Tue, May 26, 2020 -SOME IMPORTANT UPDATES
SOME IMPORTANT UPDATES
Dear SEDA Students,
We hope that you are all keeping well? We hope you that family and friends back home are also well and that this global pandemic will soon be under control. Here are some updates that affect your status as the holder of an International Student Visa.
As well as this, here is some good news from SEDA… We are now offering a credit note to all our students who have remained in Ireland. This is to compensate for the loss of up to 12 weeks of face-to-face tuition, missed due to COVID-19 .
SEDA COURSE CREDITS
SEDA is very aware that the decision to temporarily close English Language schools has brought hardship to many of our students. Given the current situation, SEDA wants to support students as much as possible and wishes to reduce the impact caused by these challenging times. SEDA is therefore now offering a credit note to all students who remained in Ireland to cover up to a maximum of 12 weeks of the tuition missed due to COVID-19 .
For more details please go to this link:
COURSE RENEWAL
The Irish Immigration Authorities recently (21 May 2020) published a document of Frequently Asked Questions to clarify the temporary conditions put in place during the COVID-19 Emergency.
Of significance to International Students is the confirmation that STUDENTS MUST RE-ENROLL INTO CLASSES AS SOON AS THEIR COURSE IS FINISHED (AT THE END OF THEIR HOLIDAY). The two-month extensions that the GNIB are providing are a measure to keep people safe so that they do not need to queue in the Immigration Office. They are not extensions to the length of your course. This is the exact wording from Immigration:
Q 25. My permission was automatically renewed by two months; am I required to re-enrol in a new course, and if so, can I wait until the end of the two months before doing so?
The renewal of permission is on the same basis as the existing permission and the same conditions attach. For students, this means you will be able to continue to work if you so wish but you must also re-enrol in a course of study. This must be done as soon as the previous course is completed and failure to do so will be considered a breach of the permission which may result in your future registration being refused.
You can read more about this at this link:
http://www.inis.gov.ie/en/INIS/Immigration-Service-Delivery-Covid-19-FAQ4.pdf/Files/Immigration-Service-Delivery-Covid-19-FAQ4.pdf
TEMPORARY PERMISSION TO ENROL ON 4th RENEWAL
The Irish Immigration Authorities today (26 May 2020) published a statement to confirm that English Language students may enrol for a 4th time if they are currently livening in Ireland. The course duration will be from the time of enrolment until 31 December 2020:
Students who have completed the maximum 2 years English language study
Language students with a current, valid permission who are still in the State and who have completed the maximum 2 years permitted as a language student, but due to COVID-19 are unable to return home, may remain as students until the end of the year provided they re-enrol in an online course of study for the remainder of the year. For these students, the duration of a course shall be from the date of enrolment to 31 December 2020.
FURTHER CLARIFICATION ON IMMIGRATION RULES AFFECTED BY COVID-19
· Exams
Due to the current COVID-19 restrictions , it is understood that in-person exams are not possible at this time. As an exceptional, short term and temporary measure, and in the absence of online exams being available, ISD will accept a teacher’s assessment in lieu of the exam for Registration purposes. The exam shall be completed by students when available.
· First time registration
As registration offices are currently closed and in light of the difficulties some students may encounter due to not having an IRP card, as a temporary measure between now and 20th July 2020 prospective students can apply to the Registration Office to request a letter confirming their permission to remain in the State and the conditions attached.
· Students who have left the State
Students who left the State before completion of their studies due to COVID-19 may return and resume their studies and the duration of their absence will not count towards the 2 years maximum period of English language study allowed.
· Students who have completed the maximum 2 years
English language study Language students with a current, valid permission who are still in the State and who have completed the maximum 2 years permitted as a language student, but due to COVID-19 are unable to return home, may remain as students until the end of the year provided they re-enrol in an online course of study for the remainder of the year. For these students, the duration of a course shall be from the date of enrolment to 31 December 2020.
· Permission to work
Students who hold Stamp 2 permissions and who attend colleges which have physically closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, may in these exceptional circumstances work 40
hours a week. This is conditional on the student completing their course online if this service is provided by their college and represents a short term and temporary measure.
· Breaches of Permission
If a student does not complete an online English Language Programme, where provided by the college concerned, then they will be considered to have breached the conditions of their permission by both failing to attend classes and, where applicable, working in excess of the permitted 20 hours and this may result in future registration being refused.
Students, including those who have completed 2 years study and who wish to remain in the State as students, are required to re-enrol in a course of study as soon as the previous course has been completed with no gaps between courses allowed. Failure to do so will also be considered a breach of the permission and may result in future registration being refused.
· Registration
Once the Registration Offices reopen all students are expected to register as normal.
Fri, May 22, 2020 - IMPORTANT IMMIGRATION UPDATE
INIS has announced the following for English language students:
1. English language students must enrol in a new course as soon as their previous course has finished.
2. English language students are not permitted to freeze their course until the lockdown ends. They must enrol in an online course.
See page 6 of INIS FAQ document for full details of INIS announcement:
Tue, May 12, 2020 - CREDIT NOTE
What should I do to get my credit note?
- Students can attend online classes if they wish to continue their course.
- If the student wishes to return home or pause their course, we will issue a credit note (official voucher of the college) for the full length of the course missed while the school is closed.
- Students can also use this credit note to extend their course length paying the difference for the extra duration they are applying or they can use it in a future booking.
* The credit note can be used till 31.12.2021
Please click here to fill the form and get your credit note.
Mon, May 11, 2020 - We are here for you!
In response to student feedback, we are changing the format our online teaching to include live interactive classes.
STARTING ON MONDAY 11 MAY
The SEDA ONLINE Learning programme:
- Live classes each day
- Learning consolidation through practice exercises
- Communicative activities to interact with classmates
- Reading, Writing and Listening material to practice language skills
- Teacher correction of student submissions
- Personalised feedback on writing
- Self-study material
- Weekly Tests
EXPECTED DAILY WORKLOAD 3+HOURS
Access your class through the SEDA Google Classrooms.
For help or more information, please contact [email protected]
Mon, May 5, 2020 - SEDA News - Leo Varadkar addressing the nation on Friday 1 May, 2020
Students
- Engaging interactive live lessons on a daily basis
- A Friday test each week
- Practice material that helps you to prepare for the Friday test
- Ppersonalised feedback on writing exercises
- Additional video content for extra learning
Sat, Apr 24, 2020 - SEDA News — Letter for the students
SEDA Students,
Fri, Apr 23, 2020 - JOB OPPORTUNITY FOR STUDENTS
During this difficult time, we are here to bring good news.
Every one of us has been affected in some way and most of our costumers that are students become unemployed.
Due to this situation, Leevin Ireland has partnered with companies that are contracting at the moment and don’t need to be worried about English level and documents we will help if you have the profile to the position.
Look how to participate in this opportunity.
https://leevinireland.com/work
Thur, Apr 2, 2020 - ABOUT STUDENT VISA STAMP 2 - STATUS
All student visas due to expire between 20th of March and the 20th of May 2020 will be extended following the Irish government measures. These student visas will be extended for two months from the original expiry date. For more information: https://bit.ly/3cyWupT
In the event that normal business has resumed by then, the permissions to remain renewal application will be processed in the usual way and it will be issued with a written response. If, however, normal business has not resumed by the end of that period, a further extension of permission may have to be facilitated.
Students ‘Stamp 2’ permissions apply to Non-EEA students (Degree programme, Non-Degree programme and Language students) currently residing in the State under Ministerial permission for the purpose of study on a programme listed on the Interim List of Eligible Programmes (ILEP).
All schools and colleges have now closed due to the Covid-19 outbreak. The following questions arise in the context of non-EEA nationals who attend these colleges and are who hold Stamp 2 permission that allows them to work 20 hours a week.
How many hours can I work each week while my school/college is closed due to COVID -19?
In these circumstances, you can work 40 hours a week. This is conditional on you completing your course online if this service is provided by your school/college and represents a short term and temporary measure.
I lost my part-time job; can I access the COVID- 19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment?
Students who were in employment and lost their employment due to the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic can apply for the COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment to the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection (DEASP). Students will be required to demonstrate that they have been in employment, that their employment has been terminated because of COVID-19 and that they are experiencing financial hardship as a consequence. Receipt of the COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment will not constitute a breach of the conditions of the student’s immigration permission.
Do students whose permission has expired, or whose permission is due to expire shortly, need to register with a new course/college, pay fees etc. at this time when colleges are closed?
Student permissions are being extended in line with the current notice of 20th March. Developments in relation to these schools and colleges in the future cannot be known at this stage and ISD is not in a position to give any commitments in relation to future courses.
You can also check all of this information in the links below: Irish Council for International Students (ICOS), Ireland.
https://www.internationalstudents.ie/information-international-students-covid-19
GOV.IE
Department of Education & Skills
Immigration Service (INIS)
Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI)
Health Service Executive (HSE)
Thur, Apr 2, 2020 - SEDA Beginner Students - Invitation to online classroom support
Beginner Students,
Thur, Apr 2, 2020 - SEDA Elementary Students - Invitation to online classroom support
Elementary Students,
Thur, Apr 2, 2020 - SEDA Pre-Intermediate Students - Invitation to online classroom support
Pre-Intermediate Students,
Thur, Apr 2, 2020 - SEDA Intermediate Students - Invitation to online classroom support
Intermediate Students,
Thur, Apr 2, 2020 - SEDA Upper Intermediate Students - Invitation to online classroom support
Upper-Intermediate Students,
Thur, Apr 2, 2020 - SEDA Advanced Students - Invitation to online classroom support
Advanced Students,
Sat, Mar 13, 2020 - LIVE CLASSES
These classes are designed as support material, so that students can continue their studies from the safety of their own homes.
It will continue until such a time that we can reopen our classrooms and welcome students in person once again.
VIDEOS STORAGE
For all students who cannot attend the live class, we have created a place where they can watch the last class taught on our elearning platform: https://app.sedacollegeonline.com/p/seda-live Each class will be available for 24 hours.
To access the class, students will be ask to enter a password that is nedtc (with no capital letters).
