Séamus McGrath (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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407. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the reason for the delayed waiting times for the granting of a short-term stay visa for South African citizens; the reasons for the length of the processing times; the measures he intends to take to improve processing times in order that visitor applications can be processed in time; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31341/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I can advise the Deputy that on 10 July 2024 visa requirements were introduced for nationals of South Africa.

The Dublin Visa Office have established a dedicated “South Africa desk” to process applications from residents of South Africa. My Department also established Visa Application Centres, located throughout South Africa, with visa service provider VFS Global. This is to ensure the facilitation of legitimate travel with processes that are robust, effective, and fair.

Since July 2024 over 11,700 applications of all types have been received by the South African Desk and over 7,900 decisions have issued with an overall 89% grant rate.

The current target processing times for visa applications submitted to the South Africa Visa Desk are 6 to 8 weeks for applications to visit family/friend and approximately 12 weeks for tourist applications.

The South Africa Desk publishes guidance for applicants, target processing times and weekly decision reports, at the following webpage: www.irishimmigration.ie/south-africa-visa-desk/

I can advise the Deputy that targeted processing times for Visas issued by the South Africa desk are not currently being met, the oldest application on hand is currently waiting approximately 14 weeks for a decision. Efforts are being made to improve the current processing times.

Applicants are advised that unforeseen delays can arise, which are outside the control of the Visa Desk. Processing times for all applications are influenced by a number of factors. The time it can take varies depending on the type and complexity of application; individual circumstances; peak application periods; such as holidays or the start of the school year; and, crucially, the quality and completeness of the application lodged.

With this in mind, my officials recommend that, for short stay visas, applicants should apply up to 90 days in advance of their proposed travel dates and that applicants should not book flights until they have received and validated their visa.

If an application has significantly exceeded the above times, it is possible that, on initial assessment, the application has not met the criteria to be issued a visa, and further assessment/verification is required. In such instances, processing times will be longer than those stated above.

In 2024, approximately 201,000 visa applications, of all types, were received by the Visa Division of my Department. This reflects an increase of 21%, compared to 2023, with over 35,000 additional applications received.

I understand extended wait times can be frustrating. I want to assure anyone who is waiting on a decision that my Department is doing everything possible to progress applications as quickly as possible. In recent months, additional resources and staff have been assigned to my Department’s Visa Division which I expect will reduce the waiting times for all applications.

Any applicant can now directly check the status of their visa application on the Immigration Service’s new Customer Service portal. They can register for, or log in to their existing account, at:

www.portal.irishimmigration.ie/en/