Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Question 566: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if non-EU nationals who enter the State as the spouse of an Irish citizen are entitled to a C or a D visa while their application for residency is pending; if the Garda National Immigration Bureau are empowered to grant Stamp 4 status to such spouses; if so, the grounds upon which it may or may not be granted; if the nationality of the spouse is a factor in determining what visa or status is granted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25330/07]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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Marriage to an Irish national does not grant any automatic right to enter or reside in the State solely on that basis. Non-EEA nationals who have no current permission to remain within the State are required to make an application for residence on the basis of marriage to an Irish national to the Immigration Division of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service of my Department. Such applicants cannot register with the Garda National Immigration Bureau until their application for residency has been processed and cannot therefore be given Stamp 4 status while the application is pending.

As such persons are already in the State, the question of a "C" or "D" visa does not arise. However, a visa-required national will not normally be given a re-entry visa while the application for legal residence based on marriage is pending. The nationality of the non-EEA spouse has no bearing on the immigration status which is granted to such applicants.

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Question 567: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the processing times for applications for residency based upon marriage to an Irish citizen; if his attention has been drawn to the hardship posed to these families due to the denial of employment rights while these applications are pending; if his attention has further been drawn to reports that some Irish emigrants are refusing to return home due to the fact their families can not afford to live on one income while waiting for the non-EU spouse to be granted employment rights; and his views on allowing these spouses the right to work pending the outcome of their application, as is the case in many other countries including the USA and Britain. [25331/07]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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Marriage to an Irish national does not grant any automatic right to enter or reside in the State solely on that basis. Non-EEA nationals who have no current permission to remain within the State are required to make an application for residence on the basis of marriage to an Irish national to the Immigration Division of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service of my Department. Applications, in fairness to all other such applicants, are dealt with in chronological order and are currently taking 12 months to process.

The Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service of my Department has growing experience of marriages being entered into for the sole purpose of enabling the non national spouse to enter and remain in the State. Frequently in these circumstances, the Irish national may be totally unaware that this is the primary intention of the non national and will feel aggrieved by the perception that the immigration authorities are interfering with their private life in refusing to allow their spouse to enter or remain in the State. On occasion the Irish national may be a willing party for their own personal benefit. 'Convenience' marriages for the purpose of circumventing normal immigration controls are experienced by immigration jurisdictions worldwide.

In order to prevent abuses of the system, insofar as is possible and without unduly interfering with the Irish citizen's private circumstances, the Immigration Division will seek to establish various matters. These include the context in which the marriage took place, the validity of the marriage and whether the couple are residing together in a family unit. This will involve requesting documentation in support of the application for residence and may also require an interview of either or both parties by the immigration authorities.

It has always been the case that non EU nationals could not enter employment pending the outcome of an application for residence based on marriage to an Irish national. I do not envisage any change in this practice at this time.