₦airaland Forum

mykhelz958:
Visa Issued
May 24th applicant (lagos)
Vfs forwarded my application 27th
Stamped on the 16th
Ups just delivered now
DBS!

Thanks to God, IcasNG ,

Congrats brother. Go forth and succeed.

Three straight predictions spot on!
Y'all should come and greet the prophet

Thanos3000:
When I mailed the embassy 2weeks ago. They said they recieved my application 27th may.

Vfs shows they fowarded it 22nd

Have you received any word yet?

mykhelz958:
Visa Issued
May 24th applicant (lagos)
Vfs forwarded my application 27th
Stamped on the 16th july
Ups just delivered now
DBS!

Thanks to God, IcasNG

congratulations bro

I paid my tuition in full ,all document ready,just need few invoice to attach with the cac registration i did to support bank statement,can i still apply next week ,d 25th

Visa Issued!

Applied 21st of May

Stamped 16th July

Ups delivered today

FINALLY!

APPLIED MAY 23RD

STAMPED JULY 16TH

DELIVERED TODAY.

Congrats bro

Thanos3000:
Visa Issued!

Applied 21st of May

Stamped 16th July

Ups delivered today

mykhelz958:
Visa Issued
May 24th applicant (lagos)
Vfs forwarded my application 27th
Stamped on the 16th july
Ups just delivered now
DBS!

Thanks to God, IcasNG ,

Congrats....I just knew you were next...congrats

Dreamchaserz:
Congrats brother. Go forth and succeed.

Three straight predictions spot on!
Y'all should come and greet the prophet

Abeg predict o for me ���

Thanos3000:
Visa Issued!

Applied 21st of May

Stamped 16th July

Ups delivered today

Congrats

Seseko49:
FINALLY!

APPLIED MAY 23RD

STAMPED JULY 16TH

DELIVERED TODAY.

Congrats

Visa issued

Applied May 24th

Stamped July 16th

Delivered today.

Cecil1:
Visa issued

Applied May 24th

Stamped July 16th

Delivered today.

Congrats....
now can the June submission results start manifesting?
Is there any outstanding May submission yet to receive
Pls let's know

alusiala:
Thank you so much. My start date is September 9 and, because of things out of my control, the earliest time I can submit is July 25. Would it should still be possible to get a visa in time? I will have all documents and funds and scholarship offer letters complete.

I heard next week is d deadline to do so...So I advice you do it Monday latest

mykhelz958:
Visa Issued
May 24th applicant (lagos)
Vfs forwarded my application 27th
Stamped on the 16th july
Ups just delivered now
DBS!

Thanks to God, IcasNG ,

Thanks to God !!! Congrats

Hello Gurus,

Please i wanna enquire if Age (35yrs) and previous study refusals from other destinations is a red flag in applying for a masters programme in Ireland.

tommee:
Hello Gurus,

Please i wanna enquire if Age (35yrs) and previous study refusals from other destinations is a red flag in applying for a masters programme in Ireland.

It is not just be sincere about it and send them copy of the refusal letter. They are Liberal treating student visa

What's the accommodation prices in Galway like?
Anyone in Galway here?

Congratulations!!!

mykhelz958:
Visa Issued
May 24th applicant (lagos)
Vfs forwarded my application 27th
Stamped on the 16th july
Ups just delivered now
DBS!

Thanks to God, IcasNG ,

Congratulations!!!

Thanos3000:
Visa Issued!

Applied 21st of May

Stamped 16th July

Ups delivered today

Congratulations!!!

Seseko49:
FINALLY!

APPLIED MAY 23RD

STAMPED JULY 16TH

DELIVERED TODAY.

abuhusna1:
It is not just be sincere about it and send them copy of the refusal letter. They are Liberal treating student visa

I hope the job market is favoring Nigeria students that have graduated

ahiboilandgas:
I hope the job market is favoring Nigeria students that have graduated

Their is light at the end of the tunnel

Hello everyone,

I’m new here.

I just applied for my visa on Monday 15th of July via the Lagos VFS. From the trend so far, the embassy should recieve my application next week 22 of July which is only 6 weeks from when my school resumes (2nd of September). Most of the Lagos successful applications took around 8 weeks & few days. So my question is;

Is it true that the processing period will be cut short by prioritizing applications for students resuming around September?

Regards.

Twetwi:
Visa Approved...
Applied on 16th July,
Visa stamped on the 16th Aug
UPS delivered today.

Good luck to does awaiting theirs and I pray it will be good news.. We await your testimonies
Following this trend was the best decision I took... Thank you to all the contributors.. GOD bless you all.

Here

niyogeol:
Hello guys,

I'm pleased to write a few survival tips for fellows coming to start their studies in Island of Eire - Ireland in the coming days. First let me congratulate you on your offer and consequent visa approval. I know and understand the feeling.

What I have to share might not be new or strange to some fellows, but I believe it will still help in it own little way.

Fun fact: what I share here is based on my view and knowledge. It is not a one size fit all approach. Straight to business. *Long post alert*

Travel preparations and Arrival.

I'm certain many will be bothered about what to buy and what not to buy. My advice is for you to buy what is more important to you than filling your box with things you can easily get here. For lovers of home made naija food, please endeavour to get more of those than clothings. Aside the food, another important thing for you is to get warm clothings as winter is almost upon us. It is cheaper for you to buy in naija.

Now that you have sort your luggage, I think its time to get a flight, right? This might be the first time having to book a flight for some while others might have been doing this for a while. No worries, I believe there is always a first time for everything. For most guys, including myself, what I look out for in booking flight is cost and waiting time for connecting flight as direct flight to Dublin could be very expensive in case you're lucky to find one. From my observation, it is cheaper to book through third parties like travelstat, wakanow or Expedia than booking directly through the airline website. Also ensure to confirm price between third parties - companies mentioned above before settling for one as there is usually disparity in price between travel companies getting customers for the same airline. In some cases as much as #40,000. Now that flight ticket is settled, you need to make plans for where to stay for the interim if your school didn't offer you accommodation. The practice usually is to get a place in the numerous hostels offering short stay accommodation before getting yourself a place. For those who have friends or relatives that are providing accommodation, whether short term or otherwise, you are very lucky I must say. The way to go about booking the accommodation most times is through hostelworld or booking.com. Google search will show you listings based on price and services rendered by the various hostels otherwise called backpackers place. Ensure to keep your documents (if possible retain all the documents you used for the visa application) in your hand luggage as some immigration officers might request for some of it at the point of entry. Some questions students are often asked are: what school are you attending, where will you be staying, Do you have health insurance, What course will you be studying, How much do you have with you. Can I see the money - some usually collect and count the money - I have seen queries here about the pta as it is fondly called. It is safe to have at least €2000 with you. After the officer is satisfied, you will be documented - your finger print and picture will be taken and your passport stamped. You will be told to book appointment with GNIB to register your residency before the end of the date stamped on your passport. Now you will be allowed to go through and pickup your luggage from the carousel and proceed to arrival lounge. At this point, I can officially tell you "failte to Eire" - in English, welcome to Ireland.

Now you are outside the airport, what next? For folks who have people waiting to pick them up, you have no challenge whatsoever. And for folks who don't have anyone to pick them, you still need to forge on as your survival has commenced. Basically your journey from the airport is to where you have made plans to stay put, or to other cities for those going to Cork, Galway, Limerick or Tralee. For those commuting to Dublin, your best bet is to take Dublin bus - "Bus 16, and Bus 41" goes from the airport to the city centre. Though you could take taxi if you have the money to play with as taxi is not cheap here. For those travelling to other major cities, like I mentioned earlier, you are better going with 'Aircoach' a private bus company based outside the airport, or travel via train. If you choose to go with the later, you need to get to Heuston train station to connect one. You could connect Heuston train station from the airport via 'Bus 746 - I'm not too sure of this at this point though, but whatever destination a bus is heading is usually written digitally in front of the bus'. But don't fail to ask questions if you think you are not getting it right. So for guys that will be travelling on Dublin bus, ensure you get a ticket at the vending machine outside the airport as only travel card and coins are accepted on the bus. The airport and buses have free wifi, so you could reach your loved ones that you arrived safely, and also use it to navigate Google maps. With all these said, I believe you should be fine getting to your temporary residence.

After the long flight, you must be hungry, coupled with the kind of food served on the flight might not be satisfying due to what is on offer. There is a Nigerian restaurant on Parnell Street, very close to "O'connel street - albeit most popular bus-stop in Ireland", where you will get most naija food you could think of. I advice naija food because its almost the same cost with burger or any other foreign food you could have at your disposal on arrival. Before getting out to eat, endeavour to have gotten to your temporary accommodation. Most hostels offering short term stay are around the city centre, and as such within walking distance to the naija restaurant.

Searching for accommodation, bank account opening, registration with GNIB and other related matters

Most backpackers place sell sim cards, you should endeavor to get one, mostly Lyca mobile is what most Naija people buy. The subscription is 15 Euro monthly which comes with unlimited voice calls to all network in Ireland, unlimited sms, and 10GB of data. Other network providers include '3', Tesco, Virgin mobile et al. '3' has the best network but the subscription is 30 Euro. I guess you now see reason why people go for Lyca mobile. There is no need for sim registration before usage. You really need this subscription on your phone as you will be making calls to houses advertised on the internet.

Before getting on the accommodation search journey, endeavor to get a student leap card at Dublin bus office on O'Connel street or at a designated point in your school as they normally have a place there when school resume newly. The leap card will offer you the opportunity of not spending more than 5 euro a day no matter how much you travel on Dublin bus or 7.50 euro a day if you use train coupled with the bus.

Getting an accommodation is about the toughest part of what you will be facing on settling down at your temporary residence. Most places are also over priced. As a room in a shared flat could be as high as 700 Euro monthly. But getting a place is a matter of determination and persistence by checking websites like daft.ie, rent.ie, hosting power or any platform as recommended by your school for new listing posted on the aforementioned websites. There are also agencies that assist with getting a place - this agencies charge as much as 200 Euro for their services. The search for accommodation is real, and some home owners are not usually willing to rent their place to naija people. What some folks do to get away with this is saying they come from neighboring African countries - like I always tell my friends, being from naija is about the toughest thing in the world. If you are lucky to get appointment for viewing a place like they say here, you should ensure you visit the place as soon as possible as other people might have been scheduled to come see the place too. It is important to ensure whatever accommodation you settle for is on a frequent bus route to your school. As some buses on a specific route comes once every hour. I believe you don't want to be on such bus route. Once you ascertain you like the house and that the house is on a frequent bus route, you can pay to the landlord and get key to the place. Don't ever pay rent for a house you have not seen! Some home owners might request for deposit which in most cases is usually the same amount as the rent. Need I say, ensure you understand the contract the landlord is presenting you. Clarify or seek to change the status of whichever you are not comfortable with. Some landlord don't allow tenants have anyone visit them at home or spend the night without their consent especially for homes occupied by the owner.

Once accommodation is sorted, you need to register the address on your school registration portal and get a document they call certificate of attendance. The next thing to do after this is to open a bank account. The choice of bank is dependent on some factors. Some schools usually require their students to open account with a specific bank while others don't which make some students to opt for bank close to them. The requirements mainly for opening a bank account is your international passport and certificate of attendance from your school. After you open the account, it takes some few days for it to be activated. You can only make deposit into the account when it has been activated. Your bank will send you an email in respect to that. You need to lodge in your cash at this point as your bank statement is needed for the GNIB registration. ATM card for your account will be sent to the address you opened the account with, so ensure you don't use the address of the place you stayed temporarily.

Now that bank account is sorted, the next thing to do is to book appointment with GNIB for your residency registration. This could also be a pain. But an app could help in this regard. The app is called GNIB - Ireland. It can be downloaded from Google play for android users or apple store or what it is called for i-phone users. On filling your personal details on the app and turning on the notification, you will be sent available appointments date from time to time. Once you are able to book an appointment, the require documents you need to take along for your appointment include: international passport, admission letter from your school, certificate of attendance, proof of health insurance, bank statement and your debit card as you have to pay 300 euro for the card that will be issued to you - Irish Residence Permit card. They don't accept cash! Other channel for payment is through bank giro which takes about 5 working days to go through. I won't advice you follow this route. After the successful registration at the GNIB, your card will be sent to your address within 5 working days.

It is important to get registered with GNIB before school starts as you don't want to bother yourself with such by the time lectures starts.

That is all for now.

I will discuss on PPS number, and how to get a part time job later.

Cheers and welcome to Ireland once again.

Great job Niyogeol
God bless you immensely.

niyogeol:
Getting a part time job and other related matters

Studying abroad no doubt is expensive, and as such, making extra money while studying will be of help in getting one self together while it lasts. As you all know, your class of visa - study visa which is also called 'stamp 2' allows you to work up to 20 hours during school term and full time during holidays. There is no restriction in Ireland to where you can work unlike in some other countries where students can't work outside campus during the early years of their studies. The only restriction on a "study visa - stamp 2" in Ireland is that you are not allowed to be self employed.

No job pays less than minimum wage here. The minimum wage as at today is €9.55. Change in minimum wage is usually communicated when the budget of a new year is passed by government and all employers normally comply to the change.

Getting a part time job could be tough depending on how one approach the situation. First you need to have a CV. From my own understanding, there is no much difference between the CV style here and that obtainable in naija. Part time jobs students engage in range from retail assistant, bar tender, waiter, kitchen porter, valeter (what we call car wash), deli assistant,
Pamphlet sharer, motor boy for a delivery company or waste collection company, account technicians or clerk, stock taker, care giver, ware housing, delivery driver - ensure you get a driving licence, insurance, nct certificate et al before driving here. Driving without any of those could lead offender to prison
The list is of part time jobs students do is endless. Just make sure it is legal.

The fastest way to get these aforementioned jobs is mainly dropping your CV to shops in case of retail position, or restaurants. For some other jobs listed, you apply mainly online or through network/recommendation. But for guys wanting to work as soon as possible, you can decide to register with some agencies that provide jobs on as you are available basis. Most of these agencies like Excel recruitment, Noel recruitment et al require you to take two short course with them before you can start working for them. The courses are manual handling and food safety. They both cost €80. I don't know if the price for the course change from time to time. Most of these agencies offer jobs mainly in hospitality sector. But they offer the fastest way of getting a part time job that is very flexible as regards to timing. You work mainly when you are available unlike other employers that would have you in their roaster, thereby making it difficult to miss work often due to busy schedule or need to travel.

Retail assistant jobs are about the easiest, but a bit difficult getting one. If you are so interested in getting one for your self, ensure your CV has some retail experience, with someone they can contact for reference on your behalf from such work place you have listed on your CV.

Websites that are useful for applying for jobs online include: jobs.ie, indeed.com/Ireland, gumtree.ie, irishjobs.ie et al.

After getting a part time job, you need to get a PPS number - personal public service number. Without a PPS number, your employer won't be able to tax you appropriately thereby resulting to emergency tax. Emergency tax takes about 42% of whatever you earn for the period under review. You can always claim the emergency tax back when you get the PPS number. You need to book appointment at revenue.ie to register for PPS number. Before going for the appointment, you need evidence as to why you need the PPS number. It could be in the form of employment letter from your employer or a letter from your school's international office stating that you need the PPS number to carry out your registration. Once you are able to sort this out, you need to take your international passport, your mobile phone as they will send a code to it which you will be required to tell the person attending to you during the appointment and proof of why you need PPS number for your appointment.

After the registration, the pps card will be sent to your house in about 5 working days. At that point, you will have to login into their website to finish the registration. On doing this, they will send you password to your account on revenue.ie at a latter time via post to your house . On getting the password, you will need to change it to something you can remember, and then add your employer under your jobs. You add your employer by the company's registration number. So you need to know that . You can always add as many employers you have on the platform. Just ensure you don't work more than the limit allowed by your visa. Once you do this, revenue office will inform your employer on the appropriate tax you need to pay.

That is all for now. I will answer queries here on a need to basis.

Cheers.

This information is priceless.
Thanks

Please I would like to find out if I can submit IELTS General Training as part of the English test requirement for my visa application?

No you can't, and this is stated on their site

Olufemijr:
Please I would like to find out if I can submit IELTS General Training as part of the English test requirement for my visa application?

Very well then, where in Nigeria can I register for PTE and how much is fee?

Oseunseun:
No you can't, and this is stated on their site

Which of the English test does the embassy request for?