Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

698. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality for an update on a citizenship application (details supplied). [39060/25]

Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The naturalisation application from the person referred to by the Deputy has been received by the Citizenship division of my Department. If any further information is required, Citizenship division will contact the person cited directly.

I expect that going forward, the majority of applicants will receive a decision within one year, however, it is important to note that no two naturalisation applications are the same and some take longer than others to process.

Given the importance of citizenship, robust and comprehensive checks must take place on each application. Unfortunately, some international checks can take a considerable amount of time and these are largely outside of the control of the Immigration Service.

Citizenship Division have taken a significant number of steps to speed up the process for applicants. These included introducing an online digital application, online payments, and the introduction of eVetting.

I am pleased to inform the Deputy that these changes are dramatically reducing processing times. The length of time taken to process an application has dropped from 15 months in 2023, to 8 months in 2024.

Furthermore, my Department held 24 citizenship ceremonies last year, an increase from the 15 ceremonies held in 2023, and the 6 that were held in 2022. My Department has already held 13 ceremonies this year.

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

As an Oireachtas member, you can also request the status of individual immigration cases by e-mail, using the Oireachtas Mail facility at: IMoireachtasmail@justice.ie, 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.