Naoise Ó Muirí (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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673. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the steps his Department are taking to alleviate the backlog in visa applications, particularly for de facto partners of Irish nationals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51302/25]

Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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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. All preclearance applications for De Facto partners of Irish nationals are considered by the Dublin Visa Office.

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 eight months of 2025, my Department's Visa Division received approximately 151,000 visa applications and has issued over 134,000 decisions. This reflects an increase in applications of 5% compared to the same period in 2024. My officials are working to meet the increased level of demand, and over 5,500 additional visa decisions have issued in the first eight months of 2025, compared to the same period in 2024.

I can advise the Deputy that preclearance programmes for De Facto partners of Irish nationals and of non-EEA nationals who hold a Critical Skills Employment Permit or Hosting Agreements were introduced in 2019. The number of preclearance applications for De Facto partners has increased from 287 in 2023, to 371 in 2024. In the first eight months of 2025, 245 preclearance applications for De Facto partners have been received.

I understand that extended wait times can be frustrating for applicants, and I want to assure anyone who has made an application for a visa or preclearance that my Department is doing everything possible to progress these applications as quickly as possible. Staffing levels are kept under ongoing review having regard to demands placed on my Department’s Immigration Service Delivery function generally. This year additional resources and staff have been assigned to my Department’s Visa Division in response to the growing demand for these services.

The current processing times of applications for join family visas varies depending on the circumstances when the application is made. If a non-EEA 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.

I can assure the Deputy the majority of join family visas receive a first instance decision within the 12 month business target; in the first eight months of 2025 the average processing time for a join family application was 100 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.

Where an application is of poor quality or where essential documentation is missing, it will inevitably add substantial additional time to the decision making process. My Department’s website and the online application AVATS system provides clear guidelines to assist the applicant in making good quality and complete applications.

Visa and preclearance applications provide legal avenues for people moving to Ireland for employment, study and family reasons and also to facilitate visitors who wish to travel for business and/or tourism. 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. The vast majority of visa applications are determined in a matter of weeks. However, some applications, in particular those to join family members here, can take considerably longer.

The requirement to make an application for preclearance applies to both visa and non-visa required non-EEA De Facto partners of Irish nationals. If the person is from a visa required country the visa and preclearance application are considered together. In order to be eligible for a De Facto permission the De Facto partners must be able to demonstrate sufficient evidence of their relationship, including, cohabitation of 2 years or more together, evidence of financial inter-dependence and detailed information of their relationship history. Further details regarding the preclearance programmes are available at the following link:

The current processing times for visa and preclearance applications decisions are available here:

www.irishimmigration.ie/visa-decisions/

Please note, 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. At this time, the oldest date of preclearance applications is 01 August 2024 for an application sponsored by an Irish national.

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.