Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 7 December 2016
89. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the average waiting time for a decision to be made on both a join family visa and a tourist visa by the INIS; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39149/16]
View answerI am advised by the Irish Naturalisation & Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that decisions regarding the grant or refusal of visas are made in a number of INIS Visa Offices overseas, the INIS Visa Office in Dublin, and at Embassies of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade which process certain visa applications under delegated sanction from my Department.
The waiting time for visa decisions are published on the Visa pages of each Visa Office and Embassy website. As regards the Dublin Visa Office, I am advised by INIS that the time taken to complete tourist visa applications where all of the necessary information is available to the Visa Officer is currently eight weeks. This is the INIS business target time for most visa decisions. The corresponding time for “join family” applications in Dublin is currently six months and again this is the business target. The webpage address for this information is
http://www.inis.gov.ie/en/INIS/Pages/Current_Processing_Times.
More generally, the processing time for visas in each location will vary based on a number of factors such as the number of applications, the complexity of the applications, whether further information or investigation is required, and the resources available. While every effort is made to process such applications as quickly as possible, processing times inevitably vary from one location to another.
The central concern, as with all visa services worldwide, in deciding on visa applications 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. Each visa application is therefore decided on its own merits taking all factors into account.
