Career counseling for students heading to Ireland

As Ireland invested hugely in its higher education system, the island country has become popular with a lot of international students over the last two decades. Moreover, its universities offer courses in various ranges of subjects.

There are two types of student visas to study in Ireland. With a C type study visa, one is eligible to study in any programme or course that is fewer than three months. On the other hand, D type study visa allows students to pursue long-term courses.

Any Study Abroad Counselling agent will tell you that students apply for either of the study visas at least three months before they take off for Ireland.

Applying for a student visa entails applicants to fill up an online application form of Ireland on the Irish Naturalization and Immigration Service’s website.

After the applicants completed this process, they should get together documents, which have to be submitted to the Irish Embassy or Consulate.

The student visa application process varies from country to country. But, applicants can expect answers between one to two months from the date on which their applications have been lodged at the Embassy or Consulates.

Students arriving in Ireland must demonstrate minimum English language skills in order to be granted a Student Visa. For that, they need to provide proof of proficiency in the English language by taking an English exam that is recognized universally such as IELTS, PTE or TOEFL.

The documents that need to be presented by students to be eligible for a visa are two recently taken passport sized colour photographs, a passport and copies of all previous passports, if any and a signed letter of application where they need to state their complete contact details and also convince through a letter as to why they have chosen Ireland to study in, letter of acceptance from educational institution — colleges/universities, evidence of having paid the registration as well as the tuition fees, copies of all educational qualifications certificates, grade results of the last qualification required to be admitted to a university or college in Ireland, certificate of proficiency in English language, evidence that they have sufficient amount of money to cover their study and accommodation expenses without needing to work part-time, medical insurance coverage for at least €25,000 and assurance of leaving Ireland before the expiry date of their visa.

Applicants should also bear in mind that they will not be refunded their application fees if their visa applications have been rejected.

Applicants have the right to appeal the decision within two months if their student visa application has been rejected.

Although people can apply themselves for a study visa, it is better to take help of experts such as immigration agents whose primary job is providing Career Counselling for Students.