Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 10 February 2026
808. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to consider implementing a system for the immigration service delivery to immediately return passports upon verification; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9461/26]
View answerI understand the Deputy has clarified that this question relates to the visa application process.
I can advise the deputy that when a visa application is successful, a visa sticker is affixed to the applicant's passport. At that point the application is considered complete and the passport is returned to the applicant without delay.
Applicants may also request the return of their passport at the time of submitting their application, prior to a decision being made. In such cases the applicant must resubmit their passport if their visa application is approved.
If an applicant requires the return of their passport after it has been submitted, they should contact the office to which the application was lodged, whether the Visa Office in Dublin, an overseas Visa Office, or an Embassy of Ireland abroad. The Dublin Visa Office can be contacted through the Customer Service Portal at: https://portal.irishimmigration.ie/en/
Contact details for the overseas Visa Offices are available at: https://www.irishimmigration.ie/visa-offices/#visa
A full list of Irish embassies and their contact details is available at: https://www.ireland.ie/en/dfa/embassies/
It should be noted that requesting the return of a passport may prolong the processing times, depending on the nature of the passport movements.
