Students

Students – I want to study in Ireland

Since 1 January 2011 a ‘New Immigration Regime for Full Time Non-EEA students has been introduced. This sets out new rules regarding studying in Ireland for non-EEA students.

International students are welcome in Ireland to pursue a course of studies. In general long term non-EEA students who come to Ireland or who wish to come to Ireland do so to pursue courses which are Language Courses, Further Education Courses or Degree Programme courses. There are other types of student such as short term language students and information for those students can be found via the ‘Other Types of Student link below.

To assist students in understanding the rules regarding the different category of student the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) has developed guidelines for students.

This section of the INIS website, by way of these guidelines, explains the conditions for being in Ireland as a non-EEA student. In that regard the conditions of study you choose will depend on the level of the course that you want to study.

The guideline notes on this page provide detailed information on the different level of study, and will help you to choose the correct route for you.

For students registered in Ireland since before 1 January 2011, guideline notes are also available in order to explain what the ‘New Immigration Regime for Full Time Non-EEA Students’ means to you.

Please select a topic from the table below for more detailed information.

I want to study a degree programme course	I want to study a language or non-degree course
Other Types of Students	I am a student who has been in Ireland since before 1st January 2011
Student Pathway	Internationalisation Register of Courses

Students – Guidelines for Colleges

Whilst the above guidelines set out the rules for an individual student INIS has also put in place guidelines for colleges who are offering courses to full time non – EEA students.

Colleges are required to abide by the rules set out in these guidelines. Colleges should also be familiar with the rules set out for individual students. Students should also familiarise themselves with guidelines for colleges

Guidelines for Colleges (Size 1565KB)

Additional links

For details on the various topics available in this section, please select from the links below