The Changing Faces of Ireland

Steve Song (formerly of Geary and now with George Fox University, Oregon), Merike Darmody (ESRI) and Naomi Tyrrell (Plymouth) are the editors of a new book on immigration in Ireland.

The Changing Faces of Ireland: Exploring the Lives of Immigrant and Ethnic Minority Children

“Before the economic boom of the 1990s, Ireland was known as a nation of emigrants. The past fifteen years, however, have seen the transformation of Ireland from a country of net emigration to one of net immigration, on a scale and at a pace unprecedented in comparative context. As a result, Irish society has become more diverse in terms of nationality, language, ethnicity and religious affiliation; and these changes are now clearly reflected in the composition of both primary and secondary schools, presenting these with challenges as well as opportunities. Despite the increased number of ethnically-diverse immigrant children and young people in the Ireland, currently there is a paucity of information about aspects of their lives in Ireland. This book is aimed at contributing to this gap in knowledge.

This edited collection will be of interest to researchers in the fields of migration studies, childhood studies, education studies, human geography, sociology, applied social studies, social work, health studies and psychology. It will also be a useful resource to educators, social workers, youth workers and community members working with (or preparing to work with) children with immigrant and ethnic minority backgrounds in Ireland.”

More details.

How to apply for IRELAND student visa properly-Irish Student Visa Requirements

Ireland Student Visa

Applying for an Irish student visa allows a foreign national the opportunity to immigrate to Ireland on a temporary basis in order to undertake a course of study in the country.

In Ireland, visas of this kind are issued as either a "C visa" for those applicants whose courses will last less than three months or "D visas" for those who wish to study in Ireland for longer than three months.


Whilst in Ireland, study visa status is not in its own right a route to permanent settlement in Ireland, the Graduate Programme will in some circumstance enable students to switch to an Irish work visa.


This may, in time, lead to the opportunity to apply for permanent residence and naturalisation as an Irish citizen.


Ireland also permits foreign nationals studying in the country to undertake a limited amount of work in order to help support themselves and any dependents.


In Ireland, immigration for candidates wishing to apply for an Irish student visa requires that the following criteria be met.


* A letter of acceptance must be provided demonstrating that an applicant has been offered a place on a full time course of study at a recognised Irish educational institution. The course must involve at least fifteen hours of study per week.
* Candidates must be able to demonstrate evidence of enough funds to support themselves and any dependents joining them in the country.
* It must be shown that the course fees have been paid in full.
* Private medical insurance must be arranged and documentary evidence of this must be provided.
* It must be the candidate's demonstrable intention to return to their own country at the end of their period of study.


In addition, although English is described in the Irish constitution as the second official language, the first being Irish Gaelic, it is nonetheless spoken far more widely and is the primary language in which tuition will be given.


As a result, candidates applying for an Irish study visa must be able to show proficiency in the English language to a sufficient degree to allow them to successfully pursue the course.


Successful applicants in possession of an Irish study permit are permitted to work in Ireland part time in order to supplement their income. Students may work part-time up to a maximum of 20 hours per week.
Spouse and Dependent Immigration:


In Ireland, visa applications for students may result in a successful candidate being in the country for a period of several years.


As a result, family immigration is permitted for the spouse and/or dependents of the primary applicant. Dependents entering the country under a family visa service of this kind will be permitted to reside in the country for as long as the principle applicant's course of study in Ireland.


Student visa holder's dependents will only be permitted to work full time with a valid Irish Work Permit.
Additional Information - The Graduate Scheme:


In Ireland, student visas are accompanied by the Graduate Scheme, which allows those candidates who successfully obtain a degree form a tertiary educational institution in Ireland to extend their stay by an additional six months.


Applicants may approach the Irish Naturalization and Immigration Service to obtain this extended grant of which the crucial benefit is the ability to seek and undertake employment.


If a candidate successfully finds an appropriate position, they may be able to apply to live and work in Ireland under an Irish work permit or by applying for an Irish Green Card.

Tolerance

People's attitudes towards others, particularly those who differ in some way, can be quite revealing. Ireland has had a great deal of migration in recent years and the question of our tolerance towards foreign nationals is a topical one.
So whats the evidence? The ESS asked people whether they thought immigrants made the country better or worse. On a scale of 0 to 10 (10 being better) we average about 5.5, hardly a ringing endorsement. Here is the geographical distribution: the Midlands and the West lag behind the rest of the country. People's anwers to the question may depend on whether they perceive their own situation to be threatened by the presence of immigrants for example through competition by foreign workers.
So what about a group who, arguably, pose no threat so that there is no question of a vested interest?Respondents were also asked whether they thought homosexuals should be free to live their life as they wish. About 80% agreed with the statement but there are some interesting regional differences with the West and South-West lagging behind.

Recommended Changes to a future DREAM Act

Although the DREAM Act was not passed by the current Congress, it will undoubtedly come up again for consideration. At its recent convention in October, the Illinois Federation of Teachers had recommended that the bill include more options. Concerned with the militarization and the limited options of the current bill, the IFT had recommended four changes for a more just version of the bill. Perhaps, a future bill will accommodate these changes:

1. Include a community service path to legalization

2. Include a vocational path to legalization

3. Allow undocumented youth access to Pell Grants and federal financial aid money to offer an honest chance to go to college

4. Allow youth to petition their parents for legal status

Immigrants and accents

Immigrants tend to underperform in the labour market i.e. they are paid less than one might expect. This could be for several reasons. Prejudice is a possibility or their human capital may not be sufficiently valued if there is uncertainty about the quality of their education. The paper below documents another angle, namely that their accent may put them at a disadvantage. After all, foreigners talk funny, y'all know what I mean?

Why don't we believe non-native speakers? The influence of accent on credibility
S Levi-Ari, B.Keysar
Non-native speech is harder to understand than native speech. We demonstrate that this “processing difficulty” causes non-native speakers to sound less credible. People judged trivia statements such as “Ants don't sleep” as less true when spoken by a non-native than a native speaker. When people were made aware of the source of their difficulty they were able to correct when the accent was mild but not when it was heavy. This effect was not due to stereotypes of prejudice against foreigners because it occurred even though speakers were merely reciting statements provided by a native speaker. Such reduction of credibility may have an insidious impact on millions of people, who routinely communicate in a language which is not their native tongue.

Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 46(6), 2010, 1093-1096

Colbert on Immigration

Via Greg Mankiw, this is good. Includes the great line "Because my great-grandfather did not travel 4,000 miles of the Atlantic ocean to see this country overrun by immigrants. He did it because he killed a man back in Ireland. That's the rumour..I don't know if that is true...I'd like that stricken from the record".