Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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306. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if the rise in refusals for visas for tourists from Thailand, all of which have received the same refusal explanation, will be addressed; if there is a problem in issuing visas to Thai citizens; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30417/18]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that visit visa applications received from Thai citizens resident in Thailand are processed by the Embassy in Bangkok and the Visa Office in Dublin.

Where an application is refused, the refusal reasons for that application are communicated to the applicant in writing. I am further advised that a range of reasons apply to those applications from Thailand which were refused in the first half of this year.

The overall grant rate for visit visa applications received from Thai citizens residing in Thailand in the first half of 2018 is 86.4% which is only slightly down on the 87.9% grant rate for the second half of 2017. This is not as a result of any change of policy and reflects that each application is considered on its individual merits rather than prescribed refusal rates. It should be noted that the overall world-wide grant rate for short-stay visit visas to Ireland in 2017 was 88.8%.