₦airaland Forum

Control5:
please i need a clarification, does irish universities accept ielts on general for schooling?.. your responds will be appreciated.

Yes some schools accept it , few others insist on academic while other universities waive it if you have at least credit in English. Either way it's a compulsory requirement for Visa application.

Cheers

Gladitor01:
I went to VFS lekki today and found out they are not processing Ireland study permit yet. Please who know when they’d start?

Quite unfortunate. They are actually not formally open yet. Will keep you updated if we get word from the Embassy soon.

Probably because there is still a ban on Interstate travelling and Domestic flights are yet to start operations.

dagbada96:
Please I need advice......My father has paid my fees, but we are intending to use a family friend who has a business and company as a sponsor for my visa. Would this be okay for the visa process

Totally unacceptable. Rather let your parents get a loan with a well structured repayment plan and proof of employment

DammyDurst:
Alright ma.

Having said that, can the Euro bond payment + sponsor's statement of account with approximately €4,000 - €5,000 balance fly?

Thank you ma.

Definitely. Just remember to show proof for both your self and sponsors on any lump sum.

Cheers

Preye21:
My agent shared this with me, hope it helps




One of our irish University partners shared the below with us. "I was on a call yesterday with Visa manager, Enterprise ireland and all the colleges and universities in Ireland.

Statistics from the EI office and consultants in Ghana showed a worrying increase in coronavirus cases in Nigeria and Ghana so please stay safe, follow protocol and hope we all make it out the other side.

Visa manager David O’Rourke said plan is for VFS to open on Monday 22nd June

Documents will be processed at VFS as usual, then sent to Embassy in Abuja where a colour photocopy of all documents will be taken and couriered to Dublin to be reviewed by the 3 ladies that went back to Dublin from Visa office when coronavirus broke out. These 3 ladies will be reviewing Study Visa applications from Nigeria and Ghana only. Only Study Visa's will be processed. No other visa's will be looked at. Study Visa's have full priority and will have extra people resources. They said that 8 weeks is the processing time and it shouldnt go beyond this.

I asked about Appeals from Jan 2020 and they said they had about 120 appeals that they will start getting back to people next week. However he said that people wont get Visa stickers in passports until Nigeria has been put on approved list of countries that can arrive into Ireland.

However he will process Visa applications and students will be told whether their visa application has been successful or not. Then once travel is confirmed and open, Visa stickers will be issued in passports back to students.

That’s the generalist gist of what was said yesterday on the call.

There were some other questions about whether allowances be made because of currency devaluation and so sponsors accounts may not now show required sums. There is no change to Visa - sponsors would now need to show €10,000 for living expenses for students year of study.

Also questions about students paying in instalments of €6000 then payment plan. They said that even if a college allows this, the sponsor at point of Visa application still needs to be able to show the full tuition fees and living expenses regardless how they are allowed pay it by the college. (NOT THAT MOST SCHOOLS REQUIRE FULL PAYMENT – THIS HASN’T CHANGED)

EI in Lagos noted that there is about a $7 billion backlog on foreign currency in Nigeria and its very difficult to get Foreign currency at the moment with people having to resort to the blackmarket for a reasonable rate

Ghana consultant also noted that the foreign currency in Ghana was a major problem"

I hope this helps.

This message came from Michael @ NCI.

Its worthwhile to clarify that , a student is the one required to show access to 7000 euro as proof of funds, however it seems logical that if you are being sponsored, your sponsor should have money left for themselves asides the 7000 assigned to you.

I hope everyone is clear about the 10000 euro now.

All the best

Good news !!!

Mail received just now from Ireland:


Colleagues,



Just a quick email to update you on our plans to resume visa services. You will be aware that since the outbreak of COVID-19, we have suspended the acceptance of all visa applications globally, with the exception of certain priority/emergency visas as identified on our website.



Notwithstanding restrictions still in place locally, it is our intention to resume the acceptance of visa applications, through our commercial partner, VFS, in the seven locations overseas where we have visa offices, as well as in our Dublin office from Monday 22nd June. Our seven visa offices overseas are based in China, India, UAE, Turkey, Nigeria, Russia and the UK. There are still restrictions in place in some of these countries, so where it isn’t possible to resume from the 22nd June, we intend to resume accepting visa applications as soon as is possible thereafter. The initial resumption of services may also be on a limited basis in certain locations – for example, in China, only four of the fifteen Visa Application Centres (VACs) will be allowed to open initially and in Turkey and elsewhere, initial opening hours may be limited.



In all other locations, the resumption of services will be at the discretion of our colleagues in Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade (DFAT), as visas in those locations are processed by DFAT staff in the mission network. Our understanding is that they hope to resume services as soon as local restrictions allow them to do so.



During the initial phase of re-opening, we will only be accepting Long Stay “D” visa applications, including Study, as well as those identified under our current criteria as Emergency/Priority Short Stay visas.



There are also contingency plans in place to process applications in our Dublin office should the situation on the ground in other locations prevent us doing so there.

Bussysmith:
Good day ICaSNg, pls do you know if Irish embassy are responding to mail recently after dis lockdown because I sent them a mail since last week no response from them.thank you

Kindly send them another reminder.

slimdolyin:
All schools in Ireland doesn't accept English proficiency for admission but u will need it for visa application.....all you need is Waec, university certificate, transcripts

Wrong Information. Please correct this and don't mislead people. Few schools have English proficiency test as a strong requirement for admissions.

Cheers

barskaya:
i will like to apply for master program in Ireland to further my education and advance my career ,please which university or institution offer admission online for international student without application fee ,no GMAT,TOEFL or ielts ....just my degree certificate and transcript will be accepted? please i will appreciate your contribution.. l want to act fast before it late ..thank you

What course are you intending to study and whats your current discipline and qualification?

verine:
Please I need urgent help with this clarification.
Is IElTS (General Test) accepted for Irish study visa?
I wrote the General test(6.5) now,I heard from grapevines that I will need to retake the Academic Test as the general is not a requirement. I’have surfed online but nothing tangible. Please I would appreciate help on this.
Thanks!

Only few schools in IRELAND requires Academic IELTS e.g DBS ,others accept either IELTS , PTE , DUOLINGO or TOEFL. All of the above is accepted by the Embassy

BabajhideySammy:
Good day ICaSNg, I submitted my application in March for April session, but the admission was deferred to September and i sent the updated offer alongside an updated medicover in April to the embassy via mail and they responded that they’ll add it to my file and start working on it as soon as things start to calm down. Do you think I should still send a reminder since they are working on previous application or I should just give it time?. I look forward to your response. Thanks

You can either send a reminder now or wait till you hear that the UK Embassy is open. Ireland needs them for reference check anyways.

All the best.

Also remember to send updated medical insurance as well if that applies to you.

Bussysmith:
Good day ICaSNg, pls do you have any idea if Irish embassy visa section have resumed for work? because my Appeal had been submitted since January and have not had anything from them..Although have already deferred my admission till September intake and have forwarded the new admission letter and school fees receipts to their mail box since February before lockdown......

Kindly send them an email reminder. They are working on previous apps and not open yet for new apps

Ikjosh04:
Please house, I'm a chemical engineering graduate currently serving and I'm looking to go for my Msc in Biomedical Engineering. I want to apply for the September intake and after getting the admission i will defer to February cause I'll be done with nysc in March 2021. I've checked for universities that's offering the course in Ireland and i must confess the tution fee for the course is very costly and i have decided to go for Msc in Bioprocess Engineering in Dublin city university. The tution fee is €15000, my question is will my visa be approved if i pay 70% of the tution fee and is there any process i can take to get partial funding even if it's 40% cause my mum is sponsoring me and what she have is 7M. My uncle will be helping me out with POF but we don't share the same surname so I'm trying to see if he can send me like 4million to my mum account for the 28 days waiting period to enable me get the visa and I'm to return his money back when I've gotten the visa.
Is my strategy ok?
If there is no possibility for me getting a scholarship, is it possible for me to work and earn the money I'll need for my living expenses and to pay up my tuition fee balance?
Honestly, I don't want to work while studying. My plan is to intern in a company that will aid my career growth while studying even if i don't get paid.
Also does minimum second class honour grade2 mean second class lower though my grade is higher i just want to understand it.

modified
I've done more research and i have seen 2 schools I'm interested in.
1)University of Limerick
Msc Biomedical Device Materials
Tution fee: €14750

Msc Bioprocessing(i don't like the overview of the course in tge school website)
Tution fee: €13842

2)Dublin City University
Msc Bioprocess Engineering
Tution fee: €15000

Please which of this school will give me at least 30% funding for the tution fee and what are the pros and cons of the 2 schools in term's of living expenses and job opportunities?

Both schools don't have early 2021 intake. They are september programs i.e you either join the program september 2020 or in september 2021.

You are confusing 28 days bank statement requirement which is strictly for the UK with Ireland. Ireland requires proof to sponsor and 6 month bank statement of both student and his/her sponsors.

Cheers

DammyDurst:
Alright IcasNg, thanks...

My sponsor happens to be my mum.

After tuition payment and Edubond, can a balance of at least 2M from her account with documents of one landed property suffice?

If we decide to ignore using the Edubond, would a balance of 4M after full tuition payment, with documents of one landed property be okay also?

Regards

#4.5m will be safer due to exchange rate at the moment.
Ireland does not reckon with properties please

bmarketing:
Thanks for the reply. Please what’s the minimum balance optimum for the bank statement given that I would have paid the tuition and also the edu bond leaving the account very low in cash.

Thanks once again!

Enough to show that your sponsor has not exhausted all their savings on you. After tuition and edu-bond , from #1m is fine alongside proof that they have a steady monthly income.

DammyDurst:
Hi IcasNg,

If we take the Edubond route, does this mean that it takes a lesser period for the visa to be processed and less attention being paid on the statement of account after being tendered?


In summary, what's the benefit of using the Edubond over going through the normal tendering of account balance (w/o using the Edubond) from the sponsor's statement of account, please?

Unfortunately, Irrespective of Edu-bond or not, visa application processing time is at 6 weeks to 12 weeks.

Edu-bond is basically to show you have your expected living expenses already saved in ireland. Unfortunately depending on the visa officer it may back fire on your application if you do not have close ties to your sponsor and you've not presented enough bank statements and proof of livelihood to prove legitimate income earning of yourself and your sponsor.

chainsmokn:
If I opt for EDU- Bond, what are the requirements for my bank statement then? Is it okay to have only a little (€500) left over in the account or is there a recommended minimum?

Do I also have to show the account I paid the school fees and bond from or just the receipts are enough?

Self-sponsored.

Bank account statement of where tuition was paid and euro-bond (6 months)
Your personal / salary bank account (6 months)
Explanation of any lump sum is required
If using a sponsor - proof of employment of sponsor * docs vary by sponsors type of employment i.e paid employment / self employment.

Please note that Edu-bond does not guarantee visa approval, you are still required to show all necessary proof

bmarketing:
Please house, I'm looking at MSC network and information security at Grifith College Limerick or cork instead of Dublin due to the expensive life in Dublin. Anyone there that can give me more knowledge please? Also, how is Limerick or cork in terms of job prospects for part-time jobs as a student and fulltime based on my choice of study?

Also, the information I got on their website is that we will be given 2,000 euros bursary discounts once we get an offer reducing the tuition from 12k to 10k euros. Is this true?

Lastly, if I pay 70% to 80% of the 10k tuition and also pay the 7k euro bond, do I have a chance of getting VISA without tendering any bank statement. I'm self-sponsor and the account inflow will not meet the requirements for that.

Thanks a lot!

Griffith requires full Tuition. However, if due to the Pandemic they will be accepting partial fees then it will be clearly stated on your OFFER LETTER. Tuition also comes down to 11775 or 12775 after the discount.

Opting for EDU-Bond does not exempt bank statements , kindly take note

Lincon11:
It’s normal, I also got a refusal in February and I applied for a refund, Griffith college processed the payment in April. Although I’m still having an issue with the money because Access is trying to cheat me with the exchange rate.
I hope you requested your refund with a domiciliary account to avoid this kind of issue

So sad you have to go through this. Unfortunately, refunds can only go back into the account you paid from. However, to correct your statement and guide against inflation on FX its always better to pay through a dorm act incase things don't go according to plan, you won't lose much funds. Exceptions however to those paying through CBN directly.

Cheers

Othniels:
Makes sense. I suppose this would be for new apps. Do you have any news on those who submitted before the lockdown.

They are currently working on backlogs. If you have a pending app I'll guess that was for April intake, I'll suggest you send updated offer , medical insurance and other required docs via email so your visa can be issued for September start date.

Cheers

faithzy:
Thank you. I would agree with you because paper documentation is a risk to spread the coronavirus as it can survive For more than 2 days on papers and plastics.

Its actually because visa officers have been moved to Dublin and only the head of the Nigerian Visa office is still around.

Cheers

faithzy:
Are you certain about the scanning of applications?

I think I have enough first hand information at the moment. If there is any changes to that, I'll be happy to share.

This new development is not strange since thats what the UK - TLS currently does anyways

Cheers

Preye21:
So can we say it is safe to start filing in our online applications

I would advise you wait till the Irish visa officially announces they are accepting new apps. Plus, applications will be scanned to Dublin via the VFS so hopefully response will be between 8-10 weeks.

morinto:
Pls that Duolingo English test how did u know is been accepted and from which source pls?

My Organisation works directly with Irish Universities an thus get trained by the Irish Embassy .

LiveEventRental:
Good Day Everyone, I just got same call from some Balogun. He told me we met few years ago and he works for chemical company and his boss will meet me in Lagos , in short exact same story you wrote. I was hoping to keep him on the phone since we knew right away that he is fraud. but just in case the phone number he gave is 234-808-475-8753 and his contact for Lagos Interland ltd is pastor Ogunnubi 0705-132-3899. this happened less than 3hrs ago.

I just had mine 10 mins ago. Someone identified himself as Babatunde Ajayi 08039592927 that we met at MBA road ikeja at an Event, I asked which event but he was just emphasising that I had forgotten about him. Since my office is located in that region and I do have events at popular hotels in that location I let it slide.

He mentioned a friend has a Purchase order to buy the chemical used to produce sanitisers, and I should contact OLAKUNLE OGUNUBI (FRUAD) on 09061149329.

He claims the chemical is produced in Agbara and one Hon.Musa Mohammed will be contacting me to buy those chemicals. They are sold from factory at #230k and he wants to sell at #280k per gallon and Musa intends buying 100 gallons. Thus I should call the company.

I decided to use another line and hid my number as well to call the ogunubi person, using a different number threw him off balance so I dropped and came online to search for the said prodution cmpany in Agbara INTERLAND NIGERIA LIMITED (FRAUD) when I discovered this thread.

Thanks to everyone.

Stay Safe and cautious . #peace

Hope we are all staying strong and safe?

Irish visa application requirements for 2020/2021 is currently fluid (Adjusting to fit needs and situation at this time).

Few points we will like to advice you to take note of are:

Including a confirmed accommodation for 2 weeks where you will have access to your personal toilet and bathroom- This is not confirmed yet but will go a long way convincing the visa office that you are willing to self isolate on arrival.

Also, the vfs office may be scanning docs to the Irish Embassy in DUBLIN- processing time is advised at 8 weeks but kindly prepare for 10-12 weeks.

By mid June , I think we should be set to stay putting in visa apps.

Duolingo English test is acceptable by both Universities and the Embassy for this year- If considering a January / Feb 2021 intake, please do not take this test yet for Visa application purpose.

If you will be schooling @ ITSligo and your TOEFL / IELTS is within the last 3 years, then its acceptable for both admissions and visa app* strictly for this school only.

The next weeks will be extremely busy especially from June, but we will try to keep ya'll updated.

Cheers

Nzeelvis:
Please, do you know how i can get the practice test materials?

On their website. cheers

Skymoore1004:
I get you but I’m also saying that some people were also approved within the same month of lockdown

You are not comprehending, someone can submit an app in Feb to visit Dublin in July/August another may submit in Feb to visit in April. Its seems logical to approve for the Later entry than someone who intended going in April . Its that simple thats how visa approval works.

Not saying all refusals has to do with Covid-19 but definitely it has huge impact on decisions at this time, SIMPLE

Skymoore1004:
But some where approved.
They cannot deny someone because of lockdown, they can only delay

They actually can deny - If you applied to visit end of March for a specific purpose, think about it- this is April lockdown is still in full effect why will they approve such?

ExpressBooking:
All visa categories

I doubt decisions are biased though.
Probably just due to lock-down . No one is going anywhere for now. Tourist and student visa is only valid for 3 months mostly and no one knows when all this will end .

so fingers crossed that lock-down ends soon.

Unlimited22:
Dear ICaSNg, you've done an awesome job on this thread. However, I have a favour to ask. It might seem a bit silly, and it may look like I want to be spoon-fed, but believe me, I've done a lot of research that has spanned weeks and even months and I keep running into dead ends.

It's a very simple topic. Scholarships for Nigerian students in Ireland, for Graduate (MSc) courses. Thank you very much.

http://eurireland.ie/2020/02/10/government-of-ireland-international-education-scholarships-2020/

New deadline is 17th April,2020. You need a conditional offer or an unconditional offer to apply.

Cheers