Visas and Immigration

Irish Border Control

Entry to Ireland, for any non-EEA citizen, visa or non-visa required, is determined by the Immigration Officer at border control and is based on the documentation presented at the time of arrival.

All relevant factors are taken into account, including but not limited to, the purpose of the stay and your ability to support yourself during your stay in Ireland.

Each application for entry to Ireland is assessed on its own merits. Therefore, we advise all our students coming from outside the EU to carry any relevant documentation with them for presentation to the Immigration Officer on arrival in Ireland.

When you land in Ireland, we recommend that you have the following documentation with you:

• Passport (with your valid student entry visa if you are a visa required national).
• NCAD offer letter. You can contact admissions@ncad.ie for this. 
• Evidence of private medical health insurance with detailed coverage information.
• Evidence of tuition fees paid, scholarship or sponsorship details or US Financial Aid if applicable.
• Accommodation details.
• Evidence that you have access to at least:

- €7,000 for courses resulting in residence of 8 months or greater

- €585 per month or €4,680 (in total) for courses resulting in residence of 8 months or less

All documents presented should be originals and, if in a language other than English, accompanied by translation.

On approval, you will get a temporary immigration permission valid for up to 90 days stamped in your passport. You must register with the Irish Immigration Service within the timeframe stamped on your passport in order to obtain an Irish Residency Permit (IRP) card which provides permission to remain in Ireland beyond the date stamped on your passport.

Please be aware that it is not possible to change to student status if you receive a tourist immigration stamp on arrival.

If you arrive via the border with Northern Ireland to study in the Republic of Ireland, you must report to an Immigration Officer at the Dundalk Immigration Office, a port of entry at Dublin Airport or Port, or a local Garda Síochána (police) immigration office within 30 days of your arrival.

Immigration Registration

First time registration with the Irish Immigration Service.

All non-EEA/UK students who are staying in Ireland for longer than 90 days, must register with Irish Immigration Service after they have registered with NCAD and before the expiry date stamped on their passport by immigration officials at the airport. 

If you wish to register a permission for the first time, please register for or log into your personal Customer Service Account and attend the Burgh Quay Office which is located in Dublin City Centre. Information on how to access the Digital Contact Centre (Customer Service Account) and verify your registration can be found here.

Please be aware that your biometric data such as fingerprints and photo will be collected as part of your registration process.

You must have the following when you go to register:

• Your passport
• Certificate of Attendance - You can contact admissions@ncad.ie for this
• Proof that you have paid at least €6000 in course fees - You can contact feesandgrants@ncad.ie for this
• Proof of scholarship funding (if relevant)
• Proof that you have private medical insurance 
• If you did not need a visa to come to Ireland, you must also prove that you can support yourself financially while you are in the country. You can do this by showing you have direct access to:

• - €7,000 for courses resulting in residence of 8 months or greater

  - €585 per month or €4,680 (in total) for courses resulting in residence of 8 months or less

Please see further information about evidence of finances on the Irish Immigration website. A credit/debit card is needed for the payment of a €300 registration fee.

You can check all requirements for first time registration on the Irish Immigration website. If any of the documents are missing, your application will be refused.

Please note that students under the age of 18 must have their guardian present at the time of first registration. Guardians must have their own passport, written authorisation from the student's parents (proof of guardianship) and proof of residence in Ireland. The 300 euros fee is waived for these students.

On successful completion of your ISD registration, you will be issued with an Irish Residency Permit  (IRP) card which is your registration certificate. This will be sent to you by post/mail within 10 working days. This is valid for one year, or for single semester students, until the end of their course. Your IRP card is a very important document and you must carry it with you at all times.

If you do not receive the card within 10 working days, contact ISD on their Digital Contact Centre with your full name, registration number (if available), nationality and date of birth, and log a query there.

IRP Card Renewal

Online renewal of permissions from all applicants nationwide should be submitted using the ISD online renewal portal. Applicants will not need to attend the Burgh Quay Registration Office in person to renew an immigration permission, unless it is deemed necessary. Please check the list of required documents for your online renewal.

This means all students nationwide looking to renew their registration will no longer have to book an appointment and attend the registration office in person.

Prepare to renew online by registering through the INIS Online renewal application portal.

Please see the documents you must upload to the portal for the renewal of registration:

• Copy of Biometric page of your current valid passport(s)
• Copy of your current Irish Residence Permit (IRP) or 'IRP card'
• Proof that you are enrolled on a course of full time education. A letter of attendance can be requested from studentrecords@ncad.ie 
• Proof that you have paid NCAD fees (you must be able to show you have paid at least €6,000. A copy of your fee receipt can be requested from feesandgrants@ncad.ie
• Proof of scholarship funding (if applicable)
• Proof that you have private medical insurance (you cannot use travel insurance)

A €300 fee applies to all renewals and this is paid online at the time of application.

Please make sure you have your correct address in MyNCAD as it will be printed on your documents. If you need to change this please contact studentrecords@ncad.ie. Your new IRP card will be posted to the address you provide.

Processing times can be checked here. You can find further information about registration renewals on the Irish Immigration Service website and you can submit a query online using ISD's Digital Contact Centre.

Graduate Visa - Stamp 1G Permission

Ireland's graduate visa, also known as stay-back visa, refers to the Third Level Graduate Programme that allows non-EEA students, who have graduated from Irish higher education institutions, to remain in Ireland to seek employment. You must have graduated after 1 January 2017 with a Level 8 or above degree to qualify.

Please visit the Irish Immigration Service website for further information.

NCAD students can apply to avail of the programme once their academic transcript is available, confirming that their award has been achieved. You can check the date of release of final results by contacting studentrecords@ncad.ie