The Common Travel Area (CTA) gives Irish and UK citizens the right to access education and associated student support, in each other’s state, on terms no less favourable than those for the citizens of that state. This includes rights to home fee status, tuition fee loans and maintenance support subject to meeting the eligibility criteria.  For more see Citizens Information: Studying in the UK including Northern Ireland 

Apply to higher education in NI 

University and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) is the central applications body for full-time undergraduate courses at all UK universities and colleges.

Choosing a course

The UCAS website can help you decide what course you might be interested in: What University Course Should You Study? (ucas.com)

The points system

Use the UCAS tariff calculator to see how your Leaving Certificate points are calculated for further education courses in the UK, including Northern Ireland.

Fees

If you live in the Republic of Ireland and hope to start a degree course in Northern Ireland in 2022-2023 the maximum fee will be £4,630 p/a. Source: nidirect

Where to get advice/help

If you need help or advice on your UCAS application, you can contact the UCAS Customer Service Unit. Source: citizensinformation.ie

See also 

• Citizen Information: Studying in the UK including Northern Ireland (citizensinformation.ie)
• NI Direct: Further Education
• NI Direct: Higher Education

Apply to Higher education in ROI 

The Central Applications Office (CAO) processes applications for undergraduate courses in Irish Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), mainly universities, institutes of technology and colleges of education. You can find a list of HEIs here.

Choosing a course

QualifaX is Ireland’s National Learners’ Database. It is the “one stop shop” for learners and provides the most comprehensive information on further and higher education and training courses: qualifax.ie

The points system

Entrance to third-level education is generally decided by competition.  At the end of their secondary school education, students in ROI sit the Leaving Certificate exam and their grades are converted into points based on scores in their 6 best subjects. For information about how your points are calculated for higher education in the South based on your GCE Exam results from NI you can visit the Applicants section of the CAO website and go to Applicant Scoring.

You can also find detailed information on filling out your CAO form on page 9 of the CAO handbook, available here: Central Applications Office (cao.ie).

Fees

If you live in Northern Ireland and hope to start a degree course in the Republic of Ireland in 2022-2023 the maximum fee (technically a contribution charge) will be €3,000 p/a.

Exemption from Irish

An exemption from Irish will automatically be granted to candidates whose permanent residence is in Northern Ireland/United Kingdom and who are presenting only GCE/GCSE qualifications for matriculation.

However, please note that this is an exemption from minimum entry requirements only. Where a course has a specific requirement for a certain grade in Irish, for example, Primary School Teaching Courses, an exemption will not meet this requirement. In such a case you would need to contact the HEI directly for guidance. Source: Central Applications Office, Language Exemptions.

Where to get advice/help

• You can email or chat online with the Central Applications Office (CAO) here: cao.ie

See also 

• Spun Out, Ireland’s youth information website: Applying for college and opportunities through the CAO – Spunout
• Border People – Exemption from Irish

Page last updated April 2023

This webpage is for general information purposes only and while we endeavour to keep it up-to-date, errors may occur. It is very important that you check with the relevant body to ensure the information is current and is applicable to your situation.

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