Visa application documents required.
• Fully complete the online application form, and submit your signed summary application form, photographs and fee. You must provide full details of your previous education on the application form.
• In addition to the signed summary application form, please also submit a signed letter of application
1. outlining your reason for coming to Ireland,
2. Giving details of any members of your family who are currently in Ireland, or any other EU State.
3. If your employment history or educational background have no obvious connection to the course you now wish to pursue, you must give a full explanation of why you are now embarking on a change of career
• Passport, valid for 12 months, and copy of previous passport if applicable.
• If you have been refused a visa for any other country, details of this must be given. Submit the original letter issued to you by the authorities of that country. Concealment of visa refusals will result in your Irish visa application being refused - You must provide full details of all visa applications you have made for any country, including Ireland. If you have ever been in Ireland before, whether legally or illegally, you must give details of your time here. Failure to disclose any of these details will result in your current application being refused.
• Evidence that you have private medical insurance cover - Private medical insurance cover is required. Your college may arrange this on your behalf. If so, details of this must be included in your Letter of Acceptance from the college. If it is not arranged by the college, you must organize this yourself and provide evidence with your application.

 

Finances
Where evidence of finances is not provided, your application will be refused. All bank statements should include the name and address of the account holder, and the account number. Handwritten entries or details on bank statements will not be accepted. Any documents not in English must be translated. You must show you have sufficient funds to support your stay in Ireland without recourse to public funds, or the reliance on casual employment, including:
• A detailed statement of your and/or your sponsors' bank account(s) covering a six-month period immediately prior to your visa application, and showing sufficient funds to cover your costs.
• Evidence that you have immediate access to at least €7,000. This is the estimated cost of living in Ireland for a student for one academic year. You must also demonstrate that you or your sponsor has ready access to an amount of at least €7,000 for each subsequent year of your studies, in addition to the course fees for each of those years.
Note: Where NON-EEA Students are studying for a period of less than 6 months the non-EEA Student must have access to €500 per month of the stay or €3000 whichever is the lesser.
If you are being sponsored by another person or persons, you must submit a six-month statement of their bank account covering the six-month period immediately prior to your application, and showing all transactions that have taken place during this time.
You must list each person sponsoring you, and give clear details of their relationship to you.  All evidence provided must be clearly identifiable as to whom it relates. Give clear details of the financial support they will be giving you for the duration of your stay in Ireland. Their bank account must show a good credit record for a minimum of six months immediately prior to making your application.
Your sponsor(s) will need to show that the amount of financial support they will be giving you is available AND that they have enough funds to maintain themselves and other family members.
Any lump sum lodgments made during the immediate three months prior to your application must be fully explained, with supporting evidence provided - for example, if such a lump sum lodgment has come from the proceeds of a sale of property or encashment of Savings Certificates, Fixed Rate Deposit accounts, or any similar type sources, then clear evidence of this must be provided.
You must also demonstrate that you or your sponsor will have ready access to an amount of at least €7,000 for each subsequent year of your studies, in addition to the course fees for each of those years. Evidence accepted will include a letter from your sponsor’s employer confirming employment details, plus 4 recent pay slips. This letter should include contact details for the employer, including name, address, and phone number (landline, not mobile).
If your sponsor is involved in business, evidence of this must be provided, such as a Certificate of Registration from the authorities in your country.
Banks statements and letters must show and include full contact details of the bank – name, full address of branch where account is held, telephone number (landline, not mobile), e-mail and website addresses (where available). Where this information is not normally available on a bank statement, it should be accompanied by a letter from the bank, on official bank stationery, giving these details. Where a bank statement or a letter from the bank is submitted giving only a mobile phone number, post box number as address, or an email address of Yahoo, Hotmail etc., this will not be considered as evidence of finances, and may in fact raise an issue of credibility over the whole application.

 

Course of Study
• All student visa applications should contain either:
1. a copy of an Electronic Transfer of Funds from the applicant to the Irish Bank of the college, showing details of beneficiary's name, address, bank details and the same details for sender, or
2. a valid receipt showing that the course fees have been lodged to an approved student fees payment service. (e.g. the electronic fee payment service offered by EduStep [formerly International Student Payments Service, ISPS] )*

The educational and other credentials of a college will be taken into consideration by the Department of Justice and Equality in reaching a decision on a visa application. Recognition by the Department of Education and Skills through ACELS meets these criteria in the case of English language schools. Please refer to the list of courses recognised by the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland on its website: http://www.nqai.ie/internationalisation.html
• Evidence that you have paid the requisite fees to the college
• 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. This minimum amount is an Immigration requirement. However, the college you wish to attend may require full payment of fees.
• Evidence accounting for any gaps in your educational history - You must provide information to account for any gaps between your last period of full time education and your application to study in Ireland. If any such gap in education has been filled by periods of employment, you must give full details of your employment history.
• Evidence of your intention to return to your country of permanent residence following completion of your studies in Ireland.
• Evidence that you have the academic 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 your Level of English. Except in the case of an application which is solely for an English language course, 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.
• You must submit all exam results obtained, along with your qualification certificates
It is recommended that all applicants, regardless of nationality or educational background, undertake the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) English language test, and provide original certificate with your visa with application.
Other acceptable certificates will be those from an internationally recognised test such as TOEFL or Cambridge or ETAPP.
Failure to provide such a certificate may result in delays in processing your application, and possible refusal of same.
Submission of false or fraudulent certificates 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 (Computer-based)
• 61 (Internet-based)
• 500 (Paper-based)
• Cambridge – First Certificate in English (FCE) or higher
• ETAPP - Minimum grade of B2
• PTE Academic - minimum score of 30
These recommendations are subject to review pending advice from the Department of Education and Skills (Students applying solely for an English Language course are currently exempt from
this requirement).
NOTE: THIS IS FOR IMMIGRATION PURPOSES ONLY IF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT OF THE COLLEGE IS HIGHER THAN THE SCORES ABOVE, YOU MUST MEET THE COLLEGE REQUIREMENTS'

 

For further information, please check this website: http://www.inis.gov.ie/en/INIS/Pages/Study,%20Research%20or%20Exam#Study