The naturalisation application referred to by the Deputy is at the registration stage. The Citizenship Division have advised that the IT team are working to resolve the technical issue reported by the person concerned. In the meantime the submitted documents will be reviewed and the Citizenship Division will be in touch with the applicant directly.
I expect that going forward, the majority of applicants will receive a decision within one year, however, it is important to note that no two naturalisation applications are the same and some take longer than others to process.
My Department has taken a significant number of steps to speed the process for applicants. These included introducing an online digital application, online payments, and the introduction of eVetting.
Applicants can now directly check the status of their immigration application on the Immigration Service’s Customer Service Portal. They can register for, or log in to their existing account, at: 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.
