Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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321. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the reason for the long delay in assessing visa appeals for those applicants who have already secured employment permits; is he aware of the serious affect these delays are having on small and medium business due to lack of staff; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5869/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, 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 administered by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE). Visa required nationals must apply for a “D” long stay employment visa once they have been granted an employment permit from DETE.

Employment visas are currently processed in 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. In addition, the Department of Foreign Affairs process employment visas in Irish Embassies abroad under delegated sanction from my Department.

Between the 1 January 2022 and the 31 December 2022 my Department received a total of 17,629 Type D Long Stay employment visa applications. This compares with a total of 6,877 for the same period in 2019 (before COVID-19 related travel restrictions). This represents an increase of over 250%.

The processing times for visa decisions are published on the visa pages of each Visa Office and the relevant Embassy website. The processing time in each location is determined by a number of factors such as the volumes and complexity of applications, individual circumstances, peak application periods, seasonal factors, and the resources available. While every effort is made to process applications as quickly as possible, processing times inevitably vary as a result.

The Dublin Visa Office are currently processing Employment Visa appeals received, in the Dublin Office, on the 18 August 2022.

Processing times and decisions at the Dublin Visa Office can be checked at the following link which is updated each Tuesday: www.irishimmigration.ie/visa-decisions/

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 visa process has a crucial role to play in supporting economic activity in the State through facilitation of tourism from emerging markets, promotion of Ireland as a destination for international education, facilitating those coming here for business and work, etc. As with all visa services worldwide, the central concern in deciding on visa applications 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 not placing unnecessary or unreasonable obstacles in the way of intending visitors.