The growth of Chinese visits to Ireland for business and tourism will continue to be a major priority for Government, according to the Minister for Justice.
The growth of Chinese visits to Ireland for business and tourism will continue to be a major priority for Government, according to the Minister for Justice.
Responding to a Seanad question by Senator Averil Power, Minister of State Dinny McGinley – on behalf of Justice Minister Alan Shatter – spoke of positive developments from the granting of Irish visas to Chinese nationals.
“The immigration service of the department maintains a dedicated visa office in Beijing,” he said. “In general, business visas are processed within two to five working days of receipt and visit visa applications for Chinese nationals within one to three weeks.”
The minister added: “It should also be noted that the approval rate for visa applications lodged in China for travel to Ireland is 95 per cent, which compares very favourably internationally.”
He also underlined that the current visa application process for Chinese nationals has not prevented them from coming to Ireland either for business or family visits.
“In fact, the latest report of the European Tour Operators Association, which examined the effect of visa obligations on tourists from India and China [in 2010] showed that the figure for cancellations due to perceived visa delays reflected very favourably on Ireland, with only 15 per cent of clients reporting cancellations as against 21 per cent for the Schengen area and 24 per cent for the United Kingdom.”
Minister McGinley also highlighted some of the actions taken to attract Chinese business people and tourists to Ireland since the present Government came to power, including a short-stay visa waiver programme launched on 1 July 2011, and a more moderate multiple visa scheme launched on 1 August 2012.
He also said that the high approval rate for visa applications from China “demonstrates that the checks and safeguards in place, in the long run, allow for the vast majority of persons seeking to visit their relatives to do so”.
