Frequently Asked Questions for International (Non-EU) Students
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Office for International Relations
Waterford Institute of Technology
Cork Road
Waterford
Ireland
Tel: + 353 51 302742 / 6124
Email: [email protected]
Web: http://www.wit.ie/international -
The Office for International Relations co-ordinates the admission, administration and support for international students throughout the course of their studies at WIT. The Office manages international student and staff mobility programmes, international scholarship programmes and a vast network of over 200 international education partnerships. We host visiting delegations and represent WIT overseas at international education events annually.
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The information given in this section applies to applicants for undergraduate, postgraduate or English language programmes who are non-EU nationals, not refugees and not holders of an Irish school Leaving Certificate. It also applies to non-EU nationals who have completed English language courses or Foundation courses in Ireland or elsewhere in the EU.
For your application to be successful, you will need to satisfy the Institute’s general entry requirements and also the requirements of your chosen course. Our general entry requirements include a specified level of ability in English language. (see below).
Undergraduate and English Language programmes application forms can be found at at the following website: http://www.wit.ie/International/AdmissionProcedure/ The form should be completed an submitted online through this link also.
A softcopy (email) of the application should be sent to the International Office email account at: [email protected]. You must attach a photocopy of the transcript of your school and/ or university results and your English language certificate. If these results are in a language other than English, you should provide a certified translation into English. You will be requested to present your original certificates at registration for checking. We also require a copy of the picture page of your passport. It is very important that applicants check that they have sent all checklist items with the application. Incomplete applications will not be processed. Should you have any queries on the application process, please email: [email protected]
Postgraduate applications are made through the Postgraduate Applications Centre (PAC), in Galway, Ireland. Students can either scan and upload their documents or post them directly to PAC and they will upload them on behalf of students. Please go to the following website: http://www.pac.ie then select WIT and your preferred course. If you encounter any problems while navigating through PAC, please ask your agent for assistance, or in the case of direct applications, please email Ms Fiona Purcell at: [email protected].
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Please click here for full details of our English Language Requirements, for applicants whose first language is not English.
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The closing date for receipt of applications from abroad is 31st May for programmes commencing in September of each academic year. The Office for International Relations will sometimes accept late applications up untill the end of June or early July, at the discretion of each School or Department and taking into consideration the capacity of each programme. The closing date for receipt of applications from International students who are studying a foundation programme in Ireland or the U.K. is 15th August of the academic year.
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Yes the Office for International Relations at WIT provides scholarships for some of its programmes. For information on available scholarships please go to our webpage: http://www.wit.ie/internationalscholarships
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Please refer to the fees section of the international website at the following page: www.wit.ie/international
Tuition fees cover the tuition fee for the academic year and the registration fee (including exam fees).
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All new international students to WIT must pay their deposit and tuition fee in full to WIT using TransferMate. For further information on this, please go to the following website: https://wit.paytostudy.com/
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No, your tuition fee will not increase while registered as a fulltime student at WIT.
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The full international tuition fee or deposit payment will be refunded to a student if the student's study visa is refused is refused or if the programme they applied for does not run. Documentary evidence of the visa refusal must be provided to the Office for International Relations.
Tuition fees may also be refunded in exceptional circumstances less an administrative charge of 10%.
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As a guideline, we estimate that a student’s cost of living in Waterford is between €6,000 and €8,000 per annum.
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The student must meet immigration requirements in order to reside and study in Ireland. Please contact your local Irish Embassy or Consulate in the country you are residing in or contact the Department of Foreign Affairs in Ireland.
For more information please go to the following website: http://www.inis.gov.ie/en/INIS/Pages/WP07000018
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All students from outside the EU/EEA must register in person with the local police station in the town in which they are studying. It costs €300 to register with the GNIB per academic year. Credit cards or laser cards are accepted to pay this fee. The following is a list of the things you need to bring with you when registering with the Garda Immigration Bureau:
- Your passport
- A letter from the Office for International Relations at WIT, addressed to the Immigration Officer, stating you have paid your fees in full and that you are undertaking a full time programme. This letter will state the name and duration of your programme.
- Bank statement (this needs to show a minimum of €3,000.00 in your account)
- Original receipt from WIT showing that you have paid your tuition fees in full.
- If you are transferring from another college in Ireland you will need an attendance record showing at least 85% attendace at your classes.
Waterford Immigration Officer Contact Details:
Garda Aileen Lalor
Immigration Officer
Waterford Garda Station
Waterford
Telephone: + 353 51 305388 -
Yes if a student does not attend at least 85% of their classes, their Irish Residence Permit (IRP) may not be renewed.
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Students from outside the EEA - Students attending a full time course and in possession of an IRP are entitled to take up casual employment provided that the course of study is included on the government's list of visa eligible courses. Casual employment is defined as up to 20 hours part-time work per week, except for two standardised periods when it is permissible to work full-time (i.e. up to 40 hours per week). The periods are 15th December to 15th January and 1st June to 30th September only, corresponding to the traditional summer and winter college holidays. These dates are fixed for all non-EEA students, regardless of the actual college teaching calendar for their course. Colleges are no longer able to issue holiday letters documenting a student as available to work full-time outside of these dates. For more information please click here.
The right to work lapses automatically on expiry of a student's immigration permission, except for an extension of up to 2 years which may be available to third level graduates.
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A PPS Number is your Personal Public Service Number. It’s a unique reference number that all employees in Ireland are required to have. Applications for a PPS number should be made through the local social welfare office in Waterford. The address is: Cork Road, Waterford. Tel: (051) 356000
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Most programmes at WIT require students to complete a work placement as part of the programme. Students are entitled to work full time and receive a salary if they are participating on a work placement. If the student’s work placement will take place outside of Waterford, he/she will need to register with the Immigration officer in the locality of the work placement giving details such as date of arrival and the finish date of the work placement.
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Yes, international students can work in Ireland once they have completed their studies. Graduates of a level 7 (INFQ) qualification are can work for a period of six months and graduates of a level 8, 9 or 10 qualification can work for a period of one year, from the date of their examination results under the Third Level Post-Study (graduate visa) Scheme. Once your one year post-study visa expires you will need to do one of the following; Register for another course at a higher level (INFQ), find employment and apply for a work permit (minimum of two year contract with minimum salary of €30,000 per year) or return to your home country to take up employment. Please note you can only utilise the one year post-study visa once. Further information can be found at the following website:
http://www.entemp.ie/labour/workpermits/graduatescheme.htm -
Students must book accommodation themselves. They are usually requested to sign a contract and pay a deposit up front. This deposit will be returned to them if all is in order with the accommodation on departure. There are various agencies which offer different types of accommodation to cover all needs:
On - Campus accommodation can be secured online at http://www.witcampusservices.ie/accommodation/
Private houses or apartments or house share options are listed through [email protected] or the agencies named above.
The International Office will book temporary Bed & Breakfast (B&B) accommodation for students. Please note that students must bear the cost of this themselves. B&B rates generally range from €45-€65 per head and most are in walking distance to WIT.
The WIT accommodation office can also provide a list of 5 day home stay accommodation.
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Ireland has a cold climate from November – February with temperatures varying from -5ºC to 5ºC. It is advised to bring water proof clothing and warm clothes (jumpers, coat etc.) From March onwards, the weather gets warmer with temperatures rising. Please see http://www.met.ie/ for further information on Irish weather.
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In all probability you will be flying into Dublin airport. From Dublin, there are a number of possibilities for getting to Waterford. Please see below for the different ways of getting to Waterford.
Bus
Bus services are provided by Bus Éireann (http://www.buseireann.ie) to all major Irish centres, and by JJ Kavanagh & Sons (http://www.jjkavanagh.ie) to locations such as Dublin and Carlow. The Bus Éireann station is located on the quays opposite Dooley’s Hotel and J.J. Kavanagh & Sons stop at both the Bus Éireann station and on Parnell Street in Waterford. Bus Éireann have ten daily services to Dublin Monday to Saturday with five on a Sunday. J.J. Kavanagh & Sons have twelve daily departures to Dublin Monday to Sunday.J.J. Kavanagh & sons operate a regular bus service from Dublin airport to Waterford. Please see their website for times of buses. This journey takes approximately four hours.
Rail
Trains also operate from Dublin to Waterford. For timetables please see: http://www.irishrail.ie/The main train station at Waterford City is Plunkett station. It is located across Edmund Rice Bridge on the north side of the River Suir.
There are seven daily connections to Dublin; 4 daily connections to Limerick Junction; and 1 direct daily connection each way to Rosslare Europort and onwards to Wexford & Enniscorthy. There are no direct passenger services between Waterford and Cork. A change at Limerick Junction allows passengers to join the Dublin-Cork line.
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Yes the International office organises an Induction programme for all new students. Students will be informed of the date of this a number of weeks before the event. Infornation can also be found on the Pre-Arrival section of the website.
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Upon arrival in Ireland the WIT Office for International Relations will provide you with a letter of introduction to open a bank account. Simply bring this letter with your passport to the AIB Campus Branch (WIT Main Campus - Cork Road) to open your account.
Within 24 hours your account will be activated and you will be provided with your IBAN and Swift code. International banking transfers can then be made directly into your account thus there is no requirement to bring international cheques or bank drafts, as these can take 6 weeks to clear.
Please note; It is important to notify the branch in advance of your departure to close your account.
http://www.wit.ie./current_students/other_services/aib-campus-bank
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Yes an international student at WIT will receive an email account at registration. The email address is normally the student’s WIT ID number followed by @wit.ie, for example: [email protected]
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Private medical Insurance is a prerequisite for obtaining a student visa. The onus is on the individual student to obtain their own private medical insurance. This is a requirement to obtain a study visa to come and study in Ireland. Students may obtain medical insurance from their home country or an Irish provider.
Some of the main medical insurance providers in Ireland are:
- Halligan Insurances, TEL: +35318797100, WEB: www.halligan.ie
- O'Driscoll O'Neil, TEL: +35316395800, WEB: http://www.studyandprotect.com
- The Voluntary Health Insurance Board (VHI), TEL: +35318724499, WEB: www.vhi.ie
- Laya Healthcare, TEL: +1890700890/+353212022000, WEB: www.layahealthcare.ie
- Aviva, TEL: +1890717717, WEB: www.avivahealth.ie
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The following services are available to ALL students at WIT:
Health Centre
The Health Centre is located on the Cork Road Campus and is staffed by nurses and doctors whose function is to provide a service of general health treatment and care. The Institute Nurse is Louis Nevin and she is Involved in the promotion of health and well being of all members of the Institute through various workshops, seminars and activities. Her contact details are Cork Rd Campus – Room R14, Tel: 051-302863, College St Campus: C0 Corridor in College St. (9.15 – 12.45) Tel: 845671, Emergency No: 087-2724422
Counselling Service
WIT has a confidential counselling service which is free of charge for all students. No problem is too big or small to bring to counselling. To make an appointment to see one of the counsellors call into the medical centre on the cork road campus or call the receptionist on 051 302873. Counselling is available Monday to Friday in the Medical Centre on the Cork Road campus.
Chaplain
The chaplain, David Keating provides pastoral care for students in WIT and responds to the personal needs of individual students on a day-to-day basis. The Chaplain’s office is located at D26 on the Cork Road campus, Telephone 051-302617 or 086 330 2086, After hours on 051-378878, E-mail: [email protected]. There is also a Quiet Room available on the Cork Road Campus where students can go at any time of the day to pray or meditate.
Careers Centre
The Careers Centre is available to help you prepare for the future and to advise you in your career choices and job seeking strategies. The centre also run career workshops, seminars, employers fairs and presentations. You can contact the careers centre by email at [email protected] or by telephone at 051 302038.
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The students’ code of conduct can be found here
Main Campus Cork Road, Waterford City, 
