Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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592. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality when it became a requirement to send original passport documents with performance C visa applications; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59407/22]

Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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593. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the reason that it became a requirement to send original passport documents with performance C visa applications; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59408/22]

Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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594. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of performance C visa applications processed, disaggregated by decision to grant or refuse in each of the years 2015 to 2021 and to date in 2022, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59409/22]

Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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595. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the average length of time to process a performance C visa application in each of the years 2015 to 2021 and to date in 2022, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59410/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 592 to 595, inclusive, together.

When applying for any type of visa, including Type "C" Performance Visas, an applicant must submit their current passport, which must be valid for at least 6 months after the date the applicant plans to leave Ireland. The applicant must also submit a photocopy of each page from all previous passports where available.

As part of the application process, the visa office usually retains an applicant's passport for the duration of the application, as the visa office will place the visa sticker in the passport if the application is successful. However, it is open to applicants to request their passport back while they are waiting on the processing of their visa applications, if needed.

The table below outlines the number of applications granted and refused for the period 2017 up to 24 November 2022 (figures for earlier years are not readily available).

The below table shows the median processing times in days for performance C visas for the period 2017 up to 24 November 2022.