Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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1066. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the rationale for outsourcing visa application in Colombia to a company (details supplied); the duration and annual cost of the contract; the number of countries in which the company has responsibility for processing applications for Irish visas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63226/22]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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A number of steps have been taken in recent years to upgrade the visa processing system to make it more efficient and easier for applicants from abroad to submit their visa applications for travel to Ireland; this has included the availability of services provided by an external provider via Visa Application Centres (VACs).

It is important to state that the services provided by the organisation concerned do not extend to making decisions on visa applications; such decisions are the sole remit of either the staff of my Department or the Department of Foreign Affairs who process certain visa categories under delegated sanction from my Department.

The use of these centres provides greater accessibility to applicants in these countries as they can make visa applications at locations nearer to them. They also greatly increase the visibility of Ireland as a destination for tourism, business or education purposes across a wider geographical area in very large countries or countries where our consular representation is not physically present.

For example, in India there are a total of twelve centres established across the country where applications for both Irish and United Kingdom visas can be made and where initial processing of documentation is carried out. Similar arrangements apply in China where applications for Irish visas can be submitted in one of sixteen centres (including Hong Kong). The applicant can choose the centre most convenient to their home or business address, and for a small extra charge, can choose to have the visa returned by courier to their home or business address. There is also a facility for group bookings to facilitate applicants who are travelling together to Ireland. It is intended over time to expand the use of such facilities in order to provide better services to potential travellers to Ireland.

In addition, a number of services are provided for the fee charged, including an initial check of completeness of documentation required (which enables initial errors in the application to be corrected before transmission and subsequent delays), dispatching the application (and passport) by courier to the Visa Office, collecting the completed applications, and returning the passport to the applicant.

The administration fee is paid by the applicant and there is no cost to the Department for the contract, as the cost is borne by the applicant. The commercial service partner also provides a range of additional services at the application centre. Such services are optional and the applicant only pays should they wish to avail of them. The fees charged by the commercial partner differ from country to country.

There are a total of 78 such centres operational in 28 different countries including one in Bogota, Colombia, which commenced operations in December 2022. The company concerned has also provided assurances that they are GDPR compliant and that the information and documentation provided by visa applicants is safeguarded in respect of the rules and regulations around data protection in general.

The services provided under the contract are kept under review on an ongoing basis.