Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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127. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the reason an application for a three-month visitor visa by a person (details supplied) has been refused; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15983/17]

Frances 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 the visa application referred to was refused on 6 February 2017.

There were a number of reasons for refusal, all of which were communicated to the applicant. These included the insufficiency of the finances available from both the applicant and her Irish-based reference, and the lack of supporting documentation. The Visa Officer concluded that the applicant's obligations to return to her home country were not deemed sufficient so that she would not overstay following the proposed visit.

The decision of the Visa Officer may be appealed within two months of the date of decision, in this case before 6 April 2017. Guidelines on making an appeal can be found on the website of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (www.inis.gov.ie). As with all visa services worldwide, the central concern in deciding on visa applications is to strike an appropriate balance between protecting the country's vital national interests by maintaining an effective immigration regime while at the same time not placing unnecessary or unreasonable obstacles in the way of intending visitors.

The Deputy may wish to note that 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.