Mary Wallace (Meath East, Fianna Fail)

In March 2007 the UK introduced a visa waiver test to assess the effectiveness of its visa regime. Travel to the UK from every country outside of the EEA and Switzerland was measured against a range of criteria, including illegal immigration, crime and security concerns. In July 2008 the results of this test were assessed and the UK then entered into a six month period of dialogue with the countries concerned to consider what steps might be taken to address the issues arising.

Following the end of that period, the Home Office announced on Monday 9 February 2009 that the UK had decided to impose a visa requirement on nationals of Bolivia, Lesotho, South Africa, Swaziland and Venezuela and had decided to lift the visa requirement for Taiwanese passport holders for short visits of less than six months. This waiver is due to take effect from 3 March 2009.

It is worth noting that the visa regime in the UK operates differently from the Irish regime in so far as all persons other than EU, EEA and Swiss nationals are required to obtain an entry visa or pre-entry clearance for stays in the UK for periods in excess of six months, regardless of the purpose of journey. This will continue to be the case for Taiwan even after the visa waiver is introduced. In contrast, the Irish system operates on the basis that, depending of his or her nationality, the visitor is either visa required or not, irrespective of the length of his or her stay or its purpose.

The net result of the change in the UK is that students coming for university courses or other educational programmes lasting more than six months will continue to require visas but those coming for shorter periods will not. Tourists and others coming on short visits will also be exempted.

The existence of a visa requirement should not be a significant impediment to genuine visitors. On the contrary its purpose is to separate the credible applications from the rest and the establishment of dedicated Irish visa offices in a number of countries has yielded significant benefits in this regard.

In the light of the common travel area, however, it is important that the Irish and British visa lists cohere in all practical respects to the extent warranted by immigration concerns. To this end, Ireland must take serious account of any alterations in the UK regime. The implications of the UK decision to introduce new visa requirements for nationals of Bolivia, Lesotho, South Africa, Swaziland and Venezuela are being examined particularly in the light of the likelihood of persons who would fail the UK test seeking to enter via Ireland. On the other side, full and immediate consideration will be given the issue of Taiwan and to whether a relaxation of the current regime is desirable based on the approach now being followed by our UK colleagues.

I understand that this process will be completed before the coming into force of the new UK arrangements. Section 17 of the Immigration Act 2004 sets out the purposes for which the Minister can make a visa order, inter alia, ensuring the integrity of the immigration system and for reciprocal immigration arrangements with other states.

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