Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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429. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the action his Department is taking to reduce the eight-month waiting time for the processing of visa application appeals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21133/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I can advise the Deputy that there are seven overseas visa offices that process appeals for visa applications. They are located in Abuja, Beijing, London, Moscow, Ankara, Abu Dhabi and New Delhi. Appeals are also processed in the Dublin Visa Office of my Department.

All appeals are processed in chronological order, based on date order of receipt. The processing time at each office is determined by a number of factors such as the volume and complexity of appeals, whether investigation is required or not, individual circumstances, peak application periods, seasonal factors, and the resources available.

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 website. Applicants that follow these guidelines have an improved prospect of receiving a positive decision at first instance.

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.

New decisions are published on the visa pages of each of the seven overseas visa offices and processing times and decisions at the Dublin Visa Office can be checked at the following page which is updated each Tuesday: www.irishimmigration.ie/visa-decisions/