Written answers

Tuesday, 23 September 2014

Department of Justice and Equality

Visa Applications

Photo of Bernard DurkanBernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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282. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the position regarding an application for family reunification in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35220/14]

Photo of Frances FitzgeraldFrances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that no application has been received in respect of the family members of the person concerned.

Persons from a visa-required country are required to have a valid visa to land in the State (section 4(5)(b) of the Immigration Act, 2004).

It is open to a visa-required national who wishes to join a family member currently residing in Ireland to make a visa application, the onus resting with the applicant to satisfy the Visa Officer as to why the visa should be granted. All information that the applicant wishes to have taken into consideration should be submitted with their application.

The criteria that apply to the consideration of an application for a visa for the purposes of family reunification are set out in the Policy Document on Non-EEA Family Reunification published by my predecessor on 31 December 2013. The document is available on the INIS website (www.inis.gov.ie).

Guidelines on the visa application process, including details of the required supporting documentation for a 'join family' visa application can be found on www.inis.gov.ie. It should be borne in mind, however, that the information contained on the website is intended to act as guidance only; it does not limit the discretion of the Visa Officer in dealing with individual applications.

Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to INIS by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility which has been specifically established for this purpose. This service enables up-to-date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek information by way of the Parliamentary Questions process. The Deputy may consider using the e-mail service except in cases where the response from INIS is in the Deputy's view, inadequate or too long awaited.

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