Ivana Bacik
Question:875. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Justice her plans to clear the backlog in processing citizenship applications; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36832/23]
View answerTuesday, 25 July 2023
Questions (875)
Written answers
I am deeply conscious of how important the granting of naturalisation is to all of those who apply for it. The Department is aware that delays in processing times are frustrating and disruptive for applicants, and are working hard to improve the position.
It is recognised that all applicants for citizenship would wish to have a decision on their application without delay. However, the nature of the naturalisation process is such that, for a broad range of reasons, some cases will take longer than others to process. In some instances, completing the necessary checks can take a considerable period of time.
The median processing time for applications currently stands at 19 months. The number of applications currently on hand at the end of June is 31,610, of which approximately 10,000 were received in the first six months of this year.
To the end of June 2023, 6,061 naturalisation certificates have already issued and I can further advise the Deputy that approximately 8,700 of the applications on hand have in fact received a positive decision and are now in the process of making their final payment and/or being scheduled to attend the next citizenship ceremony.
Significant changes are underway within the naturalisation process as the Citizenship Division examines how it can become more efficient. One of the improvements that has become visible recently has been the reduction in wait times for files to be registered. Last year it took on average about 7 months for a file to be acknowledged. This year it is done in a matter of weeks. A related improvement is that Garda vetting is now carried out earlier in the naturalisation process to help improve processing efficiency.
To ensure older files are also progressing under the new system, Citizenship Division wrote to 13,000 applicants in May with electronic links to commence eVetting. When the vetting is complete, and any additional information is not awaited from an applicant, the file will be progressed towards naturalisation.
Finally, the Citizenship Division intends to regularly communicate with all applicants on a more regular basis into the future, to keep them updated on the status of their application.