Ireland ILEP and TrustEd Ireland: How to Check Your Course Is Visa Eligible (2026)

What are the ILEP and TrustEd Ireland, in plain English?

Ireland does not let a non-EEA student register for study permission on any course at all. The course has to be on an official list of eligible programmes. Until now that list has been the Interim List of Eligible Programmes, usually shortened to ILEP, kept by the Irish Immigration Service. It names the providers and the programmes that count.

The word interim matters. The ILEP was always meant as a stop-gap. Its replacement is a statutory quality mark called TrustEd Ireland, awarded by Quality and Qualifications Ireland, known as QQI. The Irish Immigration page on the ILEP states plainly that the list will be superseded by TrustEd. For you, as an applicant in late 2026, that means two systems are live at once, and your course could sit on either.

Why a Pakistani applicant should care

A visa application built on a course that is not eligible has no foundation. You can have a perfect bank statement, a strong IELTS score and a clear study plan, and still fail at the first hurdle. We see the same pattern in other countries as well: the sponsor check for the UK, the designated institution check for Canada, and the provider check here all work as gatekeepers before an officer reads a word about you. If you want the full application picture, our step by step guide to the Ireland student visa from Pakistan shows where this check sits.

What the lists are not

Neither list is a ranking, a recommendation or a promise of quality in the everyday sense. The ILEP is an eligibility list. TrustEd is a quality and compliance mark. Neither tells you whether a course suits your career goals, fits your budget or leads to a good job.

Who has to check, and when does the rule apply?

Anyone who is not an EEA or Swiss national and wants to study in Ireland for a meaningful period. The wording on the official site is specific, and it is worth reading carefully.

As of 28 October 2026, the Irish Immigration page on third-level and language courses says that to study in Ireland for more than 90 days you must choose a course from the Interim List of Eligible Programmes or the TrustEd Ireland providers' eligible programmes list, and that a programme may appear on only one of them.

The study planning page uses a slightly different phrase for the same threshold, longer than three months, and tells you to choose an approved programme. Ninety days and three months describe the same cut off in everyday terms. If your plan is a full degree, a master's, a foundation year or a long English course, you are well past it.

Courses that sit below the threshold

A genuinely short course, say a few weeks of English over the summer, falls outside the ILEP rule. But a short stay does not give you a study permission or work rights, and it does not build any path to a longer stay. Do not use a short course as a back door into a longer programme without a plan. Our guide to the Ireland study visa refusal appeal for Pakistani students shows how closely officers read a weak study history.

Who else is affected

Parents paying fees, agents recruiting students and the colleges themselves are all inside the system. Providers cannot recruit non-EEA students to a programme that is not listed, and the Irish Immigration page says that non-compliance can lead to removal of all of a provider's listings. That is good for you: the rules push colleges to behave.

How do you check a course on both lists, step by step?

Run the check yourself, in this order, before you pay a deposit. It takes less than half an hour.

1. Write down the exact course. Take the full programme title, the award (for example MSc or MBA), the NFQ level, the campus and the intake from your offer letter.
2. Open the Irish Immigration eligible courses page. It links to the ILEP table and to the TrustEd Ireland providers' list. The ILEP table has a keyword box and a download of the full list as an Excel file.
3. Search the ILEP first. Filter by the provider name, then read across the row: programme title, level, duration and the weekly hours for English courses.
4. Search the TrustEd list next. If nothing shows on the ILEP, do not stop. A provider authorised under TrustEd has its programmes on the TrustEd list instead.
5. Match every field. A name that is close but not identical is a warning, not a match. A year long diploma and a two year diploma from the same college can be different entries.
6. Save evidence. Screenshot the entry with the date visible and keep it with your file.
7. Ask the provider to confirm in writing. A short email stating that the named programme is on the relevant list covers you if something changes later.

What to do if you cannot find the course

Do not assume the list is wrong. First re-check spelling and the other list. Then contact the provider and ask for the exact list entry. If it cannot point to one, pause your payment. A course that is not listed cannot support a study permission, however polished the brochure.

What makes a higher education programme eligible?

The higher education criteria document published by the Irish Immigration Service sets out what a programme must be, and it is stricter than many students expect. The higher education part of the list covers programmes at levels 6 to 10 on the National Framework of Qualifications, from a Higher Certificate up to a doctorate.

• It must lead to a recognised major award or a non-major award of at least 60 ECTS credits.
• It must run for at least one full-time academic year, with at least 60 ECTS credits per year.
• The award must come from a recognised Irish awarding body, and the whole programme must be offered in full by the provider.
• It must be fully validated at the time of application. Overseas validated programmes are not accepted.

The criteria document says a listed higher education programme must be full-time, in person and daytime, with classes between 8am and 6pm on at least three weekdays, and that part-time and online courses are not eligible.

What this rules out

Online degrees, evening only programmes and part-time study fall outside the eligible set for a study permission. That matters for applicants who hope to work most of the week and study in the evenings. The permission is built around a full-time student. For the legal limits on working, read our guide on whether Pakistani students can work part-time while studying in Ireland.

Placements inside a degree

For major awards at level 7 and above, a work placement can be part of the programme if it forms an integral part of the course, carries credits, and does not exceed half of the programme's duration. A college that sells a degree where the placement is most of the course is selling something that falls outside the criteria.

The no second course rule

The criteria also say a non-EEA student cannot enrol on a second consecutive programme at the same or a lower level. So a student who completes a level 9 master's cannot simply start another level 9 or a level 8 course for another permission. Plan your progression upward or into work.

How are English language and foundation programmes different?

English language programmes and foundation programmes each have their own criteria documents and their own part of the list. The rules are tighter on hours because those students are not working toward a degree award.

As of 28 October 2026, the Irish Immigration study planning page sets the minimum for an English language programme at 25 weeks, with at least 15 class hours a week. The English criteria document adds the detail: classes of at least 15 hours a week, delivered on weekdays in daytime hours on a minimum of four days a week, at least 375 tuition hours in total, and at least 85 percent attendance. Students must sit an end-of-programme exam, and a student may not be enrolled for more than 30 weeks.

The eight month permission

An English language student registers for a Stamp 2 permission of up to eight months. The Irish Immigration planning page allows up to three such permissions, for a maximum of two years of English study overall. If your plan is to stay two years in English classes, it will not read as a credible study plan to an officer. Use English study as a bridge to a degree, not as an end in itself.

Foundation programmes

A foundation programme must prepare you for a higher education course, and it is tied to a conditional offer for an honours degree or a postgraduate award. The criteria require at least 25 weeks and at least 15 hours of classroom tuition a week. After it, you must move on to the degree in your conditional offer. This is the right route if your academic profile is a little below the direct entry bar, and our guide to studying in Ireland without IELTS explains the English side of the same question.

What happens as the ILEP is replaced by TrustEd Ireland?

This is the part most agents skip. The two systems overlap, and the overlap shrinks over time.

QQI announced the first 28 higher education institutions authorised to use the TrustEd Ireland mark on 4 February 2026, and it says the Department of Justice will use the published list of authorised providers and programmes to decide visa and residence applications.

QQI's own pages describe the ILEP as staying open until the second TrustEd application round is complete, after which it ends. The Irish Immigration page confirms the position: The list is closed to new providers, so a school that is not already on it cannot get on it now. Trade press reported in August 2026 that the first English language schools had been awarded the mark, joining the higher education institutions already authorised, and that decisions from the second application window were expected by the end of 2026. Treat that last point as a reported timeline, not a fixed date.

Why the timeline matters to you

If you start a programme in January or September 2027 at a provider that has neither a TrustEd authorisation nor an ILEP listing that survives the changeover, you could be in a very awkward position. Your visa might rest on a list that is closing. A provider with TrustEd authorisation is the safer position. A provider on the ILEP only is not necessarily a problem today, but you should ask it directly about its TrustEd plans.

Questions to put to a provider on the ILEP only

• Has your institution applied for TrustEd Ireland authorisation, and in which application window?
• What happens to a student mid-programme if the programme falls off the list?
• Which protection arrangement covers my fees, and who is the insurer or the bonding partner?
• Will you put your answers in an email I can keep?

A serious provider answers all four in a few lines. An evasive reply tells you what you need to know.

How are your fees protected, and when must a college refund you?

The criteria documents do more than describe courses. They set rules on how a listed provider handles your money, and those rules are your leverage.

As of 28 October 2026, the higher education criteria document requires a provider to return fees within 20 working days of being told about a visa refusal, less any handling charge it disclosed in advance. The English language and foundation criteria set the same 20 working day rule. Refund policies must also set a maximum of two months from a refund request to the money being returned.

The practical protections

• Fees cannot be taken in cash. Every payment must have a receipt.
• Advance fees that are tied to a visa application must sit in an escrow or delayed payment account until the visa decision.
• Students must be covered by learner protection, either insurance or academic bonding, from enrolment to completion, with no gap.

What to do before you pay

Ask for the refund policy in writing and read the handling charge. Pay only to the provider's named business account. Keep your transfer slip, and compare how the deposit is handled with the general advice in our guide on how Pakistani students pay university tuition fees abroad.

Red flags that suggest a problem

• Requests to pay into a personal account or in cash.
• Reluctance to put the refund terms in writing.
• Claims that the course will be added to the list soon.
• Pressure to pay a large deposit before you have seen your offer letter.

ILEP, TrustEd and no listing: how do they compare?

Use this table as a quick filter. It compares the three situations you may meet when you check a course.

The third row catches students out. A well known institution can hold the mark and still have a particular course that is not eligible, for example because it is part-time or delivered online.

What does a realistic checking timeline look like?

Take Hira, a graduate from Lahore who wants a one year master's in Ireland starting September 2027. The names and dates are illustrative.

• November 2026: She shortlists three programmes and notes the exact titles, levels and ECTS credits from each course page.
• December 2026: She searches the ILEP and the TrustEd list for each. Two appear, one does not. She drops the one that does not appear.
• January 2027: She applies to the two eligible programmes and keeps dated screenshots of the list entries.
• March 2027: She receives an offer. She emails the provider asking for its refund policy and its TrustEd position.
• April 2027: She reads the refund terms, confirms the 20 working day rule and the handling charge, and pays the deposit by bank transfer to the college account.
• May 2027: She re-checks the list on the day she files, and attaches the dated screenshot to her file.

The point is not speed. It is that every step leaves a record. If something is wrong, Hira can show exactly what she checked and when.

What mistakes do Pakistani applicants make with eligible courses?

These are the errors we see most often, in rough order of how costly they turn out.

1. Trusting the brochure. A college can describe a course as visa eligible while the listed entry is a different course. Only the official list counts.
2. Searching one list only. Because a programme appears on one list at a time, a miss on the ILEP can simply mean it sits on the TrustEd list.
3. Ignoring the level. A level 7 postgraduate certificate and a level 9 master's are different awards. Match the level, not just the title.
4. Choosing part-time or online delivery. These do not fit the eligibility criteria for higher education.
5. Paying before checking. Check first, pay second. Refunds help, but the cleanest fix is not needing one.
6. Stacking courses. The no second course rule at the same or a lower level can block a planned switch.

Before you file, also read how funds are judged: our guide to the bank statement needed for an Ireland student visa covers the money side so the course check and the funds check line up.

Frequently asked questions