Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 6 November 2012
768. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will clarify when a visa will issue to a person (details supplied) who hopes to travel to Ireland to bring their sister, who is very unwell, back to the Phillipines; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48437/12]
View answerThe person in question has not yet lodged the necessary supporting documentation for their application with the Consulate General for Ireland in Manila. Until the signed Declaration, supporting documents and appropriate fee are lodged in the Consulate, the Visa application cannot be processed. However, given the circumstances of the case, I will arrange for the Consulate to be contacted by the Visa office in Dublin in order that processing of the visa application can be expedited.
All information/supporting evidence that it is wished to have taken into consideration with the application should be included when the visa application is submitted. It should be borne in mind however, that the provision of the suggested evidence in no way guarantees that a visa will be granted. Furthermore, it does not limit the discretion of the visa officer in dealing with individual applications.
I should remind the Deputy that queries in relation to the status of individual Immigration cases may also be made direct to INIS by Email using the Oireachtas Mail facility which has been specifically established for this purpose. The service enables up-to-date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek this information through the more administratively expensive Parliamentary Questions process.
