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Further and Higher Education and Brexit
From Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science
Published on
Last updated on
Under the Common Travel Area (CTA), Irish and British citizens move freely and reside in either jurisdiction and enjoy associated rights and entitlements. Both the Government of Ireland and the UK Government have committed to maintaining the CTA in all circumstances, including education. This means that Ireland and the UK will take steps to ensure Irish and British citizens can continue to access further and higher education into the future, on the same basis as currently applies.
For further information on the CTA, visit the Department of Foreign Affairs website.
After the end of the transition period, Irish students wishing to pursue further and higher education study in the UK can continue to do so on the same basis as currently applies. This also means that British students will be able to study in Ireland.
For those wanting to study in the UK, applications for higher education places in the UK will continue to be made using current systems.
For those wanting to study in Ireland, the Central Applications Office and State Examinations Commission are working with UK counterparts to ensure continuity in the applications process. Further information will be provided as it becomes available.
Should you pursue your further and higher study in the UK, your fees will be set at the same level as citizens in the UK for the 2020/2021 academic year, and will continue on that basis for the duration of the programme for which you have registered. (This department is working with counterparts in each of the Devolved Administrations in the UK to finalise the precise arrangements for 2020/2021 and beyond.)
After the end of the transition period, the usual SUSI grant rules will continue to apply for UK and Irish students, that is, eligible Irish students studying in the UK, as well as eligible UK students in Irish higher education institutions will be able to apply for SUSI grants.
Further education and training opportunities will continue to be available to students and trainees from Ireland going to the UK, and vice versa, under the Common Travel Area.
The EU’s Erasmus+ programme provides funding for a range of international education and training projects, including student and staff mobility and exchanges, job shadowing, teaching assignments, and strategic partnerships between organisations.
The programme will continue to operate fully for Ireland and the EU Member States. While the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement provides a basis for the UK to participate in specified EU Programmes, the UK has decided not to participate in Erasmus. Irish students and staff must now pursue their Erasmus mobilities within the remaining EU Member States.
The government will also introduce a scheme to allow for the continued participation in Erasmus+ mobilities for eligible students of higher education institutions in Northern Ireland, on the basis of temporary registration at Irish higher education institutions.
Professional qualifications are specific qualification requirements that a person needs to possess by law in order to access or pursue a regulated profession, or to engage in regulated activities in a given country. Qualification requirements vary between professions. Through the introduction of a simplified, and in some cases, automatic recognition process, EU Directives have facilitated the movement of professionals between all jurisdictions within the EU, through the recognition of non-domestic qualifications.
As of 1st January 2021, mutual recognition of professional qualifications (MRPQ) between the EU and the UK no longer applies. UK nationals, irrespective of where they acquired their qualifications, and EU citizens with qualifications acquired in the United Kingdom will need to have their qualifications recognised in the relevant Member State on the basis of each country's existing individual rules applicable to the qualifications of third-country nationals as of the end of the transition period.
The EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement nevertheless foresees a mechanism whereby the EU and the UK may later agree, on a case-by-case basis and for specific professions, on additional arrangements for the mutual recognition of certain professional qualifications.
However, if you have already had these qualifications recognised by the relevant EU regulator before the end of the transition period (31st December 2020), there will be no change and you can continue to practise in Ireland or elsewhere in the EU.
The Government of Ireland has encouraged regulatory authorities in Ireland, some of whom operate on an all-island basis, to engage with their counterparts in the UK in order to manage the process of continued recognition of UK qualifications in national law in Ireland.
If you have a query about your professional qualification, you should contact the relevant regulatory body for your profession.
Please contact Brexit_Helpdesk@dfheris.gov.ie with any queries.