Irish students in the UK travelling home to vote in the upcoming Eighth Amendment referendum are eligible for travel bursaries, according to students' unions.

The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) here is working with the National Union of Students UK (NUS-UK) and its Northern Irish branch NUS-USI to promote the 'Home to V8te' campaign.

The NUS says it has set up a bursary fund for individual students' unions, that they can apply to "in order to subsidise their own funds".

While the unions are supporting a Yes vote, NUS-USI Women’s Officer-elect Rachel Watters said the bursaries are open to all eligible Irish students regardless of their individual voting plans.

In my anecdotal experience, Irish students studying in the UK lean much more Yes than No so I'm not sure how many votes Save the 8th would pick up with this. Although as I’ve said above, the bursary is open to Irish students travelling to vote regardless of their voting intention

— Rachel 4 Yes on May 25th (@Rachelagain) May 11, 2018

USI President Michael Kerrigan explained: "Any Irish citizens studying in the UK can get in touch with their Students’ Union and avail of a travel bursary fund that Students’ Unions can apply to. Students can get between £55 and £110 to pay for the flights home."

Olivia Potter-Hughes, the NUS-USI President, added: "We hope that this will inspire many students across the UK to join this fight for the shared goal of reproductive justice in two jurisdictions on the island of Ireland."

More information is available here.

Any Irish citizens abroad retain their voting rights for 18 months after leaving Ireland, as long as they intend to return within that period.

The USI, meanwhile, has said students' unions here directly registered 26,979 new student voters ahead of the registration deadline earlier this week.

The Eighth Amendment referendum is taking place on May 25th.