Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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245. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality her plans to extend visitor visas to Ireland again due to the continued worldwide Covid-19 crisis; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30531/20]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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On 18 September 2020, I announced a further temporary extension of immigration and international protection permissions. This applies to immigration, including Short Stay Visitor Visas, and international protection permissions to reside in the State that are due to expire between 20 September 2020 and 20 January 2021, and supplements all previous extension notices.

While the Extension Notices are specifically intended to cover people with permission to reside in Ireland, if a visitor has permission to be in the State and this is due to expire between 20 September 2020 and 20 January 2021, then their permission is renewed until 20 January 2021 on the same conditions given to them upon arrival, i.e. if they currently hold a visitors’ permission, they may not take up employment in the State.

Any applications for visitor (short stay) visas from persons outside of the State are not being accepted currently except in specific circumstances. This is in line with public health advice and the approach adopted in other EU Member States during the pandemic.

Further details are available in the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document located on the Immigration Service website at: