Written answers
Thursday, 2 July 2009
Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform
Visa Applications
Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 82: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of applications for an Irish student visa in each year over the past four years; the breakdown of the countries where such residents came from; if the visa application was approved or refused; the number in each case; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26838/09]
Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The first table below contains figures in respect of all study visa application decisions for the years 2005 to 2008 inclusive.
| Year | Total study visa applications decided | Approved | Refused |
| 2008 | 6801 | 4563 (67%) | 2238 (33%) |
| 2007 | 9254 | 4849 (52%) | 4405 (48%) |
| 2006 | 6516 | 3548 (54%) | 2968 (46%) |
| 2005 | 7838 | 3213 (41%) | 4625 (59%) |
All study visa applications are decided by Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform staff in the Dublin Visa Office or in one of six Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) hub Visa Offices worldwide, depending on the current residence of the applicant.
The two tables below detail the outcomes of all study visa applications in 2008 and 2007 respectively, under the headings of the Visa Office where the application was processed. Comparable figures are not available for earlier years.
| Visa Office | 2008 | ||
| Total decisions | Approved | Refused | |
| Abuja, Nigeria | 270 | 104 (39%) | 166 (61%) |
| Beijing, China | 1711 | 1380 (81%) | 331 (19%) |
| Cairo, Egypt | 51 | 21 (41%) | 30 (59%) |
| London UK | 39 | 32 (82%) | 7 (18%) |
| Moscow, Russia | 1695 | 1624 (96%) | 71 (4%) |
| New Delhi, India | 1126 | 603 (54%) | 523 (46%) |
| Dublin * | 1909 | 799 (42%) | 1110 (58%) |
| Visa Office | 2007 | ||
| Total decisions | Approved | Refused | |
| Abuja, Nigeria | 184 | 97 (53%) | 87 (47%) |
| Beijing, China | 2043 | 1281 (63%) | 762 (37%) |
| Cairo, Egypt | 85 | 42 (49%) | 43 (51%) |
| London UK | 47 | 31 (66%) | 16 (34%) |
| Moscow, Russia | 881 | 826 (94%) | 55 (6%) |
| New Delhi, India | 1683 | 937 (56%) | 746 (44%) |
| Dublin * | 4331 | 1635 (38%) | 2696 (62%) |
* Applications by residents of Pakistan account for the largest proportion of study visa applications processed in the Dublin Visa Office.
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