Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 22 March 2023
231. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Justice if she will outline the reason appeals against decisions not to grant join family or join spouse visas are now taking a year when appellants were advised in January 2023 they would take eight weeks; if she will outline the reason an appeal from (details supplied) will take 12 months to decide; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14336/23]
View answerThe visa application referred to by the Deputy was refused by the Visa Office in Ankara on the 27 October 2022. The reasons for this decision were set out in the refusal letter sent to the applicant at that time. An appeal of this decision was received in the Ankara Visa Office on the 27 December 2022.
All visa applicants are advised that the onus is on them to provide as much information in support of their application as they feel is necessary. Guidelines in this regard are posted on our website. Applicants that follow these guidelines have an improved prospect of receiving a positive decision at first instance. It should be noted that visa appeals are dealt with in strict chronological order.
The Ankara Visa Office has seen a significant increase in visa applications received in comparison with the same period in 2019 (before COVID-19 related travel restrictions). In addition to this increase in applications, the Ankara Visa Office has received an extremely high number of incomplete applications, which is also adding to the longer processing times, given the resources that are required to examine these applications.
The processing time at each Visa Office and location worldwide is determined by a number of factors, such as: the volume and complexity of applications, whether investigation is required or not, individual circumstances, peak application periods, seasonal factors, and the resources available. While every effort is made to process applications as quickly as possible, processing times inevitably vary as a result.
An error in some refusal letters issued by the Ankara Visa Office incorrectly referenced an 8 week time for appeal, this error has been corrected. The website for the Ankara Visa Office states that appeals may take up to 12 months. This information is available at the following link:
www.dfa.ie/irish-embassy/turkey/visas/visas-for-ireland-weekly-decisions-report/.
A decision will be issued to the applicant as soon as full consideration has been given by a Visa Appeals Officer.
Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to my Department by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility (inisoireachtasmail@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 Questions process.
