Back to Education Allowance

Study options

Two study options are available under the BTEA scheme:

• Second-level option
• Third-level option

All courses must lead to a Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI) accreditation (these include FETAC or HETAC awards) or equivalent. You must also progress in educational qualifications. For example, if you already have a Level 6 qualification on the National Framework of Qualifications, the course you attend must be for at least a Level 7 qualification. This progression rule has been relaxed for people applying for second-level courses at Levels 5 and 6 in certain limited circumstances. If you already hold a Level 5 or 6 qualification in an area that is no longer growing (obtained at least 3 years ago) and you have worked for at least 3 years and you satisfy all the other BTEA criteria, you may be allowed to do further courses at either of these levels – provided the course is at second level, will enable you to progress your career, lasts no more than 2 years (24 months) and meets future skills needs or local demand. Your DEASP Case Officer must also recommend the course if you are getting a jobseeker’s payment.

Second-level option

You can attend a second-level course of education at any secondary, community, comprehensive or vocational school. The course must be full-time and lead to a certificate recognised by the Department of Education and Skills or approved by Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI), for example, Junior Certificate, Leaving Certificate, Post Leaving Certificate or a City and Guilds Certificate. An Access or Foundation course is considered to be a second-level course for BTEA purposes.

Third-level option

You can attend any third-level course of education in an approved third-level institution (university, institute of education or third-level college). The course must be a full-time day course and be approved for the Student Grant Scheme or be approved by Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI). Note that not all QQI courses are approved for BTEA.

Undergraduate courses

In general you must be starting your third-level course at year one. However, you may be eligible for BTEA if you:

• Are exempt from part of your course because of a qualification you received in a previous course. For example, you have a higher certificate in a course that you now wish to take to degree level.
• Completed a year (or years) of your course as a part-time student
• Completed earlier years before becoming unemployed or receiving statutory redundancy
• Are permitted by your school or college to proceed to the next year of a course having dropped out or deferred a year (due to mitigating circumstances)
• Were getting a One-Parent Family Payment (OFP) while in full-time education and were affected by age-related changes to OFP. People in this situation may be admitted to BTEA mid-course.

Postgraduate courses

You can get the Back to Education Allowance for a postgraduate course of study that leads to a Higher Diploma (H.Dip.) qualification in any discipline or a Professional Masters in Education.

Other types of postgraduate qualifications are not recognised for BTEA. The only exception to this is where a college has admitted a person without a third-level qualification to a Master’s course on the basis of relevant life experience – in these cases the person may be entitled to BTEA.

You will not get BTEA if you already have a postgraduate qualification.

Student grants

The Student Grant Scheme is divided into 2 components – maintenance grants and fee grants. You cannot get the Back to Education Allowance (BTEA) and the maintenance component of a student grant together.

Although you are not entitled to the maintenance component of the student grant, you must still submit a student grant application form to be assessed for a fee grant to pay your Student Contribution (formerly called the student services charge), field trip costs and tuition fees (if payable).

If you are getting a One-Parent Family Payment (or Jobseeker’s Transitional payment) or a disability payment (Disability Allowance, Invalidity Pension or Illness Benefit) you can choose to stay on your current social welfare payment (if you continue to meet the rules of the scheme) and apply for a student grant or you can choose to transfer to the BTEA, depending on which option will benefit you most. In general, people who are studying full-time are not entitled to Rent Supplement unless they are getting BTEA.

Read more in our document on social welfare payments and student grants.

Qualifying for BTEA

In general, to qualify for the BTEA you must be over 21, or over 24 for postgraduate courses – see also ‘Age limits’ below – and have been getting a qualifying social welfare payment. You must always have been accepted onto a qualifying course.

Qualifying social welfare payments

• Jobseeker’s Allowance or Jobseeker’s Benefit
• Jobseeker’s Transitional payment
• Farm Assist
• One-Parent Family Payment
• Deserted Wife’s Benefit or Allowance
• Widow’s, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s (Contributory) Pension
• Widow’s, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s (Non-Contributory) Pension
• Prisoner’s Wife’s Allowance
• Carer’s Allowance
• Blind Pension
• Disability Allowance
• Invalidity Pension
• Incapacity Supplement (based on a life Disablement Pension)
• Illness Benefit for 2 years or more. (However periods spent on Illness Benefit can count towards the qualifying period if you qualify from another payment. Half of the qualifying period must relate to the qualifying payment.)

Since 2015, if you are a new BTEA applicant and you were getting a jobseeker’s payment, Farm Assist, a One-Parent Family Payment or a Jobseeker’s Transitional payment, you must re-establish your entitlement to a primary payment to continue to be entitled to BTEA for the second or subsequent years of study.

Since 1 January 2015 you no longer qualify for BTEA when your Jobseeker’s Benefit ends – after 6 or 9 months. You must qualify for another payment to continue to get BTEA. People who qualified for BTEA from Jobseeker’s Benefit before 1 January 2015 can continue to get BTEA until the end of their course and if they are progressing to a new approved course.

Qualifying period

For second-level courses you must have been getting a qualifying social welfare payment (see above) for at least 3 months (78 paid or credited days of unemployment). You must be getting the qualifying payment immediately before you start the course.

For third-level courses you must have been getting a qualifying social welfare payment (see above) for 9 months (234 paid or credited days of unemployment). You must be getting the qualifying payment immediately before you start the course. For the Professional Masters in Education, you must have been getting a qualifying social welfare payment for 12 months (312 paid or credited days of unemployment).

Satisfying the qualifying period

You do not have to have been getting your qualifying payment continuously. Periods spent on other qualifying social welfare payments (or getting credits) that are not broken by more than 12 months (52 weeks) can be used to determine whether you satisfy the qualifying period criteria. You must always be getting a qualifying payment immediately before starting your course.

Time spent on the Back to Education Allowance (BTEA), Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme (VTOS), full-time FET (formerly FÁS) training courses, Community Employment schemes, Part-time Job Incentive scheme, Gateway, Community Services Programme, Rural Social Scheme, TÚS, Workplace Placement Scheme (WPP), Back to Work Enterprise Allowance, Short Term Enterprise Allowance, Job Initiative, Job Assist, JobBridge and JobPath may count towards the qualifying period for BTEA purposes. This provision only applies where you have established an entitlement to a qualifying social welfare payment immediately before you start your course of study.

Time spent on Youthreach can count towards the qualifying period provided you establish an entitlement to a qualifying social welfare payment before or after completing the Youthreach programme.

Time spent in prison in the Irish State can count towards the qualifying period provided you establish an entitlement to a qualifying social welfare payment.

Time spent on Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA), the COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment or in direct provision can count towards the qualifying period for BTEA. This applies only if you establish an entitlement to a qualifying social welfare payment immediately before you start your course of study and satisfy the linking rules (see above).

If you have been awarded statutory redundancy and are entitled to a qualifying social welfare payment immediately before you start the course, you can get immediate access to BTEA without any waiting period. You must take part in the BTEA scheme within one year of getting statutory redundancy and satisfy all the other conditions.

Age limits

To qualify for the Back to Education Allowance, you must be at least 21 years of age. You must be at least 24 for a third-level postgraduate course.

However, if you are getting Jobseeker’s Allowance, Jobseeker’s Benefit, Jobseeker’s Transitional payment or One-Parent Family Payment for the required period (3 months/78 days, 9 months/234 days or 12 months/312 days), are aged between 18 and 20 and have been out of the formal education system for at least 2 years, you may qualify for BTEA.

If you are aged 18 or over (over 24 for the postgraduate option) and getting Blind Pension, Disability Allowance, Invalidity Pension or Incapacity Supplement for the required period (3 months/78 days or 9 months/234 days) you may qualify for BTEA.

Unemployment or illness credits

If you are signing on for unemployment credits or submitting medical certificates for illness credits, for the required period of time (either 3, 9, 12 months or 2 years depending on your course), you may qualify to participate in the BTEA scheme on a non-payment basis. This means that you do not get a weekly Back to Education Allowance. You continue to be awarded credited contributions while you are taking part in the BTEA scheme.

If you are participating in the BTEA scheme on a non-payment basis, you can also apply for a student grant, to be assessed for both the fee and maintenance component of the grant.

Other people who can qualify for BTEA

Since 2 June 2015, qualified adults must establish an entitlement to a qualifying payment in their own right before they can be approved for BTEA. The rate payable is based on their entitlement. You can use time spent as a qualified adult to satisfy the qualifying period.

Before 2 June 2015, a qualified adult of a person who can claim BTEA could qualify for BTEA in their own right.

Both partners can get BTEA while taking an approved course.

Monitoring arrangements

You must provide a certificate from the school/college confirming your registration, commencement and attendance at the course. You must supply this information before payment can begin. During the course of the academic year, you may be asked to provide confirmation that you are still taking part in the course.

If you change from a jobseeker’s payment to BTEA, you do not need to sign on while you are getting BTEA.

If your circumstances change, for example if you stop attending your course or you start working part-time, you must notify the Department immediately as such changes may affect your eligibility for your qualifying payment or the value of your BTEA payment.

BTEA and other payments

People getting a Back to Education Allowance cannot work full-time and are not eligible for Community Employment, Community Services Programme, Tús, Rural Social Scheme, any other FET (formerly FÁS) or Fáilte Ireland training programmes, Part-time Job Incentive Scheme or any other employment or training scheme or programme operated by the National Learning Network.

People getting a Back to Education Allowance are not eligible for Working Family Payment (WFP).

BTEA and part-time work

People getting BTEA who take up work during the academic year will be assessed under the rules (including the means assessment) that apply to their primary payment – that is the payment from which you qualified for BTEA. This only applies since the 2016/2017 academic year to new applicants or people who return to BTEA after a break. Before this, part-time work during the academic year did not affect the rate of BTEA paid.

If you qualify for BTEA from a jobseeker’s payment, you can work any number of days each week during the academic year. However, you must still meet the other conditions of your primary payment, for example, you must satisfy the means test in the case of Jobseeker’s Allowance.

Summer period between academic years

If you were getting a jobseeker’s payment before going back to education, your BTEA is not paid over the summer months period between academic years. (It will be paid from the start of the new academic year provided you continue to satisfy the eligibility criteria.)

If you are not able to find work during the summer period, you may be entitled to Jobseeker’s Benefit or Jobseeker’s Allowance. You must meet all the conditions, including being capable of work, available for work and genuinely looking for work. If you claim Jobseeker’s Allowance (JA) and work part-time your earnings are assessed against your JA.

If you were getting a One-Parent Family Payment, Jobseeker’s Transitional payment or a disability payment before going back to education, your BTEA will continue to be paid over the summer provided you are returning to an approved course and are progressing in your education. If you work over the summer, your means from work are assessed using the rules that apply to the original payment.

If you stop work or your work pattern changes, you should inform your Intreo Centre so your case can be reassessed.