It is open to any visa required national to apply for a visa for any purpose. Each application is considered on its individual merits, with the Visa Officer having regard to all of the information available. The onus rests at all times with the applicant to satisfy the Visa Officer that the visa sought should be granted.
Guidelines on how to apply for particular types of visas are available on the INIS website at www.inis.gov.ie. In addition, detailed information on the circumstances in which a person can seek to sponsor a family member to join them in the State are set out in the Policy Document on Non-EEA Family Reunification which is also available on the INIS website.
Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to the INIS of my Department by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility 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 from the INIS is, in the Deputy’s view, inadequate or too long awaited.
In addition, applicants may themselves e-mail queries directly to visamail@justice.ie.