The Irish Times is reporting that visa delays for Indian international students could mean that many students will not receive their visas in time to commence their studies at top Irish universities, including University College Dublin, and the University of Limerick.
UL’s teaching term starts on the 4 September, and UCD’s term starts on 11 September.
Irish university administrators fear that visa delays for Indian international students would cost Irish universities millions in lost fees and damage Ireland’s reputation in the highly competitive international education market.
Uncertainty around the UK as a study destination following the Brexit vote has has driven an increase in the number of non-EU international students applying to Irish colleges. For example, the number of applications from non-EU students to UCD has increased by 26% this year.
Andrew Deeks, the president of University College Dublin, was so worried about the visa delays that he wrote to Ireland’s Minister for Justice and Minister for Education in late April.
His letter explained that UCD is expecting 700 Indian international students who have been accepted at UCD to apply for visas between June and August, compared to 300 during the same period last year. Mr Deeks said if 400 international students were not able to commence their studies at UCD due to visa delays the lost revenue for the college would be €8.4 million.
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The University of Limerick has the same concerns. A UL spokeswoman said:
Many students may not receive their visas on time to commence their studies. Not only will this have an impact on UL, it will also impact on Ireland’s reputation as an international education destination.
Ireland’s Department of Justice said that measures have been put in place to deal with the increased demand, including additional staff in the visa office in New Delhi and elsewhere.