Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 July 2025
618. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the average processing time for employment-based visa applications; if he will provide a breakdown by visa office and region; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37206/25]
View answer619. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the average length of time taken to process visa appeals, broken down by visa type and region, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37207/25]
View answer620. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the average processing time for short-stay (C) visa applications, broken down by application centre; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37208/25]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 618 to 620, inclusive, together.
I can advise the Deputy that there are currently seven overseas Visa Offices in addition to the Visa Office in Dublin. They are located in Abuja, Beijing, London, Moscow, Ankara, Abu Dhabi and New Delhi. In addition, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade process certain visa applications in Irish Embassies abroad under delegated sanction from my Department.
Due to the large number of locations in which a visa application may be processed it is not possible to provide an average time per location, by visa and by appeal type as requested by the Deputy. Such an examination would be voluminous in nature, require a significant amount of staff time and resources and could not be warranted.
In 2024, approximately 201,000 visa applications, of all types, were received by the Visa Division of my Department. This reflects an increase of 21%, compared to 2023, with over 35,000 additional applications received. My Department's Visa Division is working to meet the increased level of demand and the number of decisions issued in 2024 increased by 18%.
Visa and preclearance applications provide legal avenues for people moving to Ireland for employment, study and family reasons and also to facilitate visitors who wish to travel for business and/or tourism. It is important to recall these applications are screening processes, designed to establish that the person has a legitimate reason to come to Ireland prior to travel. Verifying an application is an important part of our immigration system and the checks involved can take time to complete.
The vast majority of visa applications are determined in a matter of weeks. However, some applications, in particular those to join family members here, can take considerably longer. Processing times and decisions at my Department’s Dublin Office and the seven overseas Visa Offices can be checked at the following link:
www.irishimmigration.ie/visa-decisions/#decisions
Table 1 below details the target processing times for short stay visa applications and long stay employment visa applications submitted to the overseas Visa Offices. Please note that processing times for the Moscow office are not available.
Table 1. Target processing times for visa applications in the Overseas Visa Offices
|
Visa Category |
Abuja (1) |
Ankara |
Beijing |
New Delhi |
Abu Dhabi |
London |
|
Short Stay Visit |
16 April 2025 |
4 weeks |
8 weeks |
3 weeks |
8 weeks (family/friends)
12 weeks (tourist) |
6 weeks |
|
Short Stay Business / Conference etc. |
14 April 2025 |
4 weeks |
4 weeks |
12 working days |
4 weeks |
3 weeks |
|
Long Stay Employment |
21 April 2025 |
4 weeks |
6 weeks |
4 weeks (Category A) 12 weeks (Category B) |
4 to 8 weeks |
6 weeks |
(1) The date published on the website of the Abuja Visa Office is the oldest date of application currently being processed under a given category.
Table 2 below details the target processing times for appeals submitted to the overseas Visa Offices. Please note that processing times for the Moscow and Abu Dhabi office are not available. Processing times for appeals across all categories in the Beijing Office is approximately 4 months.
Table 2 Target processing times for visa appeals in the Overseas Visa Offices
|
Visa Category |
Abuja (1) |
Ankara |
New Delhi |
London |
|
Short Stay Visa Appeals (Type C) |
24 March 2025 |
2 to 3 months |
3 months |
3 Months |
|
Long Stay Visa Appeals (Type D) – e.g. Study, Employment |
24 March 2025 |
6 Months |
3 months (Study) 6 months (Employment) |
3 Months |
|
Long Stay Visa Appeals (Type D) - Join Family |
Not Available |
6 to 12 Months |
12 months |
6 Months |
(1). The date published on the website of the Abuja Visa Office is the oldest date of application currently being processed under a given category.
Processing times and decisions at the Dublin Visa Office can be checked at the following link which is updated each Tuesday: www.irishimmigration.ie/visa-decisions/
Table 3 below sets out the dates that applications for short stay visa applications, long stay employment visa applications and visa appeals received are currently being processed by the Dublin Visa Office.
The date published on the website is the oldest date of application currently being processed under a given category. However, it should be noted that the Visa team continue to process and make decisions on applications received after the published processing date. If a particular application takes longer to consider this may result in the published processing date remaining unchanged. I can assure the Deputy that this does not indicate the processing of these applications has halted overall.
Table 3. Processing Time for visas and appeals in the Dublin Visa Office
|
Visa Category |
Processing Time |
|
Visit |
18 September 2024 |
|
Business / Conference etc. |
24 February 2025 |
|
Employment |
27 February 2025 |
|
Short Stay Visa Appeals (Type C) |
11 December 2023 – Visit 24 March 2025 - Business |
|
Long Stay Visa Appeals (Type D) – e.g. Study, Employment |
27 May 2025 2025 – study 31 July 2024 - employment |
|
Long Stay Visa Appeals (Type D) - Join Family |
24 April 2024 – Cat B 01 March 2023 – Cat A |
My Department is committed to providing the best possible service to applicants. To provide greater clarity, officials in my Department are currently in the process of updating the Immigration Service website for processing times for decisions on visa applications by the Dublin visa office.
It should be noted that all visa applicants are advised that the onus is on them to provide as much information in support of their application as they feel is necessary. Guidelines in this regard are posted on the Immigration Service website. People that carefully follow these guidelines have an improved prospect of receiving a positive decision at first instance.
Processing times for all applications are influenced by a number of factors. The time it can take varies depending on the type and complexity of application; individual circumstances; peak application periods; such as holidays or the start of the school year; and, crucially, the quality and completeness of the application lodged.
I understand that extended wait times can be frustrating for applicants, and I want to assure anyone who has made an application for a visa that my Department is doing everything possible to progress these applications as quickly as possible. In recent months, additional resources and staff have been assigned to my Department’s Visa Division which I expect will reduce the waiting times for all applications.
