14.— (1) In this Act “student” means a person who is ordinarily resident in the State, who has been accepted to pursue, or is pursuing, an approved course at an approved institution and is—

(a) a national of—

(i) a Member State,

(ii) a state which is a contracting state to the EEA Agreement,

(iii) the Swiss Confederation,

F18[(aa) a person, other than a person to whom paragraph (a)(i), (ii) or (iii) refers, who is a person of a class that stands prescribed under section 14A(1) or (3) for the purposes of this paragraph,]

(b) a refugee or other person entitled for the time being to the rights and privileges specified in section 3 of the Refugee Act 1996,

(c) a person, pursuant to the European Communities (Eligibility for Protection) Regulations 2006 (S.I. No. 518 of 2006)—

(i) who the Minister for Justice and Law Reform has determined is eligible for the time being for subsidiary protection pursuant to Regulation 4 of those Regulations, or

(ii) to whom the Minister for Justice and Law Reform has granted permission for the time being in writing to enter and reside in the State pursuant to Regulation 16 of those Regulations,

(d) a person who, in relation to a person referred to in F19[paragraph (a) or (aa)], is a family member prescribed, subject to subsection (2) for the purposes of this paragraph, or

(e) a person, other than a person to whom F19[paragraph (a), (aa)], (b), (c) or (d) refers, who—

(i) has been granted permission to reside within the State by the Minister for Justice and Law Reform pursuant to such laws as are for the time being in force, and

(ii) is of a class of persons prescribed by the Minister, subject to subsection (3) and with the consent of the Minister for Finance, for the purposes of this subparagraph.

(2) Where the Minister is prescribing a class of persons as a family member for the purposes of subsection (1)(d), he or she shall have regard to all or any of the following matters:

(a) the relationship that the family member has to the person referred to in F19[subsection (1)(a) or (aa), as the case may be];

(b) whether the family member depends on the person referred to in F19[subsection (1)(a) or (aa), as the case may be];

(c) whether the family member has a right of residence in the State by virtue of being the spouse, civil partner, cohabitant or, a child of a person referred to in F19[subsection (1)(a) or (aa), as the case may be].

(3) Where the Minister is prescribing a class of persons for the purposes of subsection (1)(e)(ii) he or she shall have regard to all or any of the following matters:

(a) the period for which they have been ordinarily resident in the State;

(b) the basis on which they were granted permission to reside within the State;

(c) the conditions pursuant to which they were granted permission to reside within the State;

(d) the degree of connection that they are likely to have to the State;

(e) their entitlement to benefits or services provided by a Minister of the Government, a local authority, the Health Service Executive or the holder of any office or a body established—

(i) by or under any enactment (other than the Companies Acts), or

(ii) under the Companies Acts in pursuance of powers conferred by or under any other enactment,

and financed wholly or partly by means of moneys provided, or loans made or guaranteed, by a Minister of the Government or the issue of shares held by or on behalf of a Minister of the Government or a subsidiary of any such body;

(f) whether they have access to education in their state of origin;

(g) resources available for the provision of student support.

(4) For the purposes of subsection (1), a person shall be ordinarily resident in the State if the person—

(a) has been resident in the State for at least 3 years out of the period of 5 years ending on the day before the relevant date, or

(b) if not resident as described in paragraph (a)—

F19[(i) is temporarily resident outside of the State by reason of pursuing a course of study or post-graduate research at an educational institution outside of the State but within—

(I) a Member State, or

(II) a relevant specified jurisdiction,

leading to a qualification that is recognised in accordance with the laws of the Member State or the relevant specified jurisdiction for the recognition of qualifications that correspond to the arrangements, procedures and systems referred to in section 8(2)(k)(i), or if such recognition is not provided for by those laws in that manner then otherwise in accordance with the laws of the Member State or the relevant specified jurisdiction, and]

(ii) was resident in the State for at least 3 years out of the period of 5 years ending on the day before he or she commenced such course of study or post-graduate research.

(5) For the purposes of subsection (4), in the determination by an awarding authority of a question relating to whether a person mentioned in subsection (6) is ordinarily resident in the State, the person shall not be entitled to derive any benefit from a period of unlawful presence in the State.

(6) The determination of the question referred to in subsection (5) shall not relate to a person who is F20[... ]—

(a) an Irish citizen F20[ ...],

(b) a person who has established a right to enter and be present in the State under the European Communities (Free Movement of Persons) (No. 2) Regulations 2006 (S.I. No. 656 of 2006), the European Communities (Aliens) Regulations 1977 (S.I. No. 393 of 1977) or the European Communities (Right of Residence for non-Economically Active Persons) Regulations 1997 (S.I. No. 57 F19[of 1997), or]

F18[(c) a person who has a right to enter and be present in the State by reason of—

(i) an arrangement between the Government and the Government of the United Kingdom relating to the lawful movement of persons between the State and the United Kingdom, or

(ii) an arrangement (other than that referred to in subparagraph (i)) between the State and a relevant specified jurisdiction.]

(7) In this Act, “tuition student” means a student who may receive a grant in respect of tuition fees, is ordinarily resident in one of the states referred to in subsection (1)(a), F18[or, where subsection (1)(aa) applies, in a relevant specified jurisdiction] has been accepted to pursue and is pursuing an approved course (other than a course known for the time being as a post leaving certificate course) of higher education at an approved institution in the State and to whom F19[paragraph (a), (aa),] (b), (c), (d) or (e) of subsection (1) applies.

(8) For the purposes of subsection (7), a tuition student shall be ordinarily resident in one of the states referred to in subsection (1)(a) F18[or, where subsection (1)(aa) applies, in a relevant specified jurisdiction] if the student was resident in any of the states F18[or, as the case may be, the relevant specified jurisdiction] for a period of not less than 3 years out of the period of 5 years ending on the day before the relevant date.

(9) In this section, in relation to an approved course in respect of which a person referred to in subsection (4) or a tuition student may apply for a grant, “relevant date” means the date on which a year of study commences on the approved course.