Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 May 2021
480. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Justice when an appeal decision will issue in relation to visas granted to two workers (details supplied) which were subsequently refused by the Irish Embassy in New Delhi. [27496/21]
View answerThe visa applications referred to by the Deputy were refused by the Visa Office in New Dehli on 16 February 2021. The reasons for these decisions were set out in the refusal letters sent to the applicants at that time. Appeals were received for both applications during the month of March.
The Visa Appeals Officer has taken all of the documentation and information submitted with the original applications and with the appeals into consideration. The appeals have not been successful and the original decision to refuse the applications has been upheld. The reasons for the refusal of the appeals are outlined in the refusal letter of 18 May 2021.
If any person, who has been refused a visa, wishes to make another application in the future, their application will be assessed on its own merits taking all relevant information into consideration at that time. Their prior immigration history is a matter of record but does not preclude them from seeking a visa in the future.
As the Deputy may be aware, last week, Minister Humphreys and I announced that two new categories have been added to the priority/emergency visa applications being processed at this time. This includes applications from people who have been granted an employment permit by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE) and are travelling for essential business or employment purposes.
However, it is important to note that the granting of an employment permit by DETE, does not determine that a visa will subsequently be granted. There are two very distinct application processes with different checks and procedures in place in each respective Department.
Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to my Department by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility (inisoireachtasmail@justice.ie), 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 is, in the Deputy’s view, inadequate or too long awaited.
