In order for a non-EEA student to register for a stamp 2 permission they must enrol and commence a course of study from the Interim List of Eligible Programmes (ILEP). The ILEP lists almost 7,800 programmes with more than 140 suppliers. The ILEP was developed as part of a series of reforms to the student immigration system for international education. This was in response to concerning practices within certain parts of the sector and a number of college closures. It was introduced as a more restrictive list of education programmes eligible for student immigration purposes. Programme providers must now meet certain standards and requirements in order to have their programmes included on the ILEP and be accredited by recognised Irish awarding bodies.
Providers listed on the ILEP must operate a delayed payment account or separate client visa/escrow account with a financial body regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland for handling advance fee payments from students applying for a visa to come to Ireland to study a programme on the ILEP. The funds must remain in this account until the student’s visa application is determined. A strict refund policy also applies. If the visa application is refused, the funds, less any pre-indicated handling charge, must be returned to the student within 20 working days of the decision being received by the provider.
The requirement to operate a separate client visa account does not apply to the designated awarding bodies, the institutes of technology and other bodies that have been granted the statutory power to make awards under Irish law. As part of this requirement, statements /reconciliation reports in relation to this account must be maintained. The statements /reconciliation reports must be available for review at the time of inspection or when requested by my Department. Failure to comply with this criterion may result in a provider being removed from the ILEP.
My Department monitors activities and conducts inspections to determine ongoing compliance with all ILEP criteria and requirements. Inspections, including unannounced inspections, form part of ongoing monitoring activities to ensure compliance with ILEP requirements and immigration regulations.
It was necessary to halt inspections during the pandemic due to the public health restrictions. However, monitoring activities still continued, involving routine or specific requests for records and information relating to compliance with requirements and sector-wide surveys.
The client visa account is one of the many requirements reviewed during an inspection. Where a provider is not complying with criteria or requirements, the provider and their programme details will be removed from the ILEP within 5 working days unless a successful appeal is lodged. Where a provider is unable to satisfactorily demonstrate its compliance with elements of the criteria, it will be moved to a provisional listing. To be reinstated to a full listing, the provider must demonstrate within a set timeframe that significant improvements have been made to rectify the concern, or be removed from the ILEP.
No providers have been removed from the ILEP on the basis of non-compliance with the requirement to operate a delayed payment account or separate client visa/escrow account with a financial body regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.
Students are advised to do their research first before paying any money and to only contact the education provider directly.
