Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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154. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if his attention has been drawn to the difficulties being experienced by Kuwaiti persons trying to obtain short stay visas for Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28266/18]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that visa applications received from residents of Kuwait are processed by the Visa Office in Abu Dhabi. The current processing time for 'short stay' visas from Kuwaiti nationals is well within the target timeframe for the processing of visa applications, with an average processing time of 5 working days at present, and the overall grant rate for applications received to date in 2018 is 99%. A total of 1,030 applications were made in 2017, with a 98% grant rate.

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.