Regarding changes to the Employment entitlements of Non-EEA Students holding Immigration Stamp 2 – with effect from 1 January 2015: The text in your recent bulletin on this issue was very clear-cut but I am wondering if there is any lead in time for employers for the change to this rule (as many appear to have been unaware of the changes).

Under Irish immigration rules, non-EEA full-time third-level students are permitted to work up to 20 hours per week during term time and up to 40 hours per week during holiday periods under their immigration Stamp 2. However, due to the fact that different third-level institutions had different holiday times, has often been a large disparity in the times that such Stamp 2 holders could work during a particular year.

In September 2014, the Minister for Education and Skills and the Minister for Justice and Equality announced a number of changes to the regulation of the student immigration programme, which included a standardisation of the period in which students can work. From 1 January