Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 515: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the reason a person (details supplied) has been refused a visa for their spouse; the inconsistencies referred to by his Department; and the reason they were not clarified with either party prior to the refusal. [32641/05]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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The application in question was received by my Department on 24 August 2005. The application received a thorough investigation by the visa officer and was refused on the basis of inconsistencies in the information supplied by the applicant. During an interview with an official of the visa office in Moscow, the applicant gave details of her employment which were found to be inconsistent with information given in two previous applications. Credibility is central to the visa determination process and the onus is on the applicant to provide my Department with accurate information. In this case the visa officer was not satisfied, based on the information provided, that a visa should issue. This decision and the precise reasons for refusal were notified to the spouse of the applicant by e-mail on 28 October 2005.

It is open to the applicant to appeal against the refusal of the visa within two months of the decision by writing to the visa appeals officer in my Department. The correspondence mentioned above also included details of the documentation that should be submitted in the event of an appeal.