Vol. 456 No. 3
36 Kathleen Lynch asked the Minister for Justice if her attention has been drawn to the difficulty experienced by non-nationals studying in Ireland in obtaining visas for their spouses to visit; the plans, if any, she has to update and streamline the visa regulations to make them more transparent and to take account of family situations; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13795/95]
It is the general policy of this Department not to grant visit visas to spouses or other dependant family members of persons who themselves have been granted visas for the exclusive purpose of pursuing a course of study. However, each application is judged on its own merits, and exceptions are occasionally made to the general policy. I can assure the Deputy that I am very conscious of the implications of separation particularly when a student is here for an extended period.
On the question of updating and streamlining procedures I would like to draw the Deputy's attention to the Inter-Departmental Committee on non-Irish nationals whose broad terms of reference were to examine practice and policy in this area. The committee has already produced one report, on applicants for refugee status, and I expect shortly to receive a further report which will deal with other aspects of policy and practice in the immigration area. It may well be that as a result of this report I will consider further changes regarding the issue of visas.
