Students from outside the EU and the European Economic Area (EEA) will no longer have to wait in day-long queues when renewing their student visas as the process has been moved to a new online system for booking appointments.
In previous years, affected students seeking to renew their student visa were inconvenienced by having to queue for several hours outside Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) buildings. Under the new reforms, with the registration of non-EU students now the responsibility of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service, appointments are expected to last approximately 60 minutes.
With the new online booking system, it will no longer be possible to use the early morning ticketing system, eliminating large queues from this process. Additionally, group visits will not be made possible under these changes.
The Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service, who has been working with Trinity’s Global Relations Office in streamlining the immigration process, is now responsible for the registration of non-EU students and those originating outside the EEA. The GNIB previously held this task.
The implementation of these reforms comes almost a year after an announcement that students are no longer allowed to register at the Public Office at Burgh Quay and that there will be a change in the immigration process of non-EU students. It is expected that students can begin using the online booking system on Monday, August 29th, though this is subject to change. An email will be sent out in the near future to confirm when this new service will become available.
The six steps now necessary to register as a non-EU student include a current valid passport, a college letter stipulating course and duration, making an appointment through the INIS website, and arriving at Burgh Quay on appointment day no longer than ten minutes before the designated time.
These reforms are expected to have a positive impact on the international student community, significantly accelerating the immigration process for international students at college.
In an email to postgraduate students informing them of this development, President of Trinity College Dublin Graduate Students’ Union (TCDGSU), Shane Collins, thanked Dr Juliette Hussey, Trinity’s Vice President for Global Relations; and Colum Cronin, Trinity’s International Student Liaison Officer and Global Room Manager, for their work in these reforms, as well as citing the entire Global Relations team for “continuing to improve the student experience for our international community”.
