Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 July 2025
2091. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the additional resources that have been redirected within his Department to assist the South African applicants who now need a short term visa to visit Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43258/25]
View answer2092. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of applications for short term visas received by his Department from South African citizens since the need for a visa to visit Ireland was introduced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43259/25]
View answer2093. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of applications for short term visas submitted by South African citizens that were successful; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43260/25]
View answer2094. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of applications for short term visas submitted by South African citizens that were unsuccessful; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43261/25]
View answer2095. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the current turnaround time to process short term visa applications from South African citizens; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43262/25]
View answer2096. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of short-term visa applications from South African citizens processed within the advertised turnaround times; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43263/25]
View answer2146. Deputy Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the average waiting time for a visitor visa to Ireland from South Africa; the number of those still waiting on visitor visa approval from South Africa; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44360/25]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 2091 to 2096, inclusive, and 2146 together.
I can advise the Deputy that on 10 July 2024 visa requirements were introduced for nationals of South Africa, bringing our arrangements into alignment with the visa requirements of Schengen members states, and with those of the UK.
The Dublin Visa Office have established a dedicated “South Africa Desk” to process applications from residents of South Africa. My Department also established Visa Application Centres, located throughout South Africa, with visa service provider VFS Global. This is to ensure the facilitation of legitimate travel with processes that are robust, effective, and fair.
Since July 2024, over 13,400 applications of all types have been received by the South Africa Desk and over 9,252 decisions have issued with an overall 89% grant rate.
There are several categories of short-term visas being processed by the South Africa Desk, each with an individual processing target. These include applications to visit family/friend, for applications for business, conferences and events, tourist applications and applications for other types of Short Stay visas such as, for instance, to sit an exam or undertake training.
Table 1 below details the current target processing times for complete short stay visa applications submitted to the South Africa Visa Desk.
|
Visa Category |
Target Processing Time (From date of receipt of the application in the Dublin office) |
|
Visit Family/Friend |
10 – 12 Weeks |
|
Tourist |
Approx. 14 Weeks |
|
Business / Conference / Event |
10 – 12 Weeks |
|
Other Short Stay Categories |
6 – 8 Weeks |
If an application has significantly exceeded the above times, it is possible that, on initial assessment, the application has not met the criteria to be issued a visa, and further assessment/verification is required. In such instances, processing times will be longer than those stated above.
Table 2 below provides the total number of Type C Short Stay visa applications received and first instance decisions made from 10 July 2024, up to 24 July 2025.
|
Time Period |
Type C Received |
Type C Granted |
Type C Refused |
|
10/07/24 – 24/07/25 |
11,391 |
7,089 |
859 |
*Please note, figures are correct at time of issue, however, all statistics may be subject to data cleansing.
** A decision made in a particular year may relate to an application received in a previous year.
I can advise the Deputy that based on a recent examination of processing times the majority of short-term visit visas are being processed within a 12 week period.
Table 3 below details the processing times for first instance decisions issued for short stay visit family/friend and tourism visas processed by the South Africa Visa Desk from 10 July 2024 to 18 June 2025.
|
Processing times |
First instance Decision Number |
|
Processing time under 12 weeks |
5,107 |
|
Processing time over 12 weeks |
320 |
The South Africa Desk publishes guidance for applicants, target processing times and weekly decision reports, at the following webpage: www.irishimmigration.ie/south-africa-visa-desk/
I understand extended wait times can be frustrating. I want to assure anyone who is waiting on a decision that my Department is doing everything possible to progress applications as quickly as possible. In recent months, additional resources and staff have been assigned to my Department’s Visa Division which I expect will reduce the waiting times for all applications.
People are advised that unforeseen delays can arise, which are outside the control of the Visa Desk. Processing times for all applications are influenced by a number of factors. The time it can take varies depending on the type and complexity of application; individual circumstances; peak application periods; such as holidays or the start of the school year; and, crucially, the quality and completeness of the application lodged.
Any applicant can now directly check the status of their visa application on the Immigration Service’s new Customer Service portal. They can register for, or log in to their existing account, at portal.irishimmigration.ie/en/.
