Vol. 506 No. 5
213 Mr. P. Carey asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the reason it takes three weeks for a visitor's visa application to be processed and in excess of six weeks to secure a visa for a short weekend visit by persons (details supplied); the reason each application costs £70; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15931/99]
The information sheet which issues with the visa application form states that applicants should allow at least three weeks for the processing of their application. The applications in question were received in my Department on 21 May 1999. A number of queries had to be raised, the last of which took the form of a questionnaire to the applicant's reference in Ireland. This issued on 1 June 1999. When the reply was received, the case was further processed and a decision issued from my Department on 16 June 1999. It should be noted that it became apparent from the documents lodged that the applicants in this case had travelled to the State on a number of occasions without holding a visa. This is a breach of immigration law.
The visa application processing fee is a matter for the Minister for Foreign Affairs. The fee for the holders of Iranian passports until 1 June 1999 was £35 and that, not £70, is what each of the applicants paid. The basis for that fee was that Iran charged holders of Irish passports an equivalent amount for Iranian visas. The Diplomatic and Consular Fees Regulation 1982 to 1996 authorised the Minister for Foreign Affairs to charge visa fees on that basis. Since the coming into force on 1 June 1999 of the Diplomatic and Consular Fees (Amendment) Regulations 1999 a standard visa application processing fee of £20 is in operation.
