Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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905. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the reason a person's (details supplied) approval of visa was two weeks into the approval dates; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27903/23]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The persons referred to by the Deputy created on-line Short Stay 'C' visa applications on 29 November 2022. The supporting documentation and relevant fees were received on 17 December 2022, in the Tehran visa office.

The applicants listed their proposed travel dates, on their applications, as entering the State on 6 May 2023 and leaving on 5 June 2023. The visas were granted for the period requested and visa stickers were issued on 7 May 2023.

It should be noted that the dates on a visa sticker refer to the period of time in which an applicant can travel to a port of entry and present themselves to an Immigration Officer. It does not refer to the length of time an applicant may stay in the State.

A visa allows a person to present themselves at a port of entry, where an Immigration Officer will decide if a person will be given permission to enter the state. Entry into the State, for both visa required and non-visa required nationals, is solely at the discretion of the Immigration Officer at the port of entry.

The Immigration Officer may grant leave to enter to a maximum period of three months. They may, depending on the documentation, the reasons for seeking entry to the State and/or a person's previous Immigration history, refuse entry to the State or grant permission for a period of less than 3 months.

If the applicants wish to travel to the State it is open to them to make a new visa application. Any new application will be assessed on its own merits taking all relevant information into consideration at that time.

Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to my Department by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility (inisoireachtasmail@justice.ie) 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 is, in the Deputy's view, inadequate or too long awaited.