Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 May 2026
881. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of visa applications processed and approved on a monthly basis; the number refused, broken down per visa type, per month in 2026, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40200/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra882. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of visa applications processed and approved on an annual basis; the number refused, broken down per visa type in each of the years 2019 to 2025, and to date in 2026, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40201/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 881 and 882 together.
I can advise the Deputy that my Department currently operates seven overseas Visa Offices in addition to the Visa Office in Dublin. These are located in Abuja, Beijing, London, Moscow, Ankara, Abu Dhabi and New Delhi. In addition, staff of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade process certain visa applications in Irish Embassies abroad under delegated authority from my Department.
In 2025, approximately 206,000 visa applications, of all types, were received by the Visa Division of my Department. This reflects an increase of 2% compared to 2024, with over 3,900 additional applications received. This follows a 21% increase in applications in 2024 compared to 2023. In the first three months of 2026, my Department's Visa Division received approximately 43,000 visa applications and has issued almost 36,000 decisions.
Processing times and decisions at the Dublin Visa Office and the Overseas Visa Offices can be checked at the following link: www.irishimmigration.ie/visa-decisions/.
The attached document shows the requested figures by visa category.
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, with South Africa added in January 2026.
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.
The attached tables set out the numbers of visas granted and refused by category from 2019 to 30 April 2026.
