A student must meet the nationality or immigration status requirement in order to be considered for a student grant. In Section B of the application you will be asked to confirm your nationality or immigration status. There are a number of categories as outlined below:
Nationality
To qualify you must be either:
- an Irish national,
- a national of another EU Member State, the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland:
If you are an Irish national you will be requested by SUSI later in the process to provide a photocopy of the long version of your birth certificate if you were born on the island of Ireland before 1 January 2005.
For a national of another EU Member State, the EEA or Switzerland you will be requested by SUSI later in the process to provide at least one or more of the following:
- a certified photocopy of your passport.
- a national ID card issued by an EU Member State
- a certificate of naturalisation together with a certified copy of your passport or other official documentation;
- a foreign births registration certificate together with a certified copy of your passport.
To have your photocopy certified you should present the copy and the original at your local Garda Station where the copy will be stamped and signed as being a true copy of the original by a member of the Garda Siochána or a Commissioner of Oaths. The person certifying the copy must provide his or her name, address and telephone number.
Immigration Status
If one of the nationality categories above does not apply in your case you will then need to have:
- been declared a refugee under the Refugees Act 1996, or
- admitted to Ireland as a Programme Refugee, or
- permission to remain in Ireland as a family member of a refugee under section 18 of the Refugee Act 1996, or
- been granted subsidiary protection under the European Communities (Eligibility for Protection) Regulations 2006, or
- permission in writing to enter and reside in Ireland under Regulation 16 of the European Communities (Eligibility for Protection) Regulations 2006, or
- permission to remain in the State as a family member of a European Union, EEA or Swiss citizen under the European Communities (Free Movement of Persons) Regulations 2006 and 2008 and EU Directive (EU Treaty Rights provisions), or
- permission to remain because of marriage or civil partnership with an Irish national or because you are the dependent child of such person, or
- humanitarian leave to remain granted before the Immigration Act 1999 came into effect, or
- permission to remain in Ireland following a decision not to deport you under section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999.
If you qualify under the above you will be requested by SUSI later in the application process to provide certified copies of your current permission to remain in Ireland. The following evidence may be asked for:
- Department of Justice and Equality letters issued to you confirming details of your immigration status in Ireland, and/or
- Department of Justice and Equality letters issued to your family member where your immigrations status is dependent on your family member’s immigration status in Ireland;
- Certified copy of your Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) Certificate of Registration cards;
- Certified copy of your passport.
SUSI may ask for additional documents as further evidence.
To have your photocopy certified you should present the copy and the original at your local Garda Station where the copy will be stamped and signed as being a true copy of the original by a member of the Garda Siochána or a Commissioner of Oaths. The person certifying the copy must provide his or her name, address and telephone number.
