Migrants who acquire citizenship of an EU or EEA country while taking a third level course will no longer have to pay full tuition fees in future, the Department of Education and Skills has announced.
It marks a change from the current fee arrangement for migrant students living in Ireland, who currently receive free primary and secondary education but must pay tuition fees for higher education courses, which in some cases can be more than €10,000 per year.
Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn said he intends the changes in fee structures to represent a new, more equitable approach to migrants who acquire citizenship.
“It recognises the long connections many of them have with Ireland, as well as the positive contribution they can make to our shared future,” he commented.
“This Government has introduced citizenship ceremonies for new Irish citizens, and this policy change will follow on from that development, and ensure that new citizens will be treated exactly the same as those born in Ireland.”
Course fees for non-EEA citizens currently vary based on the institution, but the minister said he has requested that the Higher Education Authority (HEA) oversee the methods used and the fees charged by different colleges, in order to “ensure that all prospective students will have clarity for the first time about the level of tuition fees they may be required to pay”.
Minister Quinn also stated that fees for non-EU or non-EEA students should be charged only to international students with visas but not to EU residents, even if they are non-EEA nationals.
But in order to avoid non-EU fees, students must “also satisfy all other conditions, such as living in Ireland for three of the previous five years,” the department said.
