Limerick Language Centre was dropped from Ireland's visa scheme, then misled the court

Limerick Language Centre (LLC), an English language school whose sole shareholder and director is Sharif Ahmed Sarker, announced its closure in September 2026. The end followed its removal on July 24, 2026 — together with Erin College, which runs English-teaching outlets in Dublin and Cork — from Ireland's Interim List of Eligible Programmes (ILEP), the scheme that lets non-EEA students get visas to study English, after complaints about refund difficulties and a Department of Justice investigation.

Non-EEA students, mostly South American, paid fees in advance while their visas were processed, with refunds due if visas were refused; significant numbers paid through agents. The High Court found both schools had shown 'a fundamental disregard' for the ILEP's core requirement that such fees be ring-fenced pending visa decisions, and that using agency-sourced fees 'created obvious risks for the security of such fees'. Both schools struggled to meet refund applications within the stipulated 20 days.

When LLC challenged its removal, the case collapsed on its own evidence. A Pakistani agency told the court that €50,000 paid for 29 prospective students had not been repaid despite claims that all refunds had been made, and complained that LLC deducted 'accommodation fees' from refunds even for students who never travelled to Ireland. Judge Cian Ferriter ruled Sarker's sworn statements were 'materially and inexcusably misleading', refused the stay, and said the school's damaged reputation was self-inflicted: it 'only has itself to blame'.

Dropped from the ILEP visa-eligibility scheme alongside Erin College on 2026-07-24; closure announced in September 2026; €50,000 paid by one agency still unrefunded.

Agency-sourced advance fees were not ring-fenced, so refund obligations rested on the school's own cash flow.

The ILEP's 20-day refund window for visa-refused students turned every visa refusal into an immediate liability.

Sworn statements claiming all refunds were made were contradicted by an agency's evidence of €50,000 still unpaid.

The court treatement followed directly: no stay once the judge found the school's own evidence 'materially and inexcusably misleading'.

Float other people's refundable money through your operations and the first shock — refused visas — becomes a solvency event, then a credibility one.

As of the High Court ruling published in October 2026, LLC had announced its closure and remained off the ILEP scheme with the stay refused. The judge noted LLC's 'current reputation in this sector is far from unblemished', citing evidence including the accommodation-fee deductions from students who never came to Ireland. Erin College's separate challenge was decided in the same judgment.