Dáil Éireann Debate, Monday - 11 September 2023
1089. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Justice the reason foreign language students in Ireland on six-month courses are limited to working a maximum of 20 hours per week as well as attending their course under the terms of their visas; whether she would consider changing this for all such students as long as there is adequate proof that they are attending the language course fully; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37431/23]
View answerMy Department has responsibility for immigration-related matters, including the entry and residence conditions of non-EEA students, who are granted a Stamp 2 immigration permission. My Department consults and engages with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, among other key stakeholders, in this area.
Permission to remain is granted on the basis that a student's primary purpose for being in the State is to study. All applicants for permission to study in Ireland must show that they have sufficient funds to support their stay in Ireland without recourse to public funds, or the reliance on casual employment.
However, since April 2001, non-EEA students with a Stamp 2 immigration permission, and who are enrolled on courses with education providers listed on the Interim List of Eligible Programmes (ILEP) including English language courses, have been afforded the opportunity to work.
This allows them to take up casual employment to supplement their income while studying in Ireland. During term time, non-EEA students can work up to 20 hours per week and during normal college holiday periods they can work on a full time basis up to 40 hours per week.
The conditions attaching to all immigration permissions are kept under ongoing review by my Department with all relevant stakeholders, however, there are no current plans to revise this long-standing arrangement.
