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After you arrive: Immigration requirements

Important!

Under immigration rules, all non-EU students must notify the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) within 7 days of any changes to their registration details, such as address, whilst they are in Ireland. This can be done either by post or fax.

Any correspondence should include your name, GNIB registration number, previous recorded address, new address and telephone contact number.

Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) Fax: 091 768003
Postal Address: GNIB, Unit 2, Liosbaun Industrial Estate, Tuam Road, Galway

Registration Schedule for Non-EU Visiting Students (Semester Only)

Below is the schedule for you to register with the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB). Each student has been allocated a specified time and we recommend that, as far as possible, you attend at that time. The GNIB does not give appointments to any other group of students and will be working overtime to facilitate your registration so we recommend that you do your best to keep to the schedule.

If, for whatever reason, you cannot attend this appointment then you must register during normal office opening hours at another time. The GNIB will not give you another appointment, you will have to wait in line with everyone else and there is no guarantee that you will be seen on that particular day.

Schedule of appointments for semester only students (September 2011)

The GNIB office will be closed from the 19th to 23rd September to facilitate the registration of semester only students

Registration with Immigration

Requirements for full year students

Requirements for semester only students

If you are an EU or EEA citizen you will not need to register with the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB), and the following information will not be relevant to you.

Non-EU students studying at NUI Galway are required to comply with Irish immigration laws. Students from visa required countries must possess a valid student visa in order to study in Ireland and to register as a student with the GNIB. Information regarding immigration and visa procedures for Ireland can be obtained at http://www.inis.gov.ie/.

Non-EU students are expected to be self-supporting during their stay in Ireland. This means they must be in a position to pay annual tuition fees, cover the cost of living and have health insurance cover in place. Non-EU students may not become a burden on the Irish State.

Please note that the status assigned to you on entering the State by immigration officials cannot be changed from within the State e.g. if you enter the Republic of Ireland as a tourist you may not change your status to that of a student without leaving and re-entering the State. Non-EU citizens coming to Ireland to study at NUI Galway should ensure that they have their letter of offer from NUI Galway to show to immigration officials on entering the country to prove their student status.

Students accessing the State through Northern Ireland are not subject to border control upon entering the Republic of Ireland. These students must present themselves to the local GNIB office within 7 days of arrival in the Republic of Ireland to have their passports stamped.

Students from non-E.U. countries must register their presence in the Republic of Ireland with the Garda National Immigration Bureau within 30 days of arrival in the State irrespective of the date stamped in their passport by immigration officials at the point of entry to the State.

Registering with the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) in Galway

The Galway branch of the GNIB is located at

Unit 2
Liosbaun Industrial Estate
Tuam Road
Galway

Telephone: 091 768002.

The GNIB in Galway provides an immigration registration service.

After registration students will receive an immigration certificate of registration (Registration Card).

A fee of €150 will be charged for the registration certificate.

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For immigration registration students require:

Passport
Student Identity Card (This card is issued after tuition fees have been paid and the student registration process has been completed at NUI Galway).
Proof of your residential address in Galway (e.g. a utility bill with your name and address or a letter from your landlord/student residence confirming your residential address).
Evidence of financial support (e.g. original bank statement that shows the account name, letter from sponsoring body/university confirming financial status). Students must show they have €3000 available to them. Documentation should be originals; photocopies are not accepted.
Personal credit/debit card for payment of immigration fee of €150. If a student does not have a credit card, he/she will be issued with a bank giro form by the Immigration Officer and requested to return with the completed bank giro form, confirming payment of the fee. Payment may be made at the student’s bank on campus.
Proof of comprehensive medical insurance which includes hospitalisation cover.
Study abroad students must bring their original letter of offer from NUIG

Immigration Office Opening Hours

Mon – Thursday 7.30 am – 12.30 pm
2.00 pm – 3.00 pm

Friday 7.30 am – 12.30

To get there on foot – walk from the University over the Quincenntenial Bridge (bridge over the Corrib River). Turn left at the roundabout (Gort na Coirbe will be on your left and Dunnes Stores on your right). Go to the next roundabout and take the fourth exit off the roundabout (the Marriot Courtyard Hotel will be on your right). The road will branch to the left hand side. Keep to the left and you will see Unit 2 straight ahead of you. The Immigration Office is located between O’Brien’s Sandwich Bar and Jaycee Printers.

To get there by bus - students cannot get a bus directly from the University to the Liosbaun Industrial Estate. You will need to get the Ballybrit bus from Eyre Square. Buses start at 7.30 am and run every half hour up till 6.30 pm after which they are less regular. You can ask the bus driver to drop you near the Ulster Bank on the Tuam Road. Take the entrance road by the Ulster Bank into the Liosbaun Industrial Estate. Walk past Centrepoint Apartments. The Immigration Office is GNIB office is on the right hand side at the end of the road between O’Brien’s Sandwich Bar and Jaycee Printers.

To get there by taxi - Another way to get to the Immigration Office is for three to four students to share a taxi from the University. It will cost €2 to €3 each.

Re-entry Visas

The initial student visa issued to students is valid for a single entry to the State. If you wish to leave the State for a short period of time you must apply, in advance of making any travel arrangements, for a Re-entry Visa. Before a re-entry visa can be issued, you must be registered with the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB).

Details on how to apply for re-entry visas can be found on the website of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service at http://www.inis.gov.ie/en/INIS/Pages/Re-entry visas

Children of non-EU students

It has been decided by the Dept. of Justice, Equality & Law Reform that children of non-EEA/EU students who are currently enrolled in public schools will be allowed to stay in those schools to complete the current academic year. It is intended that at the end of the current academic year, children of non-EEA/EU students will not be allowed to enrol in public schools. Such children will be required to enrol in private fee paying schools. For information on primary and secondary schools in Ireland please see http://www.educationireland.ie/.
Where non-EEA students have enrolled their children in State schools and the child was already in education for some or all of the 2007-2008 school year, and the parent can demonstrate that they have partially completed their own course, the child will be permitted to remain in education until the completion of their parent's course, provided that the parent's course completes on or before July 2010. Parents may not enrol in new courses or transfer between courses. Where the parent's course ends in the middle of a school year, the parent's registration cannot be extended solely for the purpose of allowing the child to finish the year.
First time students presenting for registration with the Garda National Immigration Bureau in Autumn 2008 will be asked to confirm that they are neither accompanied by children nor do they intend to have their children join them later on. If they are unable to meet this requirement they will not be registered unless the placement of the child in education has been expressly approved in writing by the Department of Education and Science or the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. http://www.inis.gov.ie/en/INIS/Pages/WP08000025

Useful websites

Irish Naturalisation & Immigration Service http://www.inis.gov.ie/
Garda National Immigration Bureau http://www.gnib.ie/
Dept. of Education - http://www.education.ie/
Dept. of Enterprise, Trade and Employment - http://www.entemp.ie/
Dept. of Foreign Affairs - http://foreignaffairs.gov.ie/
Dept. of Justice, Equality & Law Reform, Immigration and Citizenship - http://www.justice.ie/
Immigration Council of Ireland http://www.immigrantcouncil.ie/
Migrants Rights Centre Ireland http://www.mrci.ie/
Education Ireland – http://www.educationireland.ie/

International Affairs Office
t: + 353 (0)91 49 5277 e: international

nuigalway.ie
National University of Ireland, Galway, 7 Distillery Road, Galway, Ireland.
This page was last updated Monday, August 29, 2011