Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 July 2025
671. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the reason there are consistent delays in processing South African visa currently; if he can outline his plans to address these delays, improve communication to existing applicants and Oireachtas members making representations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38663/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraI can advise the Deputy that on 10 July 2024 visa requirements were introduced for nationals of South Africa, bringing our arrangements into alignment with the visa requirements of Schengen members states, and with those of the UK.
The Dublin Visa Office have established a dedicated “South Africa desk” to process applications from residents of South Africa. My Department also established Visa Application Centres, located throughout South Africa, with visa service provider VFS Global. This is to ensure the facilitation of legitimate travel with processes that are robust, effective, and fair.
Since July 2024 to date, over 12,900 applications of all types have been received by the South Africa Visa Desk and over 8,800 decisions have issued with an overall 89% grant rate.
The South Africa Desk publishes guidance for applicants, target processing times and weekly decision reports, at the following webpage: www.irishimmigration.ie/south-africa-visa-desk/
The current target processing times for visa applications submitted to the South Africa Visa Desk are 10 to 12 weeks for applications to visit family/friend and approximately 14 weeks for tourist applications. I can assure the Deputy that efforts are being made to improve the current processing times. If an application has significantly exceeded the above times, it is possible that, on initial assessment, the application has not met the criteria to be issued a visa, and further assessment/verification is required. In such instances, processing times will be longer than those stated above.
I understand extended wait times can be frustrating. I want to assure anyone who is waiting on a decision that my Department is doing everything possible to progress 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. People are advised that unforeseen delays can arise, which are outside the control of the Visa Desk. 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.
Any person can now directly check the status of their visa application on the Immigration Service’s new Customer Service portal. They can register for, or log in to their existing account, at:
https://portal.irishimmigration.ie/en/
As an Oireachtas member, you can also request the status of individual immigration cases by e-mail, using the Oireachtas Mail facility at: IMoireachtasmail@justice.ie, which has been specifically established for this purpose. This service enables up to date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek information by way of the Parliamentary Question process.
