Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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750. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the nationalities that face stricter scrutiny when applying for the long-stay 'D' visa. [39515/25]

Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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The central concern in deciding on visa applications, as with all visa services worldwide, 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 facilitating travel for those who meet the criteria for travel.

Type D visa and preclearance applications provide legal avenues for people moving to Ireland for employment, study and family reasons. It is important to recall these applications are screening processes, designed to establish that the person has a legitimate reason to come to Ireland prior to travel. Verifying an application is an important part of our immigration system and the checks involved can take time to complete.

I can assure the Deputy that all immigration related applications, including those for visas, are subject to the levels of scrutiny commensurate with the assessed risk from a migration, security or public policy perspective; this operational matter is kept under review by my Department.

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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751. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the current average length of time for Vietnamese long-stay 'D' visa applicants. [39516/25]

Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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I understand that the Deputy is referring to Long Stay Join Family visa applications as processed in accordance with the Policy Document on Non-EEA Family Reunification.

I can advise the Deputy that there are currently 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 and Trade process certain visa applications in Irish Embassies abroad under delegated sanction from my Department.

The current processing times of applications for visas made by family members of Vietnamese nationals varies depending on the circumstances when the application is made. If a Vietnamese national is moving to Ireland because they have been granted a Critical Skills Employment Permit they can apply for join family visas at the same time as their own employment visa. When these visas are applied for together, they are processed in tandem and are typically completed in under eight weeks. My Department aims to process join family visa applications made in other circumstances within 12 months. This target processing times applies to all applicants irrespective of nationality.

I can advise the Deputy that the majority of join family visas receive a first instance decision within the 12-month business target. In 2024 the average processing time for all types of Join Family visa application was 72 calendar days.

Processing times for all applications are influenced by a number of factors and some applications may take considerably longer than average to progress to finalisation. 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.

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. These increases have continued, in the first five months of 2025, my Department's Visa Division received approximately 88,400 visa applications and has issued over 76,900 decisions. This reflects an increase in applications of 14%, compared to the same period in 2024.

My officials are working to meet the increased level of demand, and over 5,400 additional visa decisions have issued in the first five months of 2025, compared to the same period in 2024.