Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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Question 337: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the charges payable by persons (details supplied) in respect of visitor visas to this country; if he has plans to review these charges; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37327/08]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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If the Deputy provides further details on the individual applicant who is the subject of this question my Department would be happy to look into the circumstances of the case. Embassies abroad charge visa application fees in accordance with the Diplomatic and Consular Fees (Amendment) Regulations 2004. The fee for a single entry visa application is €60. Fees for translation of documents are charged in accordance with the Diplomatic and Consular Fees (Amendment) Regulations 2005. However, I would like to clarify that in general our Embassy in Ankara is not involved in the translation of documents for visa applicants. It is more likely therefore that the fees referred to by the Deputy were charged by a local notary.

In order to assist applicants, and to try to minimise the amount paid by applicants for notarised translations, the website of our Embassy in Ankara makes clear that it is not essential to have every word of a document translated, but rather that a summary of what the document is, and the main details in it, will be sufficient. This is noted on the Embassy website in Turkish. I am also pleased to inform the Deputy that comprehensive information on completing the visa application form is also available on my Department's website in Turkish and 6 other languages — Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish and Urdu — which reflect the languages spoken by large numbers of visa applicants. It would not be feasible to have all information translated into every applicant's own language. Fees for Consular Services are reviewed periodically and I would expect that they will be reviewed before the end of this year given that they were last increased in 2005.