Am I an EU or Non-EU applicant?

An EU applicant is a person:

1. who is ordinally resident¹ in the EU²

AND

• who has received full-time post primary education AND/OR
• who has worked full-time³ in the EU for three of the five years immediately preceding admission to Trinity

OR

2. who has

• official refugee status⁴ or has been granted humanitarian leave to remain in the State AND
• who has been ordinarily resident in the EU² for three of the five years immediately preceding admission to Trinity.

Important notes:

1. For students aged under 23, the student's parent(s) must also have been ordinarily resident in an EU2 Member State for three of the five years prior to the student's entry to Trinity.

2. EU, EEA countries (Norway, Iceland and Lichtenstein), Swiss Confederation or United Kingdom.

3. Where an applicant can show that they have been in receipt of social welfare payments this may be taken in lieu of full-time employment.

4. Applicants who have written confirmation that they have been allowed to come to Ireland as part of the family re-unification scheme may also be eligible.

5. The Admissions Team may contact some applicants to seek supporting documentation regarding their EU/non-
EU status.

6. Children of emigrants may be assessed as EU applicants if they can provide documentary evidence of having completed 5+ years of primary and/or secondary education in the EU/EEA/Swiss Confederation or United Kingdom, and have no previous third-level attendance.

All other applications are considered to be non-EU applications.

Additional Notes and Restrictions

1) For students aged under 23, the students parent(s) must also have been "ordinarily resident" in the EU for three of the five years prior to the student's admissions to Trinity College Dublin.
2) Applicants who have written confirmation that they have been allowed to come to Ireland as part of the family re-unification scheme may also be eligible.
3) Children of emigrants may be assessed as EU applicants if they can provide documentary evidence of having completed 5+ years of primary and/or secondary education in the EU/EEA/or Swiss Confederation or United Kingdom and have no previous third-level attendance.
All undergraduate applicants who do not meet this criteria are defined as Non-EU.

Eligibility for the Irish Free Fees Initiative

To qualify for the Irish Free Fees Initiative you must have been living in the EU for at least three of the five years before starting your course.
You must also fulfil one of the following criteria: 
You must:

1. Be a citizen of the EU or
2. Have official refugee status or
3. Be a family member of a refugee and have been granted permission to live in the State or
4. Be a family member of an EU national and have permission to live in the State, with a stamp “4EUFAM” on your residence card or
5. Have been granted humanitarian leave to remain in the State or
6. Have been granted permission to remain in the State by the Minister for Justice and Equality, following a determination by the Minister not to make a deportation order under Section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999.

You must also fulfil all of the following course requirements:

7. Be undertaking a full-time undergraduate course of at least 2 years' duration.
8. Be a first-time full-time undergraduate.
   (However, prior undergraduate qualifications may be taken into consideration where exemptions are provided to a student pursuing a higher undergraduate qualification, to a maximum of Level 8 on the National Framework of Qualifications.)
9. In general, you must not be repeating the year because of failing your exams or changing course. This exclusion may be waived if you repeat a year due to certified serious illness.
    

Additional Notes and Restrictions
Students who acquire EU/EEA citizenship up to 31 January in an academic year may be entitled to free tuition fees from the second half of the academic year.
Students who acquire EU/EEA citizenship from 1 February may be entitled to free tuition fees from the commencement of the next academic year. To be eligible under this ‘Change of Nationality’ clause, students must have met all other criteria of the Irish Free Fees Initiative, apart from nationality at date of entry to their course of study.

A postgraduate EU application is one made by a person who fulfils one or more of the following criteria:

• Ordinarily resident in the EU, EEA, Swiss Confederation or United Kingdom and who has received full-time further or higher education in the EU for three of the five years immediately preceding admission or
• Ordinarily resident in the EU, EEA, Swiss Confederation or United Kingdom and has worked full-time in the EU for three of the five years immediately preceding admission or
• Holds a passport from an EU State, EEA, Swiss Confederation or United Kingdom and has received full-time further or higher education in the EU for three of the five years immediately preceding admission.

Applications from children of the following are treated as EU applications:

• EU government officials living abroad
• Semi-state officials who are on assignment in countries outside the EU
• Volunteer development workers
• Certain EU officials as approved by the Department of Foreign Affairs

 All other applications are considered Non-EU applications. Students who have had periods of residence outside the EU are required to provide documentary evidence for their claim for EU fee status. This evidence must be presented with the application. If required for admission purposes please find the EU or Non-EU Status Form.