Ethnic and cultural diversity in Ireland continues to change, primarily as a result of increasing inward migration, this has added to the rich diversity that always existed in Ireland, but which perhaps is now only beginning to be fully acknowledged.
While there has been an increasing interest on research focusing on migration in recent years it has tended to be from the standpoint of the receiving country. It is
perhaps surprising that there has been comparatively little research that has been undertaken by or indeed focussed on the views and perceptions of people from minority ethnic communities who already live in or have migrated to Ireland.
To help redress this imbalance the National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism (NCCRI) is publishing a series of âcommunity profilesâ researched by
and in partnership with researchers from minority ethnic communities in Ireland.
This publication, the second community profiles series, focuses on Chinese students Ireland. The first community profile focuses on migrant workers from Poland.
Chinese students have been coming to Ireland in significant numbers since 1998, mainly as language students but also as third level students. This inward migration
was greatly facilitated by a decision in 2000 to allow all non-EEA students to work part time to help finance their studies. However, in 2005 restrictions were introduced which
meant that only full time students on third level courses of at least one year duration were allowed to work. Further proposed restrictions, in the form of work permits for
non-EEA students, may also impact on the number of Chinese students coming to Ireland, although the full extent of such changes are still unclear
