Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 310: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the guidelines a person (details supplied) must adhere to in seeking to have an application approved by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38219/08]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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Where the child in question is travelling on an Irish passport, there is no requirement to be in possession of a valid Irish visa. With regard to the child's mother, citizens of Thailand wishing to enter the State for whatever purpose are required to be in possession of a valid Irish visa. It is open to an individual to make a visa application for any purpose, the onus resting with the applicant to satisfy the Visa Officer as to why the visa should be granted.

Also, it should be borne in mind that a visa is merely a pre-entry clearance to seek permission to enter the State — no automatic right of entry or residence is conferred. Whether the person is permitted to enter and the exact period for which s/he is allowed to remain is a matter for the Immigration Officer at the port of entry.

Comprehensive information when making a visa application is available on the website of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service — www.inis.gov.ie.

Where a person has been granted permission to enter the State, the person may seek an extension of their permission to remain in the State by writing to the General Immigration Division of my Department, outlining the individual circumstances of their case and their future intentions in the State. All applications are processed by the Immigration Division on a case by case basis.