Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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745. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the average processing times for work visa applications every month since June 2021, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37724/22]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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In order to work in Ireland, a non-EEA national, unless they are exempted, must hold a valid employment permit, which is granted by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE).

Once they have been granted an employment permit from DETE, visa required nationals must apply for a “D” long stay employment visa. The granting of an employment permit by DETE is not the sole determining factor as to whether a visa will subsequently be granted by my Department. These are two very distinct application processes with different checks and procedures in place in each respective Department.

The processing times for visa decisions are published on the visa pages of each Visa Office and the relevant Embassy website. Applicants are advised to allow at least eight weeks for the processing of an employment visa and, in the vast majority of cases, the processing times are well within that timeframe.

As these applications are usually processed within a very short timeframe, statistics are not maintained by my Department in the manner requested by the Deputy. Currently, the average time taken to process an employment visa received in my Department's Visa Offices in Dublin and overseas is three weeks.

The central concern in deciding on visa applications, as with all visa services worldwide, is to strike an appropriate balance between protecting the country's vital national interests by maintaining an effective immigration regime while at the same time facilitating travel for those who meet the criteria. Each visa application is therefore decided on its own merits taking all factors into account.