₦airaland Forum

akinonigbinde:
Yea, submitted June 26, got to Abuja 27th and scheduled for delivery August 15.

Any other June submission with scheduled date?

I submitted June 26 also and it got to Abuja 27th but when I tracked it's still saying shipment ready for ups

lilshon:
They said the exact thing to me. Check UPS

How do I check UPS except with the tracking number?...you have a phone number I can reach them with?

phychem:
How do I check UPS except with the tracking number?...you have a phone number I can reach them with?

Only way I know how is with the tracking number.
What status is yours showing ?

lilshon:
Only way I know how is with the tracking number.
What status is yours showing ?

Shipment ready for UPS...

Use the tracking number which was given to u after u submitted ur documents. Go to the UPS website and input the number to see the progress of ur application.

nwokoye19:
Submitted June 28th got to Abuja July 1st..
Still waiting to hear from the embassy.

Don’t know how to track via ups. Please any clue?

Those whose applications are in transit or scheduled for delivery will definitely get theirs before the end of next week. It now depends on the courier service (UPS) to deliver on time because the embassy has treated their cases. If you go through previous posts here, you can conclude that the Ireland embassy in Abuja now works on weekends (Saturdays) and public holidays in order to attend to students' visas this rush periood.

Goodluck everyone.

All things being equal, all June guys will be settled next week. July folks leggo, oya gbe body

[color=#000099][/color]I am glad to read from you. It was positive enough to encourage me.Will like to contact when the chips are down. Thank you

I read your post and ordinarily I would have chosen turn a blind eye to it but for sake of clarity to those intending to come study here in Ireland, it would be a disservice to them if I remain mute. In as much as I reckon with you on certain constraints you made mention of here, it is not enough to draw to conclusion that there isn't better prospects schooling here in Ireland. For the record, I am not on the pay roll of the Irish government and I am not in anyway holding brief for them. So also, my write up is entirely my own personal opinion based on experience here in Dublin.

The truth is, there is no where on planet earth where you get things on a platter of gold. Even in freetown, Serria Leone, nothing is free there too. While I agree with you that Dublin as a city may have it's down sides, but choose to see the good sides too. You are a product of your thought.

ACCOMMODATION IN DUBLIN.

Its no longer news that Dublin is the most expensive city to live in Europe. Irish times even confirmed that too but the truth is there are other affordable and decent accommodation you can live in which will cost you between 380 and 400 euros monthly here in Dublin. I am saying this cause I witnessed a friend settle for that. It is very tidy, organised and could be likened to private university hostels in Nigeria. I didn't go for that's cause I already got a place in Dublin before then. You made mention in your write up of paying exorbitant rent as high as 700euros or there about. Oga, what happened to the mantra which says 'cut your coat according to your size? Even in Nigeria, America, Ghana or anyway else in the world, there is social strata which everyone falls into.

Before you left Nigeria, I guess you were amongst those who believed that once you get to Europe, you will pick euros on the streets. I am sorry if reality is far different now. The truth is, I work tirelessly round the clock here and blending same with my studies too. I have a part time job and also picked a night based job without tax as a Valetta. No European will do such job so I picked it. I am proud of it cause it pays my bills and gives me something to save as well. Come to think of it brother, where in the world is life seamless? Is it Nigeria, America or UK? I have an uncle who schooled in the US and today is a journalist in Manhattan, NY. He hasn't sent anything back home. He keeps complaining just like you are doing now as well. Complain hasn't helped anyone. Hardwork pays. There are lots of opportunities here in Dublin. Please look round and you will start finding such opportunities. I for myself I already have a clear road map here. I am already thinking of what I will delve into once I graduate since I am not allowed for now to be self employed on a stamp 2 visa.

Is Nigeria any better? Why don't you cut your spending drastically and work real hard. I mean real hard. To me, every Nigerian student here is a brother. I am using this medium to extend my hand of fellowship to you. Come let me introduce you to the world of hardwork which pays. We can together structure your time, plan your expenses and discuss a whole lot. As in brain Storm and share ideas together. I laughed when I read your post about racism in the house you live. Yours is small compared to what I face here. I am the only black guy in my apartment and worst still from Nigeria. I no send them ooo...I use schooling and hustling as tactics to ignore them. Most times I come home in the middle of the night after work and leave quite early to school in the morning. So I hardly have time for them. The truth is, it's not easy here but there are lots of opportunities. I mean it bro. That your friends graduated and returned to Nigeria doesn't mean your story will be same. As our faces differs, so those our destinies.
If you personally want proof, I can show you how much I have been able to remit home barely studying here for less than 3 months. I mean I achieved such feet with hustling and above all God's grace.
Stay strong and positive bro. That's the Nigerian spirit. Our leaders have failed us. You can't afford to fail your own children too.
To other serious and hardworking Nigerians willing to survive legally here in DUBLIN, please feel free to get in touch with me once you get here. Again, it's not easy but with sheer commitment and determination you will make it here. I mean real big. I am using myself as case study. That's why I have no intimate friend here or any thing bothering me. I made it so so that I can face the real purpose why I am here.

Please see the opportunity abound anywhere you are. Opportunities lies everywhere. The time to grab it is now or never!!!

phychem:
Shipment ready for UPS...

Okay, means it hasn't gotten to them yet. Check again by Wednesday after the public holiday

Hello @patnerus, I was glad to read your motivational post. Kindly advice for a job prospect on Master in Laws in International Human Right Law at Griffith. I intend to start september 2019 and I have 11 years law practice experience in Nigeria. Thank you.


.[/quote]

My brother, I wish you well in your pursuit to come Ireland but after phone calls from course mates and friends here in Dublin, I was advised to hands off from responding here again. I got WhatsApp messages and PM from some of you but will never respond again. I will come here to read and that's all. Once again I wish you all success.

DonMecasino:
Hello @patnerus, I was glad to read your motivational post. Kindly advice for a job prospect on Master in Laws in International Human Right Law at Griffith. I intend to start september 2019 and I have 11 years law practice experience in Nigeria. Thank you.


.

Hey guys if someone wants to send in more documents for their application after submission what's the protocol?

alusiala:
Hey guys if someone wants to send in more documents for their application after submission what's the protocol?

If the embassy requests for more documents from you, they will instruct you on how to send it in. In my case, I was told to send scanned copies of the needed documents.

Regards

Let me quote Niyogeol's post again for September peeps.

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.

What extra documents were you asked to send?

Dreamchaserz:
If the embassy requests for more documents from you, they will instruct you on how to send it in. In my case, I was told to send scanned copies of the needed documents.

Regards

terry5000:
Hi, I'm an LIT prospect, glad to see a fellow LIT student. We need to link up bruv.

Same here

Hello.

Please guys, what are the possible ways to defend study gap without employment history or Nysc? Also when submitting sponsorship letter with a business newly registered those it have to have a website and land-line number? lastly those of you going to DBS did you take the optional 4 weeks homestay?

Pelumos:
What extra documents were you asked to send?

I wasn't asked to send anything. I'm just wondering, in case I get new information I'd like to share with the embassy.

Dreamchaserz:
If the embassy requests for more documents from you, they will instruct you on how to send it in. In my case, I was told to send scanned copies of the needed documents.

Regards

Thanks for your answer. So the only way to send more is if they ask for it?

DonMecasino:
Hello @patnerus, I was glad to read your motivational post. Kindly advice for a job prospect on Master in Laws in International Human Right Law at Griffith. I intend to start september 2019 and I have 11 years law practice experience in Nigeria. Thank you.


.

Hello. I also got admitted to Griffith college, sept batch. Pls have you been given visa?

I was trying to confirm that from @Dreamchaserz

alusiala:
I wasn't asked to send anything. I'm just wondering, in case I get new information I'd like to share with the embassy.

Pelumos:
What extra documents were you asked to send?

This is the mail I got from the embassy.

alusiala:
Thanks for your answer. So the only way to send more is if they ask for it?

Yes

Bro, what course? Have you gotten accommodation yet?

ChimobiM81:
Same here

terry5000:
Bro, what course? Have you gotten accommodation yet?

To study mechanical engineering.

Yes, have gotten accomodation in the school hostel.

Have you gotten your visa?

How can some one change tourist visa to student visa in Dublin ?

marrywasiu:
How can some one change tourist visa to student visa in Dublin ?

Go back to Nigeria and apply for student visa then u go back to Ireland as a student cos u can't change a visiting status while you are in Ireland

dizzynet:
Hi Guys

I am sharing this to encourage someone.

About 15 months ago, I took the brave decision to travel abroad for better opportunities. Brave because I had a decent job as per naija standards but I was pretty stagnant and making no genuine progress in my career. I considered several countries but eventually settled for Ireland as it was less competitive than other countries and they offered graduates a genuine chance to get a job after graduation. I barely put enough money together for visa application, flights and 50% of the tuition. I came to study a Masters in Computing(Data Analytics) at DIT, I did not know much about the school but the deciding factor in picking it was that they allowed a 50% down payment of tuition for registration.

It was a very intense period while I studied, I was lucky to be get a part time job almost immediately after I arrived and it was extremely difficult juggling this with full time study especially as the masters degree was extremely packed. I did not need any extra motivation to dedicate my whole being to studying, this often meant I had to hang around all night in Starbucks, completing assignments and studying.

Now to the testimony, about 2 months ago I graduated and I actually had a job offer as an Analytics Consultant in a top Consulting Firm here in Dublin before I graduated. Now this is nothing but God's grace as I know for a fact it is not easy. On accepting the Job offer, the company wasted no time in preparing a critical skills work permit application(equivalent of green card) on my behalf which got approved about two weeks ago.

I used nairaland a lot when researching study destinations and putting together my visa papers so feel free to reach out to me if you require any information.

Please how can I contact you please drop your mail?

abuhusna1:
Go back to Nigeria and apply for student visa then u go back to Ireland as a student cos u can't change a visiting status while you are in Ireland

Some questions befuddle me. Travel on a tourist Visa then change to a student visa when you get there. You haven't applied for the school admission, you want to change to a student visa. Issokay!

Big congratulations to all those who have gotten their visas.

My advice for you is be calm, be focused, work hard and don't give up. It's challenging at the start but it becomes better as time goes on.

Good luck!

Any response from the embassy for those that submitted on 19th, 20th and 21st of June in Lagos?