Visa Requirements

Candidates from visa required countries must apply for a Long Stay Study Visa for Ireland prior to traveling to Carlow to take up their study place.  It is the individual responsibility of visa-required candidates to apply for and secure their Long Stay Study Visa for Ireland.

Applications for the Long Stay Study Visa for Ireland take approximately 6-12 weeks.  Candidates may apply for a visa no more than three months before they intend to travel.  It is the strong advice of the university for candidates to be ready to submit their visa application no later than the second week of June – to allow for the maximum processing time and to ensure that the visa is received in a timely manner.

Do I need a Visa?

Not sure if you need a visa to travel to Ireland to take up a study place? You can check on the Irish Naturalisation & Immigration Service Website.

This website will also provide you with all the important information about the documents that you need to provide with your visa application.  See below for further information on the visa application itself.

Visa Applications

Not sure if you need a visa to travel to Ireland to take up a study place? You can check on the Irish Naturalisation & Immigration Service Website.

This website will also provide you with all the important information about the documents that you need to provide with your visa application.  See below for further information on the visa application itself.

  • The International Office at SETU cannot provide visa application support for any candidates.  The university strongly recommends that you have the support of one of our many partners around the globe to apply for and secure your Long Stay Study Visa for Ireland. 
  • Where candidates do not have the support of one of the university partners at the time of application and go on to secure an offer and to accept it – the International Office can link candidates with one of the university’s partners so that they can provide the required visa application support.
  • Any candidate who requires visa application support, should contact the International Office prior to beginning the visa application process.
  • The documents that the International Office provides to candidates who are applying for Long Stay Study Visas for Ireland are listed below. These documents are compulsory items for an application for the Long Stay Study Visa for Ireland;
  1. The formal offer letter – this letter (FOL) is issued to all visa-required students once at least €6,000 of their tuition fees have been paid – this is a visa office rule.  All applicants for the Long Stay Study Visa for Ireland must have paid at least €6,000 of the overall tuition fee to the university where they will be taking up a study place.
  2. Receipts for tuition fees paid – as above, the visa office requires proof that a minimum of €6,000 of the tuition fees have been paid prior to the visa application.  You can provide your tuition fee receipts from the university as proof of this.

Immigration Certificate of Registration (Irish Residence Permit / IRP Card)

All non-EU students taking up study places at SETU must apply for an Irish Residence Permit (IRP Card) within 90 days of arriving in Ireland.  All non-EU students arriving in Ireland are given a stamp in their passport when they arrive in Ireland – the deadline for securing the IRP card is 90 days after the date of this stamp.  Both visa- required and non-visa required students must apply for and secure an IRP. The IRP allows you to travel freely in and out of Ireland, has a validity of one year and is must be renewed each year.  Students must apply for a new IRP card in the first weeks of each academic year.

The International Office provides full support to all new and continuing students in applying for the IRP.  Full information on this will be provide to all new students during the final stages of pre-departure.

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