International Students Coming to Ireland – Everything you Need to Know

International Students Coming to Ireland: Everything you Need to Know

Name: HomeHak
Price range: $

Where do they come from?

The biggest increase has been international students from other EU states, jumping from 1,934 in 2017 to 6,383 in 2022.

According to the Irish Times, the total number of full-time, non-EEA international students reached nearly 18,500 in 2018. The Irish Higher Education Authority (HEA) states that the main non-EEA sending countries for Ireland are the United States, China, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Canada. Asia sends the largest share of students (43% as of 2017/18), followed by North America (30%), and the EU (20%).

As reported by this report, applications from British students increased by 9 per cent this year. In 2021, Ireland was home to 25,000 international students. India is the second-biggest source of international students on the island.

International Students Coming to Ireland: Everything you Need to Know — Photo by Javier Trueba on Unsplash

Top tips for International Students arriving to Ireland

Rental scams

September has approached, and students are heading back to college. The rental market has never been busier. With the surge in demand for accommodation, hopeful tenants are being advised to be cautious of a variety of rental scams. HomeHak has put together some useful information about scams related to renting.

Bank account

One of the first things you should do is open a student bank account. Each university usually has a banking partner on campus.

Budgeting for international students

To enable you to enjoy your university experience to the fullest, you need to learn to manage your money correctly. One of the biggest ways to save money in university is through your grocery shopping. As an international student in Ireland, you can enjoy a range of great discounts and savings. These will make your finances easier to manage.

Shopping and discounts

Ireland has several student discount cards. They range from freebies to money off. Below, we list the cards we recommend adding to your student wallet.

iConnect Card

– You can save up to €450 on MacBook iPad ranges with a valid third-level student card.

>Student Leap Card

– Ireland’s primary student travel card.

ISIC Card

– ISIC has been the mainstay discount card for international students for over 50 years. They offer exclusive discounts on a vast range of products and services in over 125 countries.

Affordable Supermarkets

Grocery shopping will eat up a large part of your student budget. It pays to shop around to find the cheapest supermarket in your local area. Here, we list the supermarkets that are the cheapest.

Manage your time

As you settle into the swing of things, your time in Ireland is going to fly by. Plan Your Next Adventure with Discover Ireland.

Ireland’s Weather

Ireland is the type of place where you can experience the four seasons in one day. Ensure to pack wisely for cold, warm and wet days.

HomeHak International students — Photo by Erik Witsoe on Unsplash

Student Travel Card

A student travel card will get you discounts on your travel throughout Ireland. Also, giving you great savings is the Student Leap Card.

For more information on these tips, check out our article International Students Studying in Irish Universities Top Tips.

Embassies

Full details of all Diplomatic Missions in Ireland or accredited to Ireland on a non-resident basis can be found in the link below. This has been issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs. It includes information on the index of missions and representations accredited to Ireland. Diplomatic List July 2022

Irish Banks

To open an Irish bank account as an international student, you will need:

Certificate of Attendance

These are Bank of Ireland, Allied Irish Banks and Ulster Bank. Each offers a student account with differing service fees and added extras.

Mobile phone

Ireland has a reliable phone network. The country is covered by several major network providers. There are a number of options available to you, depending on your budget and requirements. These include a fixed-term contract, sim-only plan or pay-as-you-go tariff.

The main operators we’d recommend in Ireland are

Healthcare

The INIS visa service offers information on the process of finding health insurance in Ireland. On average, health insurance for international students costs around €100 – €120 per annum.

Working in Ireland

Here are the conditions you need to be aware of:

EU Students

If you’re travelling from the EU, you can work in Ireland without registering for a GNIB card.

Non-EU Students

Non-EU students can seek casual work of up to 20 hours a week during term-time, provided they have a card. In June, July, August and September, non-EU students can work up to 40 hours per week.

You cannot work in Ireland if your course is under six months in length.

Start with the university careers portal. These list a range of term-time positions available on and off campus. Then, check job sites such as Monster, Jobs and Irish Jobs. Distribute your CV to local businesses, as not all positions are advertised online.

Why use a Tenant CV?

It’s an easy-to-read document.
HomeHak tenant CV shows off information a landlord would need to know. Head to our article What is a Tenant CV? for more information.
It promotes you as a suitable tenant.
A tenant CV takes some frustration out of the rental application process.
It provides all valuable and essential information for the homeowner upfront. Check out our article on 6 Reasons to Use a Tenant CV.

Landlord References

A landlord recommendation letter (rental reference) is an crucial component of your rental application. In a competitive rental market, a good reference can make a huge difference. Check out our article Importance Of a Reference for Irish University Student Accommodation.

Important links for international students

Revenue office

www.revenue.ie

Safety

www.garda.ie

Irish Newspapers

www.irishexaminer.com

Travel in Ireland

www.discoverireland.com/ire

Irish Council for International Students

www.internationalstudents.ie

Link to University websites In Ireland For International Students

Trinity College Of Trinity

University College Dublin

University College Cork

Dublin City University

Technological University Dublin

University Of Limerick

Maynooth University

Galway National University Of Ireland

Athlone Institute Of Technology

Carlow Technology Institute

Dundalk Technology Institute

Limerick Institute Of Technology

Letterkenny Institute Of Technology

Waterford Institute Of Technology

Cork Institute Of Technology

Sligo Technology Institute

Institute Of Technology, Tralee

Dublin Business School

Griffith College Dublin

Useful articles for international students

Study in Ireland: A Guide for International Students

International Students

Student visas to study in Ireland

Study in Ireland

Top recommended websites for international students

Irish Council for International Students

Irish Universities Association

Citizens Information

Education in Ireland

Embassy World

The Irish Naturalisation & Immigration Service

Google Maps

July 29, 2022November 29, 2022

LinkedIn – Why this is the Key Ingredient for Irish University Students

LinkedIn – Why this is the Key Ingredient for Irish University Students

LinkedIn is like being on social media and advancing your future career prospects. HomeHak is going to explore why this social network matters as a student. If you are a student, here are some of the reasons why you should be on it.

Getting Job Email Alerts

Firstly, once you have created your professional profile on LinkedIn, you can set email alerts to receive notifications of recommended jobs. Secondly, students and jobseekers will be able to see the notifications on their homepage as soon as they log into their LinkedIn accounts.

Connecting with Professionals

If you have a look at LinkedIn, you’ll be surprised to find out the large number of professionals who choose to connect here. In fact, you can find your friends, co-workers, colleagues, classmates and family members on this platform. Consequently, it’s never a tough job connecting with them all. What’s more, you can even import your email list to find out who among your friends is present on LinkedIn.

LinkedIn in Irish Universities - HomeHak — Photo by LinkedIn Sales Solutions on Unsplash

Conducting Company Research

One of the biggest benefits LinkedIn offers college students and jobseekers is that they can check out the pages of their targeted employers. By visiting company, pages, you can conduct a research on the whereabouts of the company, the hiring process and what people have to say about that organization. This kind of company research on LinkedIn can always keep a stay ahead of your competition and increases your employability.

Getting Recommendations

What’s more, LinkedIn also offers a feature through which you can get other people to recommend you. People with a maximum number of recommendations have a great chance of attracting the employers’ attention. College students too can try to get as many recommendations as possible to increase their employability.

Letting Companies Find You

Today, a large number of organizations look for talented candidates on social networking platforms like LinkedIn. If you have created a good and detailed professional profile, chances are you will attract employer’s attention. And it would really be nice to be invited by companies for your job position you always wanted to occupy.

Connecting with Other Students

Furthermore, college students can also use LinkedIn to network with other students. This type of networking gives a wonderful opportunity to find out how other college graduates found a job or got hired by an employer.

Check this article out to learn more about how to stay organised as a student in an Irish University.

To summarise

It’s about time that college students too created their profiles.It is time to start to use this social media platform for connecting with professionals. To conclude, prepare yourself as early as possible. You can easily stay ahead of your competition when it comes to landing a job of your interest. For more reasons to be on LinkedIn, check out this article.

July 29, 2022November 29, 2022

Stay Organised as a Student in Irish University – The Importance and How To.

How to stay organised as a student in Irish university

Stay Organised as a Student in Irish University – The Importance and How To

There are many reasons as to why you want to stay organised in college. First and foremost, it will drastically reduce your stress levels. And when you’re less stressed, you’ll feel better and perform better on assignments. You’ll also have more time for the things you enjoy doing, and you’ll just be a more pleasant person to be around.

1. Your Calendar

Calendars free up so much space in your head helping you to stay organised. Instead of having to remember appointments, classes, or due dates using post-it notes or scraps of paper in your wallet, you can have everything organized in a convenient, visual format. And if you use a digital calendar, you can automatically get reminders of important events before they sneak up on you.

2. Stay Organised with a To-Do List/Task Manager

You could use a whiteboard or a blank notebook if you want. What matters is that you keep an updated list of the tasks you need to accomplish, as well as, you know, actually doing said tasks. To make your to-do list, you should first create a brain dump of everything that you need to do on a regular basis. Here are some tasks that most college students need to do:

Homework assignments
Cleaning your apartment
Preparing meals
Club or society tasks
Anything you’re learning outside of class

Stay organised in Irish universities — Photo by Cathryn Lavery on Unsplash

3. Your Notes

Taking good notes is key to staying organised, comprehending and retaining any lectures or presentations that your professors give. But taking notes on its own isn’t enough — to get the most value out of your notes, you need to keep them organized. For some people, this could be as simple as having a different notebook for each class and referring back to it when you need to study for an exam.

4. Your Class Materials and Files (Digital and Physical)

We recommend you keep all of your class materials organized either in a physical three-ring binder or in some kind of digital system. To stay organised, you could put all of the material in Evernote along with your notes, or you could have dedicated Google Drive folders for each class (other cloud sync apps like Dropbox and OneDrive work here as well, but Drive offers the best value for students unless you specifically need Microsoft Office).

5. Your Backpack

Your backpack (or briefcase or purse or whatever you use) is key for keeping all of these materials organized and at the ready. Organizing your backpack isn’t hard — the key step is to remember to fill your backpack with the things you need for the day. After all, there’s nothing worse than showing up in class, only to get that sinking feeling in your stomach as you realize that you don’t have the book or paper you need.

To summarise

Use a calendar. Make a to-do list. Organise your notes. Keep track of all class materials. Invest in a comfty bagpack. Getting organized is the easy part. How to stay organized throughout the semester is the hard part. We hope you enjoyed HomeHaks top tips for staying organised throughout your academic career!

For more college hacks, check out our other articles:

July 29, 2022September 21, 2022

International Students Studying in Irish Universities Top Tips

Top Tips for International Students Studying in Irish Universities

It is a truly enriching experience to study in an Irish University. With highly dedicated and qualified staff, our universities have a prestigious reputation of delivering world class education to the highest standard. According to the Irish Universities Association, there are currently over 32,000 international students studying in Ireland availing of the extensive range of courses available. Read more to find your top tips for international students studying in Ireland.

You might be feeling a bit anxious. Fear not, as HomeHak has put together our top tips for international students coming to Ireland to make you feel more at ease.

Bank account

One of the first things you should do is open a student bank account. Each university usually has a banking partner on campus. This makes it easy for you to open a bank account with appropriate supporting documents. In addition, it takes the stress away of having to choose the right bank and you can get the process done in minutes. Want to know the different student bank accounts in Ireland? Compare and apply online here.

Budgeting for international students

To enable you to enjoy your university experience to the fullest, you need to learn to manage your money correctly. One of the biggest ways to save money in university is through your grocery shop. Furthermore, Lidl and Aldi are the best budget supermarkets to do your food shop in. They can help save you a substantial amount of money on your food bill. Want more tips? Check out this article.

Jar with savings — Photo by Towfiqu Barbhuiya on Unsplash

Manage your time

As you settle into the swing of things, your time in Ireland is going to fly by. Plan Your Next Adventure with Discover Ireland.

Irelands Weather

Ireland is the type of place where you can experience the four seasons in one day. Ensure to pack wisely for cold, warm and wet days. Moreover, summer temperatures usually range from 16-22 celcius with winters rarely dropping below freezing point but still quite cold.

Student Travel Card

A student travel card will get you discounts on your travel throughout Ireland. Also, giving you great savings is the Student Leap Card. The Student Leap Card is the national student travel card. Furthermore, it can help you with savings on mobile plans, travel and shopping. Besides, card holders can get student discounts on fares for Go-Ahead Ireland, Dublin Bus, Luas, Bus Éireann, DART and Irish Rail (Iarnród Éireann).

The Irish People

The Irish are well known around the world for their friendliness and love to converse with strangers. Furthermore, if you ever need something during your time in Ireland don’t be afraid to ask as the Irish will go above and beyond to help you out. The one thing you will be guaranteed from studying in Ireland is a few new Irish friends too! So don’t be shy and get out of your comfort zone and mix with new people.

Here are some links international students might find helpful

To summarise

Ireland prides itself in nurturing international students and helping them to adapt to a new culture. Equally important, each university has a dedicated international office for your needs. Additionally, there is also a diverse range of clubs, societies and support structures to help you settle into university life in Ireland. Finally, there is magnetic energy around the Emerald Isle Universities. As a result, this draws in students from all over the world. No wonder it is ranked in the top 3% of institutions worldwide.

If you are an international student studying in Ireland, check out our article:

International Students in Cork City – Where to Do Your Shopping?

July 28, 2022November 29, 2022

Irish University Space – Ways To Make it Feel Like Home for Students

Now that secondary school is complete, it’s time to research college room ideas to make your Irish university space feel like home. The great news is your new room is a completely blank slate. Of course, you need the college room essentials, but you also want your room to feel like home.

Here are HomeHak tips to create a space you’ll want to spend time in:

1. Create a photo wall

Everyone gets homesick, so reminders of memorable moments with family and friends can help brighten up your dorm room. Photo walls are a fantastic way to cover those dull walls.

2. Bring some plants

Adding greenery to your dorm room will help it feel fresh and less basic. Houseplants can be good for your health, so bring a few low-maintenance varieties.

3. Light up the night

If your room has fluorescent lights, a bedside lamp adds a softer glow that mellows, instead of you relying exclusively on harsh overhead lighting.

4. Slide into soft sheets and a comfy comforter

A comfortable set of sheets, cozy quilt, or comforter helps keep you sleeping oh-so-soundly.

5. Add a mirror

Mirrors aren’t just for checking your look, they also make your room feel bigger — super important in small spaces.

6. Create a homey feel with curtains

Is your view less than stellar, or your dorm on the first floor? Curtains add privacy and the feel of a finished room. If you like to sleep in, try light-blocking curtains. For a brighter, airier feel, choose sheer curtains to gently filter light. Add some twinkle with fairy lights. Proper lighting can be hard to come by in a dorm room. Add festive twinkle fairy lights to your dorm room ideas for a feeling of comfort. Check our this article on how to make a room feel more like home.

7. Add a plush area rug into your Irish university space

Does your university room have cement floors or thin, industrial-grade carpet? That’s not very cosy for getting in and out of bed. Adding a colourful plush area rug next to your bed adds a pop of colour and softness underfoot. No more cold mornings for your warm feet!

8. Make your bed extra comfy with pillows

When university room decorating, an easy way to add character is with throw pillows. A very simple way to add some vibrance into your space!

To summarise

Student accommodation can often be more practical than palatial. Meaning, if you’ve just moved into your new Irish university space you’re probably eager to make it look a bit more homely. Not only does this make your new home a nicer place to relax and hang-out with friends, but it can also help to offset any feelings of homesickness you may feel.

Here are some more articles on packing for Irish University:

July 27, 2022January 10, 2023

Daily Activities of Successful Students in Irish Universities

There is a common opinion that if you study hard and struggle you will get a good result in the exam. But the reality is different. So how can a student be successful and phenomenal in every step of life? HomeHak has put together some daily activities of successful students.

Wake up early

The first daily activities of successful students is getting up early. People who tend to be more organised, wake up early in the morning, so they have more time to get all their tasks completed. This is going to give you more free time during your busy day as well.

Workouts or Exercise

Waking up early in the morning and moving your body is a must as part of your daily activities. Let’s take a closer look at some of the benefits of exercising early in the morning.

Morning Workouts Enhance Your Metabolism
A Good Morning Workout Routine Will Help Cultivate Consistency
Morning Exercise Improves Your Physical and Mental Energy
Early Morning Workouts Help You Develop Strong Self-Discipline
A Morning Exercise Routine Will Help You Get Better Sleep

Plan Routine in your daily activities

During the morning, make sure to plan out your own routine that’s going to help you do and finish everything on time. A well-constructed routine will not only make you feel fulfilled and like you’re doing the things you’re supposed to, but you will also be on time with everything and will contribute to your overall well-being. Organize the routine based on things you enjoy doing, and it will become second nature to you.

Learn Something New every day

Do you learn something new every day and add to your knowledge? Try to throw information to your brains in every second of the day. No matter how much you accomplish but try to learn something every day. You feel a lot better about the things you do learn because you’re actually backing them up with actions. So every day was the day to learn something new.

Clean Up

Disciplined students always keep clean and organized everything. They take a bath every day because taking a bath has many pros. It can improve heart health, help you to breathe easier and your brain and nervous system can benefit from bathing. Moreover, having a clean space and home will improve the quality of the indoor air, improves mental clarity and deters stress, and housekeeping kills germs.

Read Books Every day

Reading books has many significant benefits and pros. The more you read books, the more you will realize your ignorance and see the better views of life. In addition, it reduces your stress, improves your knowledge, gives stronger analytical thinking skills, and gives you better writing skills.

Reading-a-book — Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash

Use the Internet in your Daily Activities

Successful students always research on the internet, because it internet innovate our daily life, also the positive use of the Internet makes their lives easy and simple. The Internet provides them useful data, information, and knowledge for personal, social, and economic development and make them aware of the world.

Complete Your Assignments on Time

Whether it’s your environment or time management skills, it’s easy for things to discourage you from finishing your homework but finishing homework for organized students are approachable. Because they set aside a specific time to do their homework and create a schedule that will help them to remember their homework. Check out this article for tips to manage time and tasks.

Prepare Overnight

It’s always good to even prepare certain things overnight. Whether it is your outfit or homework or whatever else, don’t leave anything you can get done today for tomorrow or any other day for that matter.

To summarise

Most position holders at school, college or university get a good result and they successfully pass the exam. Although, despite having good grades, when they graduate, the only thing that matters a lot is their knowledge and the ability to operate within the system. We hope you enjoyed HomeHaks daily activities of successful university students and got some inspiration to implement!

For more articles on student hacks, check out our other articles: