Ireland
Reminder of Student Finance requirements from 30 June 2025
The Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration has issued a reminder that, effective 30 June 2025, the amounts for proof of financial support for non-visa required nationals will increase to align with visa required nationals. The increase was announced in March 2025.
This is the third increase in a series of adjustments, which will now bring the financial requirements for visa required and non-visa required nationals into alignment.
Non-visa required nationals:
Those who do not need a visa to come to Ireland must prove that they can support themselves financially during their course of study.
From 30 June 2025, for courses of study that are one year in duration, they must demonstrate that they have access to EUR 10,000.
For courses that result in a stay of six to eight months in duration, the new monthly financial requirement will be EUR 833 per month. This equates to EUR 4998 for a six-month stay, or EUR 6665 for an eight-month stay. This applies to both visa and non-visa required students.
Visa Required nationals:
Those who need a visa to come to Ireland do not need proof of finances on registration of their student permission, as their ability to support themselves during their period of study is checked during the visa application process.
They must show evidence that they have immediate access to at least EUR 10,000 for courses of study that are one year in duration and ready access to the same level of finances for each subsequent year. This is the estimated cost of living in Ireland for a student for one academic year.
From 30 June 2025, for courses that result in a stay of six to eight months in duration, the new monthly financial requirement will be EUR 833 per month. This equates to EUR 4998 for a six-month stay, or EUR 6665 for an eight-month stay. This applies to both visa and non-visa required students.
United Kingdom
New statement of changes in immigration rules
On 24 June 2025, the Home Office published a statement of changes to the Immigration Rules (HC 836). An explanatory memorandum accompanied the statement of changes.
The changes being made concern changes relating to:
- Appendix International Armed Forces and International Civilian Employees
- Appendix Long Residence
- Appendix Continuous Residence
- Appendix Private Life
- EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS): Changes to the continuous qualifying period definition
- Part 9: Changes to make refusals of applications or cancellation of permission mandatory for people excluded from asylum or humanitarian protection or non-refoulement.
Effective 16 July 2025
- Under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS), a pre-settled status holder can be granted settled status where they have been resident in the UK for at least 30 months in total in the most recent 60-month period. This can be any 30 months within that 60-month period. Currently, to qualify for settled status, a pre-settled status holder must be continuously resident in the UK for at least six months in total in any 12-month period, for five years.
- It will become mandatory to refuse an application for entry clearance, permission to enter or permission to stay to someone who is excluded from asylum or humanitarian protection or non-refoulement due to their conduct. It will also become mandatory to cancel any entry clearance or permission held by someone excluded in this way.
Effective 17 July 2025
- The Immigration Rules for International Civilian Employees are being updated to enable a group of approximately 50 US Department of Energy federal employees and civilian sub-contractors to come to the UK to work on US military equipment within 24 hours of an incident.
Effective 29 July 2025
- Young people granted permission in the UK on the basis of their family or private life before 22 June 2022 will be allowed to settle under the five-year private life rules if they meet the half-life test at date of application or met it in a previous application. The half-life test is where a person is aged between 18 and 25 at the date of application, arrived in the UK before the age of 18 and has spent at least half of their life continuously in the UK.
- Changes are also being made to allow children who have lived in the UK for seven years to qualify for settlement after five years.
- The continuous residence requirements for children born in the UK who are applying for settlement is being aligned with those for children who were not born in the UK applying for permission to stay.
- Appendix Long Residence is being changed to clarify that time spent as a British citizen is considered lawful presence, except where that British citizenship has subsequently been deprived. A person who has been deprived of their British citizenship, for example because it was obtained by deception, should not be able to count that time as lawful presence for the purpose of long residence.
There are some other minor changes.
Second ballot of Hong Kong and Taiwan Youth Mobility Scheme
On 23 June 2025, the government announced that the second ballot of the 2025 Youth Mobility Scheme for nationals of Hong Kong SAR and Taiwan will open on Tuesday 15 July 2025 and close on Thursday 17 July 2025. The first ballot was run in February 2025.
Ballots are open for 48 hours and all ballot entry emails received in that 48-hour period will be entered into the ballot. Entrants will receive an automated email confirming their entry.
For the Youth Mobility Scheme visa in 2025, there are 1000 places available for nationals of Hong Kong and 1000 places available for Taiwan. Most places are allocated during the February ballot, while the remaining places will be allocated in the summer.
Successful entrants will receive an email by 1 August 2025. They then have 90 days to submit their application, pay the visa fee and provide their fingerprints and a photograph (biometric information) at a Visa Application Centre (VAC).
They should get a decision on their visa within three weeks of attending their appointment.
If they are successful in the ballot and apply for a Youth Mobility Scheme visa, they will not receive a visa vignette. Instead, they’ll need to create a UKVI account and access their eVisa before you travel to the UK.
Unsuccessful entrants will receive an email within two weeks of the ballot closing. Unsuccessful applicants cannot appeal but can enter future ballots if they continue to meet the eligibility requirements.
Applications for the Youth Mobility scheme visa can be submitted by nationals of Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Korea aged 18 to 35; and nationals of Andorra, Hong Kong SAR, Iceland, Japan, Monaco, San Marino, Taiwan and Uruguay aged 18 to 30.
Applicants from Hong Kong or Taiwan must be selected in the Youth Mobility Scheme ballot before they can apply for their visa.
