin 2
Ireland
Your appeal
should fully address all the reasons for which your
application was refused. Any additional supporting
documentation should be submitted with your appeal for
consideration.
You must
quote your Visa Reference Number on your appeal, along with
your name and nationality.
There is no
fee payable for appealing a visa refusal decision.
There will be
no appeal allowed if you are found to have given false or
misleading information in any part of your application, or
submitted false, forged or fraudulent documentation.
Re-Entry Visa
The initial
visa issued to you will be valid for a single entry to the
State
If you have a
valid reason for leaving the State for a short period of
time you must apply, in advance of making any arrangments,
to the Department of Foreign Affairs, for a re-entry visa.
You must be
able to prove you will be continuing with your studies on
your return to the State
Before a
re-entry visa can be issued, you must be registered with the
Garda National Immigration Bureau
For
information on how and where you can apply for a Re-Entry
visa please see link to 'Re-entry Visas' on
www.justice.ie
It is your
responsbility to ensure you have the correct visa (where
relevant) for the country you intend travelling to
Note:
A visa must be obtained from the UK authorities prior to
travelling to Northern Ireland (Northern Ireland consists of
Counties Antrim, Armagh, Derry, Down, Fermanagh and Tyrone)
Study Visa Renewal
You are responsible for renewing
your GNIB registration card each time it expires. It will
usually expire at the end of your academic year, and must be
renewed for the coming academic year of your course. To renew
your GNIB registration card, you will need a letter from the
collegel with details of your course and your course attendance
over the past year. Note that if your attendance is low, you may
not be given permission to stay for the next year of your
course.
Entitlement to
take up casual employment
Only students
attending a full time course of at least one year's duration
leading to a qualification recognised by the Minister for
Education and Science will be entitled to take up casual
employment (defined as up to 20 hours part time work per week
or full time work during college vacation periods).
Access to
employment is denied to all other students.
Casual
employment is defined as up to a maximum of 20 hours part time
work per week, or full time work during normal college
vacation periods. Such work should not interfere with your
course attendance, as failure to provide evidence of a
satisfactory attendance record will result in refusal of any
extension to your permission to remain.
The entitlement
to casual employment will cease on completion of your college
course
The stamp
placed in your passport by GNIB will indicate whether or not
you are permitted to take up casual employment
If you are in
doubt about this you should check with GNIB before you accept
any job offer.
Any breach of
your visa conditions will lead to a review of your case and
possible removal from the State
