I thank the Deputy for the opportunity to outline, on behalf of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence, the numerous positive developments that have taken place in relation to the Irish visa regime since this Government came into power and, in particular, those developments in relation to China.
The Minister is somewhat puzzled and surprised by the assertion that the process is cumbersome and is acting as a disincentive to visitors from China. The available evidence indicates that visitors to here from China grew by 26% last year. Such a significant rise in business would not suggest that there is a major problem in the manner in which the very necessary paperwork is processed. The Minister is advised that the checking procedures and processes in place are at least on a par with the UK with whom we share a common immigration area and less onerous than those in place for many other EU member states. Clearly no system is perfect - particularly a system which relies to a large extent on the supporting information supplied in order to risk assess applications. If the Senator has a particular case in mind or has suggestions which would further improve the situation while at the same time maintaining sensible immigration checks, the Minister would of course be glad to receive them form her.
The commitment of this Government to the facilitation and growth of visits to Ireland from China is shown by the fact that Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service of my Department maintains a dedicated Visa Office in Beijing. This Office processed around 6,000 visa applications in 2012 with an approval rate of 94% which compares very favourably internationally.
Application guidelines for all visa categories are published on the Irish Embassy website in English and Chinese.
Chinese nationals who wish to travel to Ireland as tourists have a number of options available when seeking to apply for a visa to Ireland – they can apply 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 three 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. The category was formally launched by An Taoiseach Enda Kenny during the course of his official visit to China in April 2012. The visa application requirements for independent tourists are minimal and I am informed that Tourism Ireland has welcomed this initiative. This category of visa application is processed within 10 working days.
As a further demonstration of our commitment to the Chinese market, the Government launched, with effect from 1 July 2011, the first ever Irish Short-stay Visa Waiver Programme. The Programme was designed to boost tourism and business, especially from emerging markets, and it applies to holders of UK short stay visas from seventeen selected countries, including China. It allows tourists, who are in possession of a UK visa, to travel on to Ireland without the need to apply for a separate Irish visa. The Government decided, in March 2012, to extend the Programme until the end of October 2016.
This Programme, has led to a significant growth in the number of visits to Ireland from China. In the twelve months following its introduction, according to Central Statistics Office figures, the number of trips from China increased by over 26% from 12,314 to 15,572 – an extra 3,258 visits.
This demonstrates a real positive impact of the Government’s initiative.
In addition, with effect from 1 August, 2012, a more liberal multi-entry visa regime for Chinese business travellers and regular family visitors was implemented. 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 businessmen which compares with the $180 charged by the USA for the same duration.
All of these initiatives demonstrate an ongoing and creative approach by this Government to developing the visa system to facilitate rather than put obstacles in the way of tourism from China to Ireland.