Ireland is welcoming but landlords are not

Ireland welcomes foreign students who want to study English. The student visa gives us permission to work for 20 hours per week and we must have €3,000 in our bank account and have health insurance. Dublin is a great city. But as soon as I got here the dream was less than perfect.

I arrived from Brazil on February 7 and the agency that sent me provided accommodation for one week. When the week was over, I moved into the hostel. It was then my responsibility to find a place to rent. Landlords wouldn’t rent to me because I was unemployed. So I looked for a job. I couldn’t get one, because I had no address. For the same reason, I couldn’t open a bank account. After four weeks in the hostel, the manager told me to leave, because the hostel was fully booked for one week.

My visa requires me to study for 20 hours a week and have 80% attendance in class. Because I was looking for accommodation and a job, I only could go to class once in the month. Fortunately, I met a landlord who agreed to rent a place to me. Unfortunately, I am not alone in this experience.