Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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430. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of visa application appeals for family reunification for immediate family members of Irish citizens that have not yet been decided upon; the number of weeks each appeal has been awaiting a decision; the business target for these appeals; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7736/24]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I can advise the Deputy that there are currently seven overseas Visa Offices in addition to the Visa Office in Dublin. They are located in Abuja, Beijing, London, Moscow, Ankara, Abu Dhabi and New Delhi.

As of Close of Business (COB) on 31 January 2024 there were 514 Type D long stay applications awaiting an appeal decision where the applicant is a spouse, De Facto partner or other family member of an Irish national.

The table below provides the average time that such Type D long stay applications, currently awaiting an appeal decision, have been outstanding. This is calculated from the time the appeal documents are lodged with the Embassy/Consulate/Visa Office.

*The DFA figure relates to appeal submitted to an Embassy of Ireland but forwarded to one of the seven overseas Visa Offices or the Visa Office in Dublin.**Please note all figures are correct at time of issue and may be subject to data cleansing.

The average waiting time across all missions is currently 11.7 months.

Long Stay Join Family visa applications are processed in accordance with the guidelines set out in the Policy Document on Non-EEA Family Reunification. This policy document may be accessed at the following link:

www.irishimmigration.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Policy-document-on-Non-EEA-family-reunification.pdf

Appeals for applications of this type are processed in the order in which they are received, to be fair to all applicants. While every effort is made to process these applications as soon as possible, processing times will vary having regard to the volume of appeals received, their complexity, the possible need for the visa office to seek further information in relation to certain appeals and the resources available to process them.

All visa applicants are advised that the onus is on them to provide as much information in support of their application as they feel is necessary. Guidelines in this regard are posted on the Immigration Service website. When making an appeal, the applicant should take into account the reasons for refusal listed in the refusal letter and the appeal should include any further information or additional documentation they wish to have considered.