I propose to take Questions Nos. 200 and 201 together.
My Department continued to accept and process immigration and citizenship applications throughout the pandemic. As the Deputy will appreciate, the figures for 2020 and to date in 2021, reflect the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the demand for and processing of applications.
The processing timeline for standard applications has unfortunately increased due to the disruption to normal business as all staff were adhering to the necessary health and safety related restrictions imposed as a result of the Covid-19.
The tables below set out the information requested by the Deputy.
Application Type
|
Applications processed in 2021
|
Visa
|
30971 (including 829 withdrawals)
|
Citizenship
|
6,987
|
Domestic Residence
|
5,577
|
Application Type
|
Applications received in 2020
|
Applications processed in 2020
|
Visa
|
43,871
|
48,661 (including 4,000 withdrawals)
|
Citizenship
|
10,354
|
5,481 (919 of which were received in 2020)
|
It should be noted that applications processed in a calendar year will include applications received in a previous year.