Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 27 April 2005
237 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if a visa will be given in respect of a subsequent employer in respect of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13713/05]
Amharc ar fhreagraIt appears from the details supplied by the Deputy and from records held by my Department that the person referred to is currently in the State. Consequently, on foot of the information available, the issue of a visa does not appear to arise.
However, if the Deputy is referring to an extension of leave to remain in the State, the person in question should contact the Garda national immigration bureau. If, on the other hand, the issue relates to an application for an employment permit, he should contact the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.
238 Mr. Gregory asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the reason a person (details supplied) was refused a visa to travel to Germany for ten days as part of a youth exchange project; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13728/05]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe application referred to by the Deputy was for a re-entry visa to allow a non-EEA national, illegally resident in the State, to leave and subsequently re-enter the State.
I am informed that the parents of the person in question arrived in the State illegally, in 1999, and subsequently claimed asylum. They later obtained permission to remain on the basis of their parentage of an Irish born child. However, the applicant referred to by the Deputy was not with them when they arrived in the State. He was in fact definitively listed on his parents' application as having remained in their country of origin.
It would appear that the applicant subsequently arrived in the State illegally. Although his parents have a legal basis for being in the State due to their parentage of an Irish-born child, this does not extend to the applicant. Consequently, he remains an illegal immigrant with no status within the visa system. A re-entry visa, by its very nature, can only be issued to a person who first holds a valid visa for entry into the State. My Department has no record of any previous applications for this person. Therefore, there was no provision to grant the re-entry visa applied for. Consequently, the application was refused on the grounds of the applicant's immigration history.
