My father is my sponsor and he saved quite an amount of money as cash and deposited it into the bank, its not a loan and the money is totally legit and taxed as well, but how can I prove it or explain it? There are hundreds of bills for that amount and I dont think I can add all those bills to prove it

I’ll be going to Dublin in July for a one-month Erasmus exchange. I’m 18, in case that matters for any advice.

I have a few questions:
- What clothing is essential in Ireland in July?
- Do people usually wear light summer clothes, or is it more like “layers all year round”?
- Is a waterproof jacket or umbrella more important?
- I only have 17 GB of roaming data included in my plan: is free Wi-Fi commonly available, or is it necessary to get an additional data eSIM? If so, which ones would you recommend?
- Are contactless payments (Apple Pay for example) widely accepted everywhere, or is cash or physical card still needed sometimes?
- What is the minimum age to enter most pubs and clubs in Dublin? Are there places that allow entry at 18, or is it usually 21+? Which places do you recommend?
- Any must-know tips before going to Dublin?

Thanks everyone in advance.

I’m moving to Ireland this year in September and I saw that i have winter holidays from 21st Dec to the 3rd of January, and then summer holidays in may i presume? Do international students usually end up going home during the winter break considering they have exams right when they get back? Do they go back to uni during the study weeks?

Hi everyone,

I am an EU passport holder and I have completed 2 years of secondary education in Ireland, including the Leaving Cert. I don't meet the 3-out-of-5-year residency rule.

I am not looking for a general rule explanation, as I know I fall outside the standard criteria. I am looking for advice on the practical side of requesting a manual fee assessment from the Fees Office. Specifically:

• Does anyone have experience communicating with a specific university’s Fees Office regarding a manual review based on partial Irish education history?
• Should I wait for an initial assessment before contacting them, or is it better to reach out to the Admissions/Fees office early?
• What specific supporting documents (other than school reports) were most effective in your experience to prove a connection to the Irish system?

I’m aiming for a transparent process and any guidance on the correct administrative path would be greatly appreciated.

Hey everyone, I was wondering if anyone had a similar issue about health insurance come up and how they dealt with it

I have been accepted to a 1 year MSc program and international students are required to provide evidence of coverage for the duration of their stay. Let’s say the course starts on the 1st sept, I plan on entering the country on the 20th August. Student health insurances only cover 1 year exactly therefore it cannot cover my whole stay. Is it fine if I get travel insurance until my course starts, and then get a year of standard Irish student insurance?

Any other tips would be appreciated!!! Thanks :)

Hi everyone,

I have taken admission in a masters course in Ireland and while filling the VISA form, they ask for accommodation as well.

I am applying from India.

I am still looking out for Accommodation and if I mention the university name in the visa, what chance is there that the visa will be rejected on the grounds of no accommodation booked?

Thank you

Would showing a large portion of the funds in USD cause any problems?

All the grade is good and I am fully enrolled as well.

The list for stamp 2 renewals are as follows:

1. The biometric page of your current valid passport(s). This is the page that shows your photograph, passport number and date of birth.
2. The front and back of your current IRP card. This is the credit-card sized plastic card you received when you last registered your permission.
3. Proof of your enrolment on a full time higher education course of daytime education, and listed on the ILEP.
4. Proof of your exam results.
5. Proof that you have paid college/university fees.
6. IGNORE
7. Proof of your private medical insurance. Insurance MUST cover accidents & medical incidents including hospital stays for the duration of your residence. Travel insurance is NOT sufficient for Renewal.

The academic year 25/26 has just ended for me , for document 5 what fees must have I have paid for this renewal? Is it 50% for the next year 26/27?

for document 4 , my summer exam results release in June end , What exam results exactly are needed? Is it my final results for the year? or my semester 1 results which have already released in the winter?

for document 7 , should the insurance cover me for the next year 26/27? the one I'm on right now still lasts until 1/09/2026

last question is ; can I apply for the renewal through the website when I'm out of the country , as I am going back home for the summer and back in September.

I noticed there were already a few posts about this issue, but none that answered my question.

I was going to go with studyandprotect but noticed something in their agreement. It says you aren’t qualified if you’re diagnosed with a pre-existing psychiatric condition

Well, imagine my surprise. I don’t think I’m ’clinically diagnosed’ but I suppose I have to be if I’m taking lexapro right now.

Is there another alternative to studyandprotect? One that might allow me to keep taking medication? Or would it be alright to get studyandprotect, if they don’t rip open my supply of SSRIs and expose me at the border?

I am so. Confused.

Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone,

My friend is applying for a student visa for Ireland (Master’s in Computer Science) and had a question about proof of funds.

He's planning to fund his studies using personal savings (no education loan or property backing). Some of the money is currently held in cash and will be depositing it into his bank account.

He has already filed his ITRs and can show income history, but I’ve read that large lump-sum deposits right before the visa application can raise concerns.

Has anyone been in a similar situation?

How did you show proof of funds?

How did you justify recently deposited money?

What documents worked for you (bank statements, affidavits, income proof, etc.)?

Any advice or real experiences would be really helpful.

Thanks!

So I will be moving soon for my masters program & Iam from Pakistan. I want to know what skills and certifications should I get before moving to Ireland for the PART TIME jobs?

And how soon people get jobs? Im a physical therapist.

Should I get my licensed done?

I'm conscious that Non-EEA students are allowed to work full time during summer months (June to September) while still under stamp 2. However, I had a screening call with an employer which got me discouraged. It didn't seem like they usually deal with such cases. So I'm wondering if full-time work with stamp 2 actually only means getting extra hours from a part time job you're already in, or if it is completely permissible to start a full time job with it?

has anyone used RAINS before? is it good? or are there any other brands with normal looking backpacks that are waterproof enough for ireland? thanks!

I recently applied for an Irish art university and was pleased to see that my portfolio received 600 point score out of 600 and I was wondering how rare that was!

Hey, so I checked the ILEP to make sure the programs I want to apply for are still on there, but apparently now it’s been SEVERELY reduced. Has anyone else checked it recently? I was planning on applying for programs in the sciences, but it’s now like 90% English programs with a few arts programs sprinkled in. I sent the ISD a query about it but they usually take weeks to respond, so I thought I’d ask here. Thanks!

Hey guys,

so I’ve applied to start my studies in September 2026 as a student from Czech Republic, but I keep worrying about one thing and that is finding a job asap. Obviously I can’t move to Ireland earlier than September, because only in August I’ll know which city I’ve been accepted into.

I’m mostly applying to cities like Sligo, Galway and parts of Dublin like Tallaght or Blanchardstown. The problem though is I obviously have to live somewhere in the city to study and I need to find job really fast to pay for accomodagion, food etc.

How do other students solve this? Is it hard to find a part time job that pays well?

So, I currently have a problem regarding accommodation in Ireland and the Netherlands and the choices I have to make.

I have applied to a couple of universities in Ireland and a few in the Netherlands as back-up. However having looked into the dates of the offer season and start of semester, it seems that finding accommodation is very difficult.

After looking at the CAO, I found that they usually give out their first offer round in late august and the semester starts in September leaving only a few weeks to find adequate housing.

The problem I have is, if I don't get an offer from the Irish universities then I'll have waited all summer for nothing and I won't be able to find accommodation here in the Netherlands in time, due to the housing crisis.

But if I decide to organise housing in the Netherlands and I do get accepted to the Irish universities then I'll have wasted money on a room I didn't even use.

Also, students have the opportunity to apply to on-campus accommodation in Ireland, however there aren't many available dorms, so if I don't get one, I'll have to look into private housing, which on short term notice seems very difficult to achieve. I also can't organise accommodation in Ireland if I don't even have a place yet.

On top of all of this, the Dutch universities have a payment deadline at the end of August, as classes start in the first week of September. So, I'll be risking losing my place in the Dutch universities, because the Irish offer round comes so late.

This is making me doubt whether going to Ireland is even worth it, and whether I should take that risk or not. It's mainly the accommodation I have a problem with, because either way I'll be stressed on whether I'll get adequate housing on time.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Hi everyone, I’m an Italian student moving to Dublin in 2026 for UCD. My family income is €19,400.

1. Can I really skip the €3,000 Student Contribution at registration if I show my SUSI application?
2. I plan to work part-time immediately. How long is it currently taking to get a PPSN to avoid Emergency Tax?
3. Has anyone here successfully switched to 'Migrant Worker' status with SUSI to get the maintenance grant? Thanks

Has anyone from the EU faced this problem: You are admitted to a non-Irish university, for example in the Netherlands, but the Irish uni offering don’t come out until the end of August, or even September. The Dutch universities seem to have a fee payment deadline of Aug. 31 (classes start Sept. 1), when you have to pay for a full year of classes. 

If you’d rather go to an Irish uni, do you just eat the year of Dutch (or Italian, Spanish etc) tuition fees if the offers come too late? ? Same with housing, I imagine, if you have to put down a deposit elsewhere, you just write it off? 

From what I can tell from the CAO, it’s going to be cutting it VERY fine with regards to nonrefundable fees at other institutions, correct? 

Any advice or tips are welcome!

Hello. I am applying to the GOIIES scholarship after getting an unconditional offer from TCD. The application portal for this scholarship is a bit different.

For university applications, i had to just include my referees mails and they had to upload the LoRs. And for EMJM scholarships I had to upload signed LoRs to the portal and they didn't get any mail.

But fot GOIIES, i had to input my referees mails and also had to upload the signed LoRs. So my question is, will the referees get a mail this time as well or not. Because if they do, I have to give them a heads up im advance.

Hey! So have a very dumb question to ask.

When I submitted the documents, I wrote on the top of the page : “CAO applicaton number : 26**** “

Is that ok?😭 Or it should be only the CAO number . I just want to be sure thanks

Hi! So I do not yet have my language certificate, and I just read that the 10th of February is the deadline!!!

I planned the exam for the language certificate on March.

Am I cooked or can I still upload them after 10th?

😭