My Department is fully supportive of efforts made by all State agencies to promote Ireland as a destination for English language students, subject to the requirement to maintain the integrity of the immigration system. Consequently, my Department will issue the appropriate visas in such circumstances provided the documentation supplied in support of such visa applications is in order.
In recent years there has been an unprecedented growth in visa applications at the Irish embassy in Beijing, largely as a result of the successful marketing efforts of the Irish education industry. The number of visa applications made there has increased from 603 in 1996, to 3,972 in 1999 and 13, 598 in 2001.
In June of this year my Department took the unprecedented step of seconding four specialised visa officers to the embassy in Beijing. A primary objective of this initiative was to enable the provision of a better and more timely customer service by making decisions locally rather than having large numbers of visa applications sent back to Dublin for decision. The officers in question were also tasked with developing an intelligence base in relation to fraud, etc., and with liaising with other embassies in an attempt to combat abuses of the visa system.
Since their appointment, the officers in Beijing have been engaged in this task. Unfortunately, the experience to date has been that there is evidence of widespread abuse in relation to the submission of misleading documentation in support of visa applications. This is a factor which cannot be ignored if the integrity of the immigration system is to be upheld. In that context, it should be borne in mind that the vast majority of student visa applications in China are made by agents acting on behalf of the persons and colleges in question. A danger is that if Ireland maintains an approach which is seen to be less rigorous than the approach adopted by other embassies or consulates, our visa system will be a target for abuse by unscrupulous applicants and agents.
With regard to the student visa guidelines, these are intended to be of general application only. In the light of experience in Beijing it will be possible to develop more specific guidelines in relation to the situation in China as regards student visa applications. This issue is being kept under review. In the interim, the visa officers in Beijing must be in a position to react quickly to information which becomes available locally.
While this initiative is still in its infancy, it should eventually improve dramatically processing time for Chinese visa applications, and thereby go a long way towards addressing the concerns expressed by the industry regarding the service it receives.
