Bare minimum
€760
process costs
- IRP fee: €300
- Health insurance: €400
- Photos and copies: €60
Brazilians, Argentinians, Chileans and Mexicans do not apply before travelling: the process happens on arrival. What to bring, what it costs, and the deadlines that matter.
Brazilians, Argentinians, Chileans and Mexicans need no visa in advance to study in Ireland. You fly with the school's letter, clear airport immigration, and register Stamp 2 within the first 90 days (€300 fee). The course must run 25+ weeks at an ILEP school to carry work rights.
0
visa in advance (most LatAm)
90 days
deadline to register the IRP
€300
registration fee
€6,665
required funds
Section 1 · How it works
Ireland is one of the few destinations where many nationalities sort everything out after arriving. No consulate application, no months-long queue: you fly with the right documents and register in-country.
What changes the process is the length and type of course. The table below sums up who needs what.
| Situation | Visa needed? | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Tourism (up to 90 days) | No | Enter with a valid passport, no registration. |
| Short course (up to 90 days) | No | Enter as a visitor. No work rights. |
| 25+ week course (ILEP) | Register on arrival | Stamp 2 on the IRP card within the first 90 days. €300 fee. Grants work rights. |
| Colombians, Peruvians, Venezuelans | Visa in advance | Different rules: a visa before travelling and ~€10,500 in funds. |
| Spouse and children | Not permitted | Stamp 2 does not cover dependants; each needs their own visa. |
Section 2 · Process costs
The costs of the process itself, excluding course and living costs (those live in the cost guide). Three profiles, from the bare minimum to a comfortable run.
Bare minimum
€760
process costs
Typical
€1,010
process costs
Comfortable
€1,400
process costs
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💡 Insurance is the item that varies most: it must cover the whole course period and immigration checks it at registration. Suspiciously cheap plans can be refused; confirm the plan meets student requirements.
Section 3 · Proof of funds
Required amount
€6,665
= €833 × 8 months
≈ €833 per month
At Stamp 2 registration, immigration requires €6,665 in an account (yours or a sponsor's). It is the proof that you can support yourself until you can work.
How to prove it: recent bank statements + a bank letter, with a certified translation if the documents are not in English. App screenshots do not count; request the official statement.
Does a sponsor work? Yes, with a sponsor letter, proof of the relationship (parents, for instance) and their statement. It slows the process; if you can, carry the amount in your own account.
Section 4 · Step by step
The school's acceptance letter is the central document of the whole process. No ILEP, no Stamp 2.
Between €400 and €800. Check the plan is accepted for students; immigration verifies it.
€6,665 in an official statement + bank letter, with certified translation. Organise it before flying.
Minimum validity of 6 months beyond the planned return. A one-way ticket is accepted for Stamp 2 registrants.
School letter, insurance, funds, address in Ireland. The officer stamps you in and points you to registration.
Within the first 90 days. €300 by card. Book early: Dublin slots vanish fast.
The card arrives in 2 to 4 weeks. With it in hand you can work 20 h/week (40 h on holidays) and get a PPS number.
Section 5 · Comparison
The two most searched study-and-work destinations run opposite processes: Ireland sorts everything on arrival; Malta requires a visa before you travel for long courses.
| Criterion | 🇮🇪 Ireland | 🇲🇹 Malta |
|---|---|---|
| Visa before travelling | No (most LatAm passports) | Yes, for 15+ weeks |
| Where the process happens | On arrival (IRP registration) | At home (VFS) + eResidence there |
| Fees | €300 (IRP) | ~€280 (D visa + VFS) + permit |
| Timing | Register within 90 days of arrival | Apply ~45 days before flying |
| Funds | €6,665 | €26/day (~€4,700 for 6 months) |
"I landed in Dublin terrified of immigration. I showed the school letter, insurance and a translated statement: five minutes and a stamp. Booking the IRP slot was harder than the interview."
Rafa, 23 · Curitiba → Dublin · 8 months
Illustrative testimonial based on real accounts. Verified student reviews appear on each school's page.
Next step
The whole process hinges on a letter from an ILEP school with a 25+ week course. We filter those automatically.
Section 6 · FAQ
These answers ship as FAQ schema (JSON-LD) so they can surface in Google AI Overviews.
You can, if the documents do not add up. The officer checks: paid school letter, valid insurance, funds and an address. With those four in order, entry is routine. Vague answers about your plans and missing papers are what cause problems.
For Stamp 2 registration it is not mandatory: a long stay is expected. Even so, some officers ask about your exit plan; a flexible ticket or a clear explanation of the course settles it.
The expected flow is arriving already enrolled (the school letter is what justifies student entry). Switching from tourist to student inside the country is possible in some cases, but risky and slower. Enrol first.
2 to 4 weeks after attending registration. The real bottleneck is the appointment: in Dublin, the month's slots vanish within hours. Start trying as soon as you have a fixed address.
You become undocumented, which compromises future renewals and can cause trouble on exit. If booking is genuinely impossible, keep evidence of your attempts; immigration tends to take it into account. But do not leave it to the last week.
You renew with a new enrolment on an eligible course and proven minimum attendance on the previous one (85%). The Stamp 2 ceiling is 2 years in total; after that, the route is another status (work, higher education).
Sources:
Trust caveats: