Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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695. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 1576 of 23 July 2024, the status of an appeal for a visa for reunification; the timeline for a decision on same (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16675/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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The visa application referred to by the Deputy was refused by the Visa Office in Dublin on 05 September 2023. The reasons for this decision were set out in the refusal letter sent to the applicant at that time. An appeal of this decision was launched on 15 January 2024.

While I acknowledge the personal difficulties an applicant might be experiencing, it is not possible to give a definitive date as to when this appeal will be finalised. All applications are processed in chronological order, based on date order of receipt.

While every effort is made to process applications as soon as possible, processing times will vary having regard to the volume and complexity of applications, the possible need for the Immigration Service Delivery (ISD) function of the Department to investigate, inquire into, or seek further information, and the resources available.

Processing times and decisions at the Dublin Visa Office can be checked at the following link which is updated each Tuesday:

The date published on the website is the oldest date of application currently being processed under a given category. However, it should be noted that the Visa team continue to process and make decisions on applications received after the published processing date. If a particular application takes longer to consider this may result in the published processing date remaining unchanged. I can assure you that this does not indicate the processing of these applications has halted overall.

I am acutely aware that join family applications are very important for the persons impacted. I understand that people are eager to have their families join them in Ireland and I am committed to improving the service my Department provides.

To provide greater clarity, officials in my Department are currently in the process of updating the Immigration Service website to provide processing times for decisions on visa applications at the Dublin visa office.

The person concerned can now directly check the status of their immigration application on the Immigration Service’s new Digital Contact Centre (DCC). They can register for, or log in to their existing account, at:

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As an Oireachtas member, you can also request the status of individual immigration cases by e-mail, using the Oireachtas Mail facility at: , which has been specifically established for this purpose. This service enables up to date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek information by way of the Parliamentary Question process.