Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 July 2014
414. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the policy and procedure in place when considering applications for visas by Chinese nationals; if she will outline those policies and procedures; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28146/14]
View answer415. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if her attention has been drawn to any complaints made against Irish officials in their handling of applications from Chinese officials; the quality checks made on officials dealing with these applications; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28147/14]
View answer416. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will ensure that the procedures by which Chinese nationals apply for visas are as user-friendly as possible; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28148/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 414 to 416, inclusive, together.
Visa applications for Chinese nationals living in China are handled by the dedicated Irish Visa Office in Beijing, which is a sub-office of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department. This office handles all aspects of visa applications, including appeals, locally.
Over 50% of visit visas worldwide, which includes tourist visas and applications lodged in China, are processed within 4 days. The remainder are for the most part processed within one week with a small amount of more complex cases taking up to 15 days. This time frame is of course dependent on all the required documentation being provided with no queries remaining outstanding.
As a result of a number of initiatives which my Department has introduced, the number of short stay visas (including visas for tourism purposes) granted to Chinese nationals has grown steadily from just over 7,300 in 2011 to over 8,100 in 2013, an 11% increase. The approval rate for visa applications from China is 92% which compares very favourably internationally. The grant rate for Chinese nationals overall i.e. including applications made outside China is even higher at 95%.
These initiatives offer Chinese nationals who wish to travel to Ireland as tourists with a number of options. For example, the Irish Short-stay Visa Waiver Programme, introduced with effect from 1 July 2011, has proved to be very successful in facilitating Chinese nationals who wish to visit Ireland. The Programme applies to holders of UK short stay visas from eighteen selected countries, including China, and allows visitors, who are in possession of a UK visa, to travel on to Ireland without the need to apply for a separate Irish visa. The Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, in their latest report on the impact of the Programme estimate that there has been an additional 12,700 visits to Ireland by Chinese nationals, between July 2011 and October 2013, as a direct result of the Programme i.e. in addition to the growth in those visiting the State using Irish visas.
Chinese nationals can also apply for a visa as part of an Approved Destination Scheme (ADS) Group Tour, for an individual tourist visa or for a visit visa which is normally used for visiting family members. Several measures have been introduced in the last number of years to encourage this type of tourist to Ireland resulting in an ADS visa being now one of the most straightforward and quickest Irish visas to obtain with processing times being less than five working days normally. In recognition of the growing number of affluent and independent tourists from China, a scheme to enable independent Chinese travellers to come to Ireland was introduced in November 2011. This category of visa application is processed within 10 working days. All processing times are, of course, dependent on the required supporting documentation being provided by the applicant. To help with this, application guidelines for all visa categories are published on the Irish Embassy website in English and Chinese.
The Government has also taken other steps to make the visa process easier, including, with effect from 1 August, 2012, a more liberal multi-entry visa regime for Chinese business travellers and regular family visitors. This regime compares favourably with the approach taken by our nearest competitors. For example, it allows for a multi-entry visa for 3 years for €100 for qualifying travellers which compares with the $180 charged by the USA for the same duration. In addition, agreed programmes aimed at short stays for the purpose of learning English in Irish colleges, with accelerated processing of applications and reduced formalities, have been introduced.
Whilst I am satisfied that Ireland compares favourably with international competitors regarding processing times and approval rates for visas from China, I continue to seek, with my officials in INIS, ways in which the visa regime may be enhanced in order to encourage and facilitate tourism to Ireland, especially from emerging markets such as China. In this regard, the Deputy will be aware of my recent announcement of the launch of a joint visa initiative between the UK and Ireland, the "British Irish Visa Scheme" which will, from the autumn of this year, allow tourist and business visitors from China to travel to and around the Common Travel Area between Ireland and the UK on the basis of a single visa.
This initiative represents a major evolution of the Common Travel Area arrangement and an historic breakthrough in developing the CTA to its natural conclusion where visas issued by either country will be mutually recognised. While making travel to the CTA easier for Chinese citizens, the scheme will bring benefits for the entire island of Ireland as, for the first time, visa required visitors to Ireland and the UK will be able to move freely between North and South using a single visa. By removing the need for Chinese visitors travelling to the UK and Ireland to obtain separate visas the number of visitors from there to the island of Ireland is expected to increase very significantly.
In relation to the arrangements for visa applications by holders of public affairs, or "official", passports, all such applications are processed by the Beijing Visa Office through a special arrangement with the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). The Beijing office has an excellent working relationship with the Ministry and applications received from there are prioritised and expedited. In addition, the normal requirements for supporting documentation are significantly reduced. As an example, in preparation for a recent high level visit to Ireland from China, 83 applications were processed within 24 hours.
No complaint of the type referred to by the Deputy has been made against officials of my Department - either based here or in China. Officials assigned to consular offices abroad are selected from the staff of my Department following a competitive interview process and do not only handle visa processing but are also involved with important promotional activities for Irish tourism and business in China. A number of visiting Government Ministers have specifically praised their role in such activities. The staff also develop and implement necessary risk profiling and document verification skills locally.
