Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 13 June 2019
91. Deputy Willie Penrose asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if an application for citizenship by persons (details supplied) received by his Department on 16 April 2019 will be expedited; if while awaiting assessment of same the passports of a spouse and minors will be returned due to the family taking a vacation in their home country on 25 June 2019; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24619/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that the passports for the minors referred to by the Deputy were returned to the applicants by registered post on 06/06/19. The passport for the spouse was returned to Citizenship Division of INIS by An Post marked "not called for" on 24/05/18. INIS resent the passport to the spouse by registered post on 11/06/19.
It is recognised that all applicants for citizenship would wish to have a decision on their application without delay. While every effort will be made to expedite the processing of the applications, 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.
Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to the INIS of my Department by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility 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 Questions process. The Deputy may consider using the e-mail service except in cases where the response from the INIS is, in the Deputy’s view, inadequate or too long awaited.
