Non-eu resident as a mature student in 2014

retalivity

Hi,

I am currently living in Canada with my fiancé, but we intend to move back to Ireland after xmas. She is non-EU but I have been informed by immigration once we arrive that once we process the paperwork she is free to live, work and study in Ireland indefinitely. She is looking at nursing as a mature student, and i'm lokoing on information on timelines and requirements with regards to applying, as well as any complications that may arise due to her status.

I believe that applications as for nursing as a mature student need to be done through the CAO before the end of january, is that correct? Also, because its years since I did it myself, what do you need to apply? Is a PPS number required? I ask as if we are not moving til after xmas, i wonder can she apply before we get to the country (and get a PPS) and follow up with the requierd residency docs at a later date.
I guess an interview and cv are eventually required as well, so can get all that in order. Is there anything else? Are our timelines too tight to get into nursing autumn 2014? She had started going through the canadian nursing system but it is turning out to be too expensive here and is only a 2 year diploma. However, I think here experience so far would hold her in good stead

thanks for any help anyone can give

paperclip2

Hi OP.

Its worthwhile looking at the info on the Nursing Board website here: http://www.nursingboard.ie/en/careers.aspx

I've also attached their booklet on applying for nursing including mature application etc. It's pretty comprehensive. Just be aware that it's the 2013 version, it will be updated for applicants in 2014 but most of the info will remain the same.

Wisco

You should also be aware that she's likely to have to pay non EU fees despite being married to an EU citizen, which does make things expensive, although I dont know how that compares to canadian tuition. I think to qualify for EU fees she must be resident in the EU for 3 of the 5 years before applying to college- that's how I got stuck paying high fees for my diploma a few years back. You can check this with the college she plans to attend.

retalivity

i was under the assumption that that would be the case, but immigration said that as a spouse of a citizen, she would not need to wait for 3 years and instead would be free to study similar to an irish citizen. Its entirely possible they were trying to fob me off without really knowing the case, so i guess it would be better to talk to the colleges she inteends to apply to to see what the story is

Anita Blow

There's 3 sets of criteria she'd need to satisfy in order to qualify for free fees. Being a spouse of an EU Citizen satisfies 1. Then she must also have been resident in an EU country for 3 of the last 5 years to satisfy the 2nd requirement.
In order to satisfy the 3rd requirement, this must be her first time being a full-time undergraduate. If she already has a degree then she will not qualify for free fees.

retalivity

It's not so much the free fees that i'm worried about, as I didnt think she would be eligible anyway (she has a diploma from her home country), its whether she would have to pay the international or "Irish/EU" fees. Theres quite the jump in cost between both, & 4 years at international fees is nothing something we can afford...

Anita Blow

As she doesn't meet the residency requirement I don't think she'd qualify for Irish/EU citizen fees. It's likely she'd have to pay the non-EU rate.
You can get more information here- http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/moving_country/moving_to_ireland/studying_in_ireland/third_level_education.html

retalivity

Anita Blow wrote: »

As she doesn't meet the residency requirement I don't think she'd qualify for Irish/EU citizen fees. It's likely she'd have to pay the non-EU rate.
You can get more information here- http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/moving_country/moving_to_ireland/studying_in_ireland/third_level_education.html

aha, but following on from the link above, it states that to be eligible for Free fees/EU fees you must fulfil one of the following 6 options:

1.Be a citizen of an EEA member state (see above) or Switzerland or
2.Have official refugee status or
3.Be a family member of a refugee and have been granted permission to live in the State or
4.Be a family member of an EU national and have permission to live in the State, with a stamp “4EUFAM” on your residence card or
5.Have been granted humanitarian leave to remain in the State or
6.Have been granted permission to remain in the State by the Minister for Justice and Equality, following a determination by the Minister not to make a deportation order under Section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999.

Re the bolded point above, I've been informed by INIS that she will get this stamp once we arrive in Ireland and register with INIS & the gardai. So it appears that we will be ok. The 3 other criteria for free fees is as you've already mentioned, which i'm not too concerned about at the moment.
However, I understand this takes time, and back to my OP, does anyone know what is required when you apply? Can she apply before Feb 1st & without the required paperwork (Stamps, PPS number, etc) in the knowledge that by the time Aug/Sept comes around, everything should be in order?

paperclip2

In terms of applying for the nursing degree courses CAO opens for application in early November so you can apply to them then.

As she is applying as a mature applicant she will also have to register with the Public Appointments service that run the mature application tests for nursing. Last year they opened for registration for 3 weeks from mid February. You can get registration dates etc on the website www.publicjobs.ie nearer the application deadline.

Anita Blow

retalivity wrote: »

aha, but following on from the link above, it states that to be eligible for Free fees/EU fees you must fulfil one of the following 6 options:

1.Be a citizen of an EEA member state (see above) or Switzerland or
2.Have official refugee status or
3.Be a family member of a refugee and have been granted permission to live in the State or
4.Be a family member of an EU national and have permission to live in the State, with a stamp “4EUFAM” on your residence card or
5.Have been granted humanitarian leave to remain in the State or
6.Have been granted permission to remain in the State by the Minister for Justice and Equality, following a determination by the Minister not to make a deportation order under Section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999.

Re the bolded point above, I've been informed by INIS that she will get this stamp once we arrive in Ireland and register with INIS & the gardai. So it appears that we will be ok. The 3 other criteria for free fees is as you've already mentioned, which i'm not too concerned about at the moment.
However, I understand this takes time, and back to my OP, does anyone know what is required when you apply? Can she apply before Feb 1st & without the required paperwork (Stamps, PPS number, etc) in the knowledge that by the time Aug/Sept comes around, everything should be in order?

Yes but if you read the paragraph above that,

you must have been living in an EEA member state or Switzerland for at least 3 of the 5 years before starting your course

This requirement is separate to the 6 you listed above & as far as I know it's not limited to qualifying for the free fees scheme but rather qualifying as an Irish/EU student in general.

retalivity

http://www.thejournal.ie/emigrants-returning-fees-1040516-Aug2013/

This pretty much confirms it. Even if I as a citizen wanted to go back to school next year when I return, I'd still have to pay international fees. So no chance for herself, other than to pay the international fees for 3 years

Rooneysdaman

retalivity wrote: »

http://www.thejournal.ie/emigrants-returning-fees-1040516-Aug2013/

This pretty much confirms it. Even if I as a citizen wanted to go back to school next year when I return, I'd still have to pay international fees. So no chance for herself, other than to pay the international fees for 3 years

Yep. I came home to Ireland after years in the US and was outraged to discover this. I really feel it's very unfair, I did my part by emigrating in the 80's when the economy was in tatters, my contribution to the recovery of the country was huge and at great personal cost. Felt like a total slap in the face to come home & be treated as less than a 'full' citizen....