Internationalisation Register Frequently Asked Questions

These Frequently Asked questions should be read in conjunction with the following two documents:

Internationalisation Register Eligibility criteria from 01 January 2011

Notice on Vocational, Business and other programmes 21 February 2011

An updated series of FAQ's will be introduced to support the revised arrangements that are being introduced from 18th August

Internationalisation Register
Degree programmes
Non-degree programmes
Language programmes
UK Awards
Alignment to NFQ
Glossary of terms

Internationalisation Register

What is the Internationalisation Register?

The Internationalisation Register lists the education and training programmes approved for students who are citizens from outside the EU / EEA and Switzerland and who wish to make use of the concession to undertake casual work. The Internationalisation Register is administered by the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland (NQAI), on behalf of the Departments of Justice and Equality, and of Education and Skills.

Who can apply to have programmes included on the Register?

Education and training providers can apply to have eligible programmes, which they offer directly, included on the Internationalisation Register. The Register is updated monthly. Completed application forms must be received on or before 18th of each month for consideration for inclusion on the Register in the following month.

Where can I find information on whether programmes are eligible for inclusion on the Register?

Eligibility requirements with effect from 1 January 2011 are explained here. A supplementary notice was issued with effect from 23 February 2011.

These documents are available on the websites of the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland (NQAI) and of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS).

Where can I find information on immigration requirements for students from countries that are not EU / EEA / Switzerland?

Guidelines on the Immigration regime for full-time non EEA students can be found on the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service website here.

Degree programmes

In terms of the Register, what is meant by ‘Degree programmes’?

The New Immigration Regime for full-time non EEA students (published September 2010) divides programmes into two categories. One of these is ‘Degree Programmes’. For purposes of inclusion in the Register, a Degree Programmes is defined as follows: “a nationally accredited higher education programme at NFQ level 7 or higher”.

A ‘degree programme’ will be eligible for inclusion on the Register where

It leads to one of the following award types, or to an award deemed to be comparable: Ordinary Bachelor Degree, Honours Bachelor Degree, Higher Diploma, Postgraduate Diploma, Masters Degree or Doctoral Degree, and
the award it leads to is made by a specified type of awarding body (see next FAQ) and
the programme has an associated workload of at least 60 ECTS credits per academic year and
Non-EEA students must be attending the programme on a full-time / daytime basis.

In terms of the ‘Degree programmes’ on the Register, what is meant by a ‘specified type of Awarding Body’?

For ‘Degree programmes’, the specified types of awarding body are:

A recognised Irish awarding body i.e. Dublin Institute of Technology, Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC), Institutes of Technology with delegated authority to make awards, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Universities, other bodies that have statutory powers under Irish law to make awards.
A recognised awarding body from a European Higher Education Area (EHEA) jurisdiction, which is operating in Ireland. In such cases, the awards offered in Ireland must be verified by the relevant authority in the awarding body’s home jurisdiction as being compatible with the completion of the first, second or third cycle, or an intermediate award in the second cycle of at least 60 ECTS or equivalent credits, of the Framework of Qualifications for the European Higher Education Area (the ‘Bologna Framework’)
A recognised awarding body from a jurisdiction outside the EHEA, the awards of which are recognised in the home jurisdiction; are aligned with the Irish NFQ, and are deemed to mark completion of the first, second or third cycle, or an intermediate award in the second cycle of at least 60 ECTS or equivalent credits, of the Framework for Qualifications of the European Higher Education Area (the ‘Bologna Framework’)

Non-degree programmes

In terms of the Register, what is meant by ‘non-Degree programmes’?

The New Immigration Regime for full-time non EEA students (published September 2010) divides programmes into two categories. One of these is ‘Language and non-Degree Programmes’. Non-Degree programmes are defined in this document as follows: “programmes leading to awards at levels 5 or 6 of the NFQ”. In addition, the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service issued a Supplementary Notice with effect from 23 February 2011. You should refer to both of these documents for greater detail.

A ‘non-degree programme’ will be eligible for inclusion on the Register where:

It leads to one of the following awards, or to an award that is deemed to be comparable: Level 5 Certificate, Advanced Certificate, Higher Certificate

It leads to an award at a level in the NQF / QCF for England, Wales and Northern Ireland that is comparable to Irish NFQ Level 5 or above

It leads to an non-major award (minor, special purpose, supplemental) at NFQ Level 7 or above.

AND

The award it leads to is made by a specified type of awarding body (see next FAQ) and
The programme is of at least one year’s duration and
Formal timetabled hours for student contact amount to at least 15 hours per week and
The programme operates for at least 25 weeks per year and
The tuition element is at least 250 hours over that period and
Non-EEA students must be attending the programme on a full-time / daytime basis.

In terms of the ‘non-Degree programmes’ on the Register, what is meant by a ‘specified type of Awarding Body’?

For ‘non-Degree programmes’, the specified types of awarding body are:

A recognised Irish awarding body i.e. Dublin Institute of Technology, Further Education and Training Awards Council (FETAC), Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC), Institutes of Technology with delegated authority to make awards, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Universities, other bodies that have statutory powers under Irish law to make awards.
A recognised awarding body operating in Ireland from a jurisdiction that is participating in the European Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning (EQF). In such cases, the awards offered in Ireland must be at levels in the national qualifications framework or qualifications system of the home jurisdiction that have been formally referenced to EQF Level 4 or above by the relevant authorities.
A recognised awarding body from a jurisdiction which is not participating in the EQF, the awards of which are formally recognised in the home jurisdiction and are aligned with the Irish NFQ at levels 5 or above.

Language programmes

In terms of the Register, what is meant by ‘Language programmes’?

(a) A ‘language programme’ will be eligible for inclusion on the Register where

It leads to an award recognised by the NFQ at level 6 or below and
The award it leads to is made by a specified type of awarding body (see next FAQ) and
The programme is of at least one year’s duration and
Formal timetabled hours for student contact amount to at least 15 hours per week and
The programme operates for at least 25 weeks per year and
The tuition element is at least 250 hours over that period and
Non-EEA students must be attending the programme on a full-time / daytime basis.

(b) English language programmes are also eligible for inclusion on the Register where they are operating in centres which have been which have been approved by the ACELS quality assurance / inspection scheme, which are recognised by the Minister for Education and Skills and which provide student assessment and certification at the end of the programme through any of the following examinations in the language sector:

Cambridge English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)
International English Language Testing System (IELTS)
Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC)
Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)
Test of Interactive English (TIE)
English Test for Academic and Professional Purposes (ETAPP)
Pearson Academic (PA)

In terms of the ‘Language programmes’ on the Register, what is meant by a ‘specified type of Awarding Body’?

For ‘Language programmes’, the specified types of awarding body are:

A recognised Irish awarding body i.e. Dublin Institute of Technology, Further Education and Training Awards Council (FETAC), Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC), Institutes of Technology with delegated authority to make awards, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Universities, Other bodies that have statutory powers under Irish law to make awards.
A recognised awarding body operating in Ireland from a jurisdiction that is participating in the European Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning (EQF). In such cases, the awards offered in Ireland must be at levels in the national qualifications framework or qualifications system of the home jurisdiction that have been formally referenced by the relevant authorities to EQF Level 5 or below.
A recognised awarding body from a jurisdiction which is not participating in the EQF, the awards of which are formally recognised in the home jurisdiction and are aligned with the Irish NFQ at levels 6 or below.

NOTE : As outlined under Recommendation 10 of the ‘New Immigration Regime for Full Time Non-EEA Students, following an appropriate lead-in period, language courses on the internationalisation register should be on or aligned with the National Framework of Qualifications at level 5 or above or operate under the ACELS quality assurance and

inspection system (or its successor in the amalgamated qualifications body). A further notice will issue in this regard in due course.

UK Awards

My programme leads to an award recognised in the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF) for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Is it eligible for inclusion on the Register as a ‘degree programme’?

For England, Wales and Northern Ireland, only those awards included in the Framework for Higher Education Qualifications (FHEQ) are eligible for inclusion on the Register under the criteria for ‘degree programmes’. Awards included in the QCF do not meet the criteria for ‘degree programmes’.

My programme leads to an award recognised in the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF) for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Is it eligible for inclusion on the Register as a ‘non-degree programme’?

Programmes leading to awards included in the QCF for England, Wales and Northern Ireland are eligible for inclusion providing that they meet the duration and other criteria listed above

My programme leads to an award from a recognised UK Awarding Organisation. Is it eligible for inclusion on the Register?

For inclusion on the Register, the programme must lead to an award that meets the criteria for either (i) degree programmes, or (ii) language and non-degree programmes.

Alignment to NFQ

Does my programme have to lead to an award which has been aligned with the NFQ in order to be eligible for inclusion on the Register?

Alignment of awards with the NFQ is currently a criterion for the Register in the following two circumstances only:

Degree programmes

Where the recognised awarding body is from a jurisdiction outside the EHEA, and its awards are recognised in the home jurisdiction; those awards must be aligned with the Irish NFQ, and be deemed to mark completion of the first, second or third cycle, or an intermediate award in the second cycle of at least 60

ECTS or equivalent credits, of the Framework for Qualifications of the

European Higher Education Area (the ‘Bologna Framework’)

Non-degree programmes

Where the recognised awarding body is from a jurisdiction which is not participating in the EQF, and its awards are formally recognised in the home

Jurisdiction, those awards must be aligned with the Irish NFQ at levels 5 or above.

For further details on alignment, please see http://www.nqai.ie/AlignmentApplications.html

Glossary of terms – Internationalisation Register

ACELS

The Accreditation and Co-ordination of English Language Services (ACELS) is a function of the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland. ACELS provides quality assurance for English language services in Ireland through the management and operation of an Inspection / Recognition Scheme for ELT organisations and an Accreditation Scheme for English Language teacher training providers. See www.acels.ie for further details.

Bologna framework

The ‘Bologna framework’ refers to the Framework of Qualifications for the European Higher Education Area. See http://www.nqai.ie/interdev_bologna.html for further details.

ECTS

The European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System is a student-centred system based on the student workload required to achieve the objectives of a programme. See http://www.nqai.ie/docs/international/ECTS.doc for further details.

EHEA

(The European Higher Education Area) In 1999 European Ministers of Education came together to consider the challenges facing Higher Education systems. A document titled "The European Higher Education Area", better known as the Bologna declaration, was the outcome. Participating countries are asked to verify the compatibility of their higher education qualification framework / systems with the ‘Bologna framework’. See http://www.nqai.ie/interdev_bologna.html for further details and for the report verifying the compatibility of the Irish NFQ with the Bologna Framework.

EQF

The European Qualifications Frameworks for Lifelong Learning (EQF) is an overarching qualifications framework, or common European reference framework, which links countries’ qualifications systems together, acting as a translation device to make qualifications more readable and understandable across different countries and systems in Europe. Participating countries are asked to reference their national qualifications framework / system to the EQF. See http://www.nqai.ie/interdev_eqf.html for further details.

FHEQ

The Framework for Higher Edcaction Qualifications for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. See http://www.qaa.ac.uk/academicinfrastructure/fheq/ewni/default.asp for further details.

INIS

The Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service. See www.inis.gov.ie for further details.

NFQ

The National Framework of Qualifications for Ireland. See www.nfq.ie for further details.

QCF

The Qualifications and Credit Framework for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. See http://www.ofqual.gov.uk/qualification-and-assessment-framework# for further details.