704. Deputy Máire Devine asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the status of a citizenship application (details supplied). [71646/25]

The naturalisation application referred to by the Deputy continues to be processed by my Department.

I can advise the Deputy that this naturalisation application has been returned twice as it was incomplete and missing all the required documentation.

In cases where incomplete applications are received, the applicant is notified, and the application is returned with a request to provide the missing documentation within 28 days. A reminder notification is issued after 18 days if the required documentation has still not been provided.

When an application is returned, it is taken out of the queue for processing and will only rejoin the processing queue once the application has been updated and resubmitted by the applicant. It is important to note that the resubmitted application will rejoin the queue based on the date that it is resubmitted, not the date of the original application.

It is important to note that no two naturalisation applications are the same and some take longer than others to process. Given the importance of citizenship, robust and comprehensive checks must take place on each application. Unfortunately, some checks, including international checks, can take a considerable amount of time and are largely outside the control of the Immigration Service.

For that reason, while I expect that, going forward, most applicants will receive a decision within one year, this timeframe cannot be guaranteed in respect of applications made in any specific year.

Citizenship Division has taken a significant number of steps to improve the process for applicants. These include the introduction of an online digital application system, online payments, and eVetting. I am pleased to inform the Deputy that these measures are contributing to reduced processing times.

Applicants can now directly check the status of their immigration application on the Immigration Service’s Customer Service Portal. They can register for, or log in to their existing account, at: [www.portal.irishimmigration.ie/en/]

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.