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Visa & Immigration

Non- EEA Students

Registering at Immigration & obtaining a GNIB card Study Visa

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Non-EEA students must be attending a programme on a full-time, daytime basis, which is defined as students attending between the hours of 9am and 5pm on at least four days between Monday & Friday each week. Formal timetabled hours must amount to at least 15 hours per week for at least 25 weeks / 375 hours over the year.

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You are required to take an international exam at the end of your course.

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Once your course has started, you will need to take the following steps in order to comply with the Irish laws on immigration:

Step 01

Request your ‘bank letter’ from Cork English World: this letter will enable you to open an Irish bank account. You will have to lodge €3,000 minimum in this account and wait for the bank statement to be posted to you.

Step 02

Request your Medical insurance certificate from Cork English World (unless you organise it in your home country before you leave)

Step 03

Request your ‘Registration letter’ from Cork English World: this letter must be addressed to the Immigration Office in Cork

Step 04

Get a ‘mini-statement’ from the bank

Step 05

Gather all your documents: Cork English World registration letter, insurance certificate, bank statement, mini-bank statement and passport. You are now ready to go and register with the local immigration officer. The GNIB card will cost you €300.

Changes 2015

A number of measures based on the policy statement, Reform of the International Education System and Student Immigration System (pdf) are being implemented. They include:

  • Standardisation (since 1 January 2015) of the working year for the concession that allows non-EEA students to work.

  • Since 2 June 2015, implementation of a new Interim List of Eligible Programmes (ILEP) for student immigration purposes, made up of:

    • Higher education programmes: in general (with some exceptions) restricted to programmes accredited by Irish awarding bodies or those accredited by certain EU universities and listed on the first Interim List of Eligible Programmes (ILEP). Further education and overseas-accredited vocational education and training programmes are not be included on the ILEP.

    • English-language programmes: From 2 June to 1 October 2015 the Internationalisation Register will continue as the list of eligible English language programmes. From 1 October 2015, a revised ILEP will list the eligible English-language programmes where providers have reached an acceptable quality standard.

    • On 1 October 2015 the ILEP will be the only list of recognised programmes for student immigration purposes and the Internationalisation Register will cease to exist

  • From 1 October 2015, the immigration permission to attend a 25-week English-language course will be reduced from 12 months to 8 months

  • From 1 October 2015, all private providers on the ILEP must meet additional requirements, including learner protection (PEL) and a separate accounts facility to safeguard student advance payments

  • There will be an enhanced inspection and compliance regime in order to monitor educational quality and immigration compliance

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