At the end of August, the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) announced an amnesty of sorts to persons who have been working in Ireland on a student visa since before 1 st January 2005. The student visa (Stamp 2) allows a person who is perusing a course of study in Ireland to work for up to 20 hours during term time and 40 hours during holiday time. Up until now, a person was allowed to remain on a student visa in Ireland for no more than 7 consecutive years, at which point their either had to apply for a more permanent working status in Ireland, or cease employment.
In the changes announced in the last few weeks, employees who have been working on a student visa for more than 7 years can now enter into a 2-year probationary period. Provided that the following criteria are abided by during the 2-year period, the employee can then apply for more permanent status:
- The person will be required to maintain private medical insurance.
- The person will be required to reside in the State without drawing on publicly funded social assistance programmes (e.g. welfare payments, medical card etc.)
- The eligible student must be of good character and must not be charged or convicted of a criminal offence during this time.
The eligible person will also not be permitted to apply for reunification with family members who are resident outside the State during the probation period. This announcement is particularly relevant for employers who are currently employing, or receive an application in the future, from a person who has been on a student visa since prior to 1 st January 2005. In such cases, the person can be employed for up to 40 hours per week, with the normal term-time restrictions not applying.
