Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 8 July 2026
147. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the evidential basis where join family processing times were changed from four to eight weeks to six to 12 months; and the notification provided to existing CSEP holders. [52047/26]
View answer148. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether the Embassy prioritise student visa applications during academic intake seasons at the expense of pending join family applications; and if so, the way this is consistent with the published commitment to chronological processing. [52048/26]
View answer149. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the specific measures that ensure the join family backlog does not grow indefinitely given three annual academic intake seasons. [52049/26]
View answer150. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the current total number of pending join family applications at an embassy (details supplied); and the projected clearance date for applications received in early 2026. [52050/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 147, 148, 149 and 150 together.
Across all sectors of our economy, migrants make an important contribution to Irish society, our communities and public services. My Department is currently developing a National Migration and Integration Strategy to help ensure that Ireland is well placed to meet the opportunities and challenges of migration over the coming decade.
I fully recognise that join family visa applications are very important for the people involved. I understand that people are eager to have their families join them in Ireland.
My Department operates seven overseas Visa Offices, as well as the Visa Office in Dublin. In addition, certain visa applications are processed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade staff in Irish Embassies abroad under delegated authority from my Department.
While processing times can vary between visa offices, most visa applications receive a decision within our published target times. Some applications can take longer, depending on the circumstances.
Processing times are influenced by a number of factors, including the complexity of the application, the volume of applications received, and the quality and completeness of the information provided.
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.
A Critical Skills Employment Permit holder can apply for join family visa at the same time as their employment visa. These applications can then be processed together and typically receive a first instance decision within the 10-12 week business target.
People who make join family visa applications separately, will generally receive a first instance decision within the 12 month business target.
It should be noted that some visa categories have a shorter business targets. Visit / Family and Visit / Tourism have a business target of 6-8 weeks. Study visas have a business target of 4-8 weeks. These processing times are available on the New Delhi Visa Office web site at: www.ireland.ie/en/india/newdelhi/services/visas/processing-times-and-decisions/.
The published commitment to chronological processing refers to applications within the same category and received by the same Visa Office.
In December 2025, the Immigration Service of my Department introduced online payment functionality to my Department's online visa system. This allows applicants to pay visa fees as part of the online application process. The initiative is being rolled out on a phased basis and is currently live in 40 countries. This reduces the administrative burden on Irish Missions and visa teams, and allows visa officers to dedicate more time to core application processing and decision-making, contributing to improved processing efficiency over time.
Detailed real-time figures on the number of pending applications on hand are not routinely compiled in a format that can be disaggregated in the manner requested by the Deputy. However, overall volumes provide an accurate indication of the scale of applications being managed.
Table 1 below details the number of Join Family applications received, by the New Delhi Visa Office, and decisions issued by that office from 2023 to 2025.
|
New Delhi Visa Office |
2023 |
2024 |
2025 |
|
Applications Received |
9,624 |
10,920 |
9,420 |
|
Decisions Issued |
8,592 |
9,919 |
8,424 |
* Please note, figures are correct at time of issue, however, all statistics may be subject to data cleansing.
* A decision made in a particular year may relate to an application received in a previous year.
* Categories included above are Join Family Irish (Spouse, de facto, other) and Join Family Non-EEA (Spouse, de facto, other).
