Scholarship and Student Visa to Ireland – My Experience

The best part about applying to Universities in Ireland is that you DO NOT need a GRE score. Almost all of the major universities and courses do not require a GRE score, unlike the US where it is mandatory to have a GRE score.

The things you require area decent IELTS score and a graduate degree. That’s it. I need say no more.

The IELTS minimum score required is 5, however it is recommended you get at least a 6.5 to be considered for a place at a reputable university.

In case you have a time gap after your graduation, it is highly advisable that you have documents explaining and proving what you were up to in that time.

This can often be in the form of an employment reference or voluntary service certificates. Any timespan between graduation and application should be thoroughly documented.

There is no visa interview required, so all you need to do is to walk into the VFS and drop in your original documents.

These documents should include:

• 10th class mark sheet & certificate
• 12th class mark sheet & certificate
• Graduation mark sheet & certificate (Individual graduation transcripts (whenever requested required))
• Financial documents (Bank statements and Bank Certificates for the last 6 months)
• Bank loan papers(if any)
• Other financial documents

Student visa to Ireland from India

You apply for a visa only after getting an offer letter from a university. The documents needed to apply for an education visa are standard.

I applied for student visa to Ireland from India.  Read How to Apply for Student Visa to Study in Ireland – D Type Visa for detailed instructions on how to apply for student visa to study in Ireland visa.

In case you don’t know what to do, many educational consultancies can and will advise you for free, letting you know exactly what documents you will require to study at a university in Ireland.

There are 2 ways to apply for a visa to study in Ireland

1. Pay full course fee and apply (course fees are refundable if visa application is rejected)
2. Apply for Visa via AIP (Approval In Principle)

In both the cases you will get a reply from the VFS within 3 days to 8 weeks.

The stronger your application is and the earlier you apply, the better your chances and the quicker the result you will get.

It should be noted that in the second case (above) you have 14 days to apply for a visa by submitting your passport with a fee payment receipt and medical insurance certificate covering you for the firsts year.

More information is available  here.

Once you have your passport stamped, book your journey.

Visa rejections to Ireland are rare so that is something you don’t have to worry too much about.

Scholarships to Study in Ireland

As asked in one of the comments posted by Ranjana Nagendra, scholarships are in plentiful supply here.

The same old rule applies.

Apply to the college early, have a strong application and make a specific request for a scholarship.

With a well written application and strong proposal, you will stand a very good chance of being awarded a scholarship.

Scholarship amounts vary, but are usually a minimum of €1000-2000 depending on your course. Scholarships can, however, cover all academic fees.

In fact if you are a brilliant student, you can also get a stipend (personal expenses) of €750.00 per month on top of any scholarship awarded.

Next – Travel, Housing and Cost of Living in Ireland for Indian Student