S.I. No. 168/1999 - Diplomatic and Consular Fees (Amendment) Regulations, 1999.

I, DAVID ANDREWS, Minister for Foreign Affairs, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the Diplomatic and Consular Officers (Provision of Services) Act, 1993 (No. 33 of 1993), hereby, with the consent of the Minister of Finance, make the following Regulations:

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Diplomatic and Consular Fees (Amendment) Regulations, 1999.

(2) The Diplomatic and Consular Fees Regulations, 1982 to 1996, and these Regulations may be cited together as the Diplomatic and Consular Fees Regulations, 1982 to 1999.

(3) These Regulations shall come into operation on the 1st day of June, 1999.

2. The Diplomatic and Consular Fees Regulations, 1982 ( S.I. No. 344 of 1982 ), are hereby amended:

(a) in Regulation 4 by the substitution of the following for the definition of “Irish visa”:

“‘Irish visa’ means an authorisation given or a decision taken by the Minister in relation to the holder of a passport other than an Irish passport and which is produced in the format (sticker) set out in Council Regulation (EC) No. 1683/95 of 29 May 1995 laying down a uniform format for visas and inserted into the passport by any person to whom the Diplomatic and Consular Officers (Provision of Services) Act, 1993 applies.”

(b) in Regulation 7, as amended by Regulation 2(a) of the Diplomatic and Consular Fees (Amendment) Regulations, 1988 ( S.I. No. 340 of 1988 ), by the substitution of that Regulation by the following Regulation:

“7. Notwithstanding the fees for Irish visas specified in the Second Schedule to these Regulations, whenever the Minister is satisfied that holders of Irish passports are not charged a fee for a foreign visa by a particular country, the Minister shall direct that no fee be charged for Irish visas to holders of passports of that country.”

“Ref. No.	Service Rendered	Fee £
47.	For processing applications for work permits.	29.00.”

(d) in the Second Schedule, by the substitution of Part II, as substituted by Regulation 5 of the Diplomatic and Consular Fees (Amendment) Regulations, 1993 ( S.I. No. 107 of 1993 ), by the following Part:

“Part II

Visas

Ref. No.	Service Rendered	Fee £
8.	For processing an application for an Irish visa good for a single journey in transit through the State	8.00.
9.	For processing an application for an Irish visa good for a single journey to the State	20.00.
10.	For processing an application for an Irish visa good for multiple entries to the State	40.00.
11.	For acting on behalf of, or protecting the interests of, any Irish claimant to the estate of a deceased situate abroad	5%* or, if legal assistance has to be engaged, 2½%^* of the net amount or value of any devise, bequest or distributive share recovered.
12.	For acting on behalf of, or protecting the interests of, any Irish claimant to property situate abroad	5%^* or, if legal assistance has to be engaged, 2½%^* of the net amount or value of the property recovered.
13.	Arranging the repatriation of a person	25.00.
14.	Arranging the repatriation of a group of persons of the same family travelling together	25.00.
15.	Arranging the collection of funds for a person destitute outside the State seeking financial assistance to return home and the payment outside the State to or on behalf of such person of the equivalent of funds collected in the currency of the country or countries concerned	25.00.
16.	For attesting a signature or seal on any commercial document connected with the export of merchandise from the State	5.00.
17.	For attesting a signature or seal on any document not otherwise provided for	10.00.
18.	For granting any certificate for use in the prosecution of a claim to property	4.00.
		if not exceeding 100 words, and £3.00 for every additional 100 words or fraction thereof.
19.	For granting any certificate in connection with a marriage abroad	10.00.
20.	For granting any other certificate	4.00.
		if not exceeding 100 words, and £3.00 for every additional 100 words or fraction thereof.
21.	For taking evidence on commission	16.00
		for each hour or fraction thereof, with a maximum per day of £128.00.

	GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 30th day of April, 1999.
	DAVID ANDREWS,
	Minister for Foreign Affairs.

The Minister for Finance hereby consents to the making of the foregoing Regulations.

	GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for Finance, this 26th day of May, 1999.
	CHARLIE McCREEVY,
	Minister for Finance.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)

The purpose of these Regulations is: to amend the definition of “Irish visa” contained in Regulation 4 of the Diplomatic and Consular Fees Regulations, 1982 ( S.I. No. 344 of 1982 ) (“the 1982 Regulations”), to align it with the definition of visa contained in Council Regulation (EC) No. 1683/95 of 29 May 1995 laying down a uniform format for visas; to amend Regulation 7 of the 1982 Regulations, as amended by Regulation 2(a) of the Diplomatic and Consular Fees (Amendment) Regulations, 1988 ( S.I. No. 340 of 1988 ), to allow for the waiving of visa charges to citizens of countries which do not charge Irish citizens for visas; to amend the First Schedule to the 1982 Regulations, to allow for the charging of fees for the processing of applications for work permits; and to amend the scale of fees for the processing of applications for Irish visas set out in Part I of the Second Schedule to the 1982 Regulations, as substituted by Regulation 5 of the Diplomatic and Consular Fees (Amendment) Regulations, 1993 ( S.I. No. 107 of 1993 ).

^* inclusive of communications expenditure.”