Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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272. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if the Schengen visa waiver for Ukrainians will be extended to Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17547/18]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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The matter to which the Deputy refers is contained in Regulation (EU) 2017/850 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 May 2017 which amended a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council Regulation (EC) No. 539/2001. The regulation constitutes a development of the provisions of the Schengen acquis in which Ireland does not take part in accordance with the Council Decision 2002/192/EC of 28 February, 2002.

Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 lists the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of a visa when crossing the external borders of the relevant Member States and those whose nationals are exempt from requiring a visa. As Ireland has not taken part in the adoption of this Regulation and is not bound by, or subject to its application, nationals of Ukraine continue to require a visa to travel here.

There are currently no plans to lift the visa requirement for Ukrainian nationals to come to Ireland. In considering this, a range of factors need to be considered including general compliance with the visa regime, the close alignment of our visa system with that in the United Kingdom in order to protect the integrity of the Common Travel Area, and more generally broader immigration policy.