Written answer
Visa Applications
2187. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if his attention has been drawn to the case of a person (details supplied); if he can assist in this case; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55515/26]
Comment on this
The person referred to by the Deputy applied to renew their immigration permission on 29 April 2026 and this application is currently in the queue for consideration.
The Registration Office within Immigration Service Delivery (ISD) of my Department provide a live application processing date broken down by stamp category, which is updated every Monday, and is available at the following link: Renewing your registration permission if you live in the Republic of Ireland - Immigration Service Delivery[] (www.irishimmigration.ie/registering-your-immigration-permission/how-to-renew-your-current-permission/renewing-your-registration-permission-if-you-live-in-the-republic-of-ireland/0).
I understand that the extended wait times can be frustrating for applicants, and I can assure the Deputy that my Department is utilising every avenue available to facilitate as many applicants as quickly as possible and to increase processing capacity.
The Registration Office is open seven days a week to facilitate customers to process both first time registration appointments and online renewals, with significant additional staff assigned to this work. This is having an impact and wait times are reducing, and I expect times to reduce further over the summer months.
In the meantime, I can advise the Deputy that I recently published an updated interim employer notice and a notice to facilitate customers travelling during the summer months to alleviate pressure on applicants while the Department continues to reduce the wait times.
Where an employee’s Irish Residence Permit (IRP) card has expired and they are unable to obtain a new one by the expiry date of their current IRP card, they are still permitted to work and to remain in the State until 31 August 2026. This applies to all expired IRP cards regardless of the number of weeks elapsed, but is subject to the applicant submitting their renewal application prior to their current IRP card expiring. Further information on this notice can be found at the following link (www.irishimmigration.ie/minster-announces-interim-notice-to-employers-regarding-renewal-of-registration/).
It is important to note that the existing Notice to Employers (www.irishimmigration.ie/registering-your-immigration-permission/how-to-renew-your-current-permission/notice-to-employers/) will continue to apply after 31 August 2026.
Furthermore, the previous travel arrangements made for people awaiting a renewal of their IRP card who intend to travel has been reinstated until 31 August 2026. People may use their recently expired IRP card to travel until the end of August 2026, provided an application to renew their registration permission was submitted in advance of the expiry date of their IRP Card. Further information can be found on the ISD website at the following link (www.irishimmigration.ie/isd-announces-initiative-to-facilitate-customers-travelling-during-the-summer-months/).
The naturalisation application referred to by the Deputy continues to be processed by my Department.
Citizenship Division is doing everything possible to progress applications as quickly as possible.
It is important to note, however, 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, such as international checks, can take a considerable amount of time and these are largely outside of the control of the Immigration Service.
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.