Study visa FAQs
The rules around studying and working in Ireland as a non-EEA student are strict and specific. These are the questions students ask us most, answered straight. If yours is not here, write to us.
ILEP
listed programme
85%
minimum attendance
20 hrs
work per week
Study visa questions
The Study Visa lets you take a language course for 6 months in Ireland and stay in the country for a total of 8 months. You can study English with us for 25 weeks on the Academic Year course and then use the rest of your time to see the country. Immigration rules also require an official exam at the end of your course. We recommend IELTS: it is internationally recognised and the one most universities ask for.
The rules differ from country to country, so the first step is to tell us your nationality. Write to us and we will walk you through what applies to you. Two official sources worth reading while you prepare: the Irish Council for International Students, and the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service, which sets out every visa type and its requirements.
Yes, if you are on a full-time course that appears on the government list of visa-eligible programmes and you hold your immigration registration card. Casual employment means up to 20 hours a week, rising to 40 hours during two fixed periods: 15 December to 15 January, and 1 May to 31 August. Those dates are the same for every non-EEA student, whatever the school calendar says, and schools can no longer issue letters to extend them. The right to work ends when your immigration permission ends.
Yes. Immigration requires every non-EEA student to hold at least a basic policy covering emergency medical costs, such as an accident needing hospital treatment. You have to show proof of insurance when you register with the immigration authorities. For short courses, travel insurance is sometimes enough. The policy we arrange at Everest is provided by Arachas.
Every 25-week course for non-EEA students runs between 9am and 5pm, on at least 4 days from Monday to Friday, with a minimum of 15 hours of teaching a week excluding breaks. You get a timetable at the start of the course setting out hours, days and holiday periods, and you need it when you register for your immigration card. All 25 weeks have to be completed within 7 months. Neither the school nor the student can change the timetable or switch class times afterwards.
Only the holidays already written into your timetable, unless there is documented illness or a family bereavement. No holiday can be taken before classes begin. The two periods when non-EEA students may work full time are fixed by immigration and schools are not required to line their holidays up with them.
Yes. Since January 2016 every course for non-EEA students on a study visa has to end with an exam that meets immigration requirements. You commit to the exam when you start the course, and you have to be registered with the awarding body from the start. Several providers are accepted, among them IELTS, Cambridge, TIE, ETAPP, Pearson and Integrated Skills in English. We recommend IELTS.
Immigration expects you to show at least 85% attendance when you apply to renew your permission. Only the immigration service can decide whether someone below that figure is allowed to renew, so treat 85% as the floor and not the target.
Tell us your nationality and your situation and the Student Support team will come back to you within one working day.
