Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)
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32. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the action his Department will take to resolve issues with the INIS online portal being experienced by visa and citizenship applicants, in view that applicants are being advised that further information is needed to be submitted in relation to their application without clearly setting out the information that is required, taking into account that applications may be closed off and subsequently rejected if this information is not submitted by a designated timeline; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54169/25]

Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)
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61. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if consideration will be given to reopening visa and citizenship applications which were closed as a result of applicants being unable to submit a further information request from his Department, in view that applicants are being advised that further information is required to be submitted without clearly setting out the information required, and are having difficulty getting clarification from the portal when querying same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54170/25]

Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 32 and 61 together.

As part of my Department’s continued commitment to improving its services, an online citizenship application portal was made available in October 2023. This portal is a separate system to the Customer Service Portal and has made the application process easier for applicants, allowing them to easily fill in relevant forms and submit their application online.

These improvements, along with the introduction of online payments and eVetting, are having a positive impact on naturalisation processing times. The length of time taken to process an application dropped from 15 months in 2023 to 8 months in 2024.

I can inform the Deputy that there are no technical issues with the online citizenship application portal.

In cases where an incomplete naturalisation application has been submitted, my Department offers applicants an opportunity to provide the remaining required documentation within 28 days, with a reminder notification issued after 18 days.

It should be noted that Citizenship Division are not requesting further information on such applications, but instead are requesting the required documentation to make an initial naturalisation application.

If the required documentation is not received within this timeframe, the application will be closed. Citizenship Division are aware that in some instances, applicants are uploading the documentation but failing to resubmit the application. It is essential that applicants complete the process to resubmit their application.

My Department has produced a guidance document for all potential applicants which outlines the documentation required to submit an application. This is available at the following link: www.irishimmigration.ie/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Citizenship-Guidance-Document-April-2024.pdf.

If an applicant has any queries relating to their application, they can contact Citizenship division using my Departments Customer Service Portal. This can be accessed at the following link: .

My Department continues to monitor customer experience and is committed to its continuous improvement. The functionality of all our online platforms is under constant review.

If the Deputy is aware of any particular issues with the service or an application, he can contact my Department's Immigration Oireachtas service, IMoireachtasmail@justice.ie, who can assist to resolve the matter.