Michael Murphy
Question:800. Deputy Michael Murphy asked the Minister for Justice if a citizenship application by a person (details supplied) will be expedited [2487/25]
View answerWednesday, 5 February 2025
Questions (800)
Written answers
The naturalisation application from the person referred to by the Deputy continues to be processed by my Department.
I expect that going forward, the vast majority of applicants will continue to receive a decision within one year, however, it is important to note that no two naturalisation applications are the same and some take longer than others to process.
I understand the extended wait times can be frustrating for applicants, particularly considering the current processing times. I want to assure anyone who has an application for naturalisation submitted that the Citizenship Division of my Department is doing everything possible to progress applications as quickly as possible.
Given the importance of citizenship, robust and comprehensive checks must take place on each application. Unfortunately, some international checks can take a considerable amount of time and these are largely out of the control of the Immigration Service.
Citizenship Division have also taken a significant number of steps to speed up the process for applicants. These included introducing an online digital application, online payments, and the introduction of eVetting. I am pleased to inform the Deputy that these changes are dramatically reducing processing times.
The length of time taken to process an application has dropped from 15 months in 2023, to 8 months in 2024.
The person concerned can now directly check the status of their immigration application on the Immigration Service’s new Digital Contact Centre (DCC). They can register for, or log in to their existing account, at:
As an Oireachtas member, you can also request the status of individual immigration cases by e-mail, using the Oireachtas Mail facility at: IMoireachtasmail@justice.ie, which has been specifically established for this purpose. This service enables up to date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek information by way of the Parliamentary Question process.