Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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441. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if her attention has been drawn to calls from an organisation (details supplied) to expand the stamp 1G visa to a spouse, de facto partner of a general permit holder or an intra-company transfer permit holder, instead of limiting it to graduate student or critical-skill permit holders and researchers; her views on the matter; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44781/22]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The rules applying to beneficiaries of critical skills and general work permit holders is determined by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and at present I am not aware of any plans by that Department to amend the rules attaching to those granted a general employment permit.

As the Deputy will be aware, a spouse/de facto partner of a critical skills employment permit holder join their spouse in the State at the same time as their arrival in the State and on registration at their local Registration office may apply for a Stamp 1G permission. However the spouse of a general permit holder must wait 12 months before making such an application. However, it remains open for the spouse or de facto partner of a general employment permit holder to join their partner by making an application in their own right that does not rely on spousal dependency. Details of other pathways for entry to the State, can be found on .

The spouse/de facto partner may also seek an employment permit in their own right from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, which if granted, would entitle them to apply for Stamp 1 from their local immigration office. Further information relating to employment permits can be found on that Department's website, www.enterprise.gov.ie.

Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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442. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if her attention has been drawn to calls from an organisation (details supplied) to introduce a five-year visa to allow former Irish residents whose family still reside in Ireland to return to Ireland for regular family visits; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44782/22]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I can inform the Deputy that on 22 April 2022, I announced the extension of the 5-year multi entry short-stay visa option to all visa-required countries.

The availability of 5-year multi entry short stay visas to eligible applicants from all visa required countries is a very positive measure. It will enable people who visit Ireland regularly, for business or family reasons in particular, to make one application, which when granted, will then cover travel over a five year period. This will make travelling to Ireland a more convenient and attractive option at a time when travel worldwide is resuming and our tourism industry, in particular, is reopening following the impact of the COVID 19 pandemic.’

Prior to this announcement, Ireland offered 1 year, 2 year and 3 year multi-entry visas, with the option of a 5 year multi-entry visa only available to Chinese passport holders (introduced in 2019). This eligibility has now been extended to all visa required countries.

In general, multi entry visas are only issued to an applicant who has shown a compliant Irish travel history. People who have frequent travel to the UK, Schengen zone, USA, Canada, Australia or New Zealand, and have observed the conditions of those visas will also be able to apply for the option of a multi-year visa (of any duration from 1 to 5 years), even if they have no previous Irish travel history. A multi entry visa may also be approved for some business travellers, under certain conditions, who have no previous travel history to Ireland. A multi entry visa permits the holder to travel to Ireland on a number of occasions during the dates shown on the visa. The standard single entry visa option also remains available.