Immigration Basics for What Students Need to Know Moving to Ireland

Irish immigration may seem complicated, but there are simple ways to break down the actual requirements when moving to Ireland. This post is specific to the information pertaining to being a student and moving to Ireland, however, there are several different types of visas and requirements based on the reason you are in Ireland.

Bridget van Voorst talks more about that in the podcast shown at the top of the page.

Irish Immigration Tips for Students Moving to Ireland

As previously mentioned, the Irish immigration website has helpful information when you plan to leave America, or anywhere else, to Ireland.

There are a few things you need to know when arriving in Ireland for the year-long journey. Learning where to start, is imperative in order to have everything sorted by the time you arrive.

This immigration process is for people outside of the EU, specifically US residents.

Things you need for arrival for US Students:

• Letter of acceptance to university

• Private healthcare insurance plan with all of the details of the plan written out

• Proof of funds

For US Students, there are more requirements such as proof of an Irish bank account, but that will be sorted by the NUIG financial funds office after you arrive in order for you to get the loans sent over to you.

One large piece of advice is to bring enough funds to get you through until October. This is because the loan office takes a while to process and actually send over your loans, and there are a lot of things to purchase once you arrive.

During the immigration process, you also will be sent a Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) appointment through NUIG which is the only way you will be able to stay in the country past the 90 days window allotted for a regular travel experience.

At the GNIB appointment, there is a fee of €300 and the Garda officer will ask for the above documents and then also the document proving you have sufficient funds (a paper stating you were approved and offered the loans will work fine).

After the appointment, you will receive a card in the mail called your Irish Residence Permit card. This is what you take with you when you travel instead of carrying all of those documents around with you. It looks just like any US photo ID but is extremely important to carry with you at all times.

Although the process seems stressful, there are so many people along the way who are willing to help you with making sure you have everything you need to succeed and be approved for the IRP card.

All of these requirements are just for students, if you plan on staying on Ireland post-graduation from your higher education, there are other steps needed to pursue. To learn more about that immigration process, listen to Bridget van Voorst explain the steps of staying and securing a job featured at the top of the page.