Gardaí have located the ten Pakistani students who went missing after failing to show up for their classes at Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT).
The students, part of a group of up to 40 who entered courses at the college in October 2003, arrived at WIT after being cleared for student visas by the Department of Justice.
They paid fees of approximately €7,000 up front to study courses in business, information technology and electronics. Some pursued their courses, but others moved to different colleges and subsequently returned.
However, gardaí confirmed today the students' locations were known to immigration officials as part of the temporary visa requirements.
"There are hundreds and hundreds of students that come here every year, there are lots who do not complete their courses, and many go on to other colleges," a Garda spokesman said. "They don't have to tell the college but they do have to tell immigration officials."
He said many of the group of students were now enrolled with colleges in Dublin.
A Garda source confirmed it was a common practice for foreign students to enrol on courses here as a means of working illegally. Gardaí have six people working full-time on the issue, processing about 50 such cases a week.
The news that individuals are exploiting a loophole in the system to enter the State and then disappear comes at a time when security concerns have been raised following the recent London bombings.