IDENTIFICATION:THE INTRODUCTION of fingerprinting for people in Nigeria who wanted visas to come to Ireland resulted in a "significant decrease" in the number of applications.
From 2006 to 2008, the number of visa applications in Nigeria rose from 4,000 to 11,000, a rate of increase far in excess of what was being experienced elsewhere, according to the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General.
It was considered that the increase was linked to the decision of British authorities to introduce fingerprinting for visa applicants from Nigeria.
A six-month pilot project was introduced in March 2010 that involved the introduction of two new steps in the Irish visa process.
Fingerprints were taken in Nigeria of applicants for Irish visas and the visa holders’ fingerprints were then checked when they arrived at Dublin airport.
The fingerprints taken in Nigeria were compared against data in Afis, a new automated fingerprint identification system that has been introduced for the use of the Garda and the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service.
The results of scanning the prints into the system were returned to the visa office of the Irish Embassy in Nigeria within 24 hours so they could be used as part of the visa-assessment process.
The pilot scheme coincided with a significant drop in the number of Nigerians seeking Irish visas, according to the report. A reduction in the number of asylum applications from Nigerian nationals was also identified as was the detection of a number of individuals seeking to re-enter Ireland who had already been deported.
No decision has been taken on the system’s future deployment.
The scanners can store images with a resolution of up to 1,000 dots to the inch. However, because of an industrial relations dispute at the Garda National Immigration Bureau offices in Dublin, the machines there are not being used.
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