923. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if he is aware of the serious delay in the processing of family reunification visas, with some regions reporting a two year wait; if he is aware of the disincentive this presents to highly skilled workers to remain in Ireland, including in the medical fields; if short stay visas may be made more easily and quickly obtainable for family visits to Ireland as an interim measure; and the measures that will be put in place to reduce this delay to a more reasonable timeframe. [65244/26]

950. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the reason the published processing date for join family visa applications handled by the Dublin visa office, specifically matching the cohort around late April 2024, has failed to advance for a consecutive period of six weeks; the specific operational bottlenecks preventing these applications from being finalized; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65603/26]

951. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the reason a significant disparity exists between the processing times for join family visas for dependents of critical skills employment permit holders, processed within 8–12 weeks, and those sponsored by Irish citizens or long-term residents which currently exceed 20 to 24 months; the total volume of standard join family visa applications currently awaiting a first-instance decision; and if he will make a statement on the matter [65602/26]

952. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the specific volume of additional administrative and decision-making resources allocated to the Dublin visa office over the past 12 months to alleviate the backlog of family reunification visas; the reason these measures have failed to bring processing times down to his Department's own 12-month business target; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65600/26]

960. Deputy Noel McCarthy asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the current average processing time for join family long stay D-visa applications; and the measures being taken by his department to reduce processing times for such visas. [65685/26]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 923, 950, 951, 952 and 960 together.

Across all sectors of our economy, migrants make an important contribution to Irish society, our communities and public services. My Department is currently developing a National Migration and Integration Strategy to help ensure that Ireland is well placed to meet the opportunities and challenges of migration over the coming decade.

I fully recognise that join family visa applications are very important for the people involved. I understand that people are eager to have their families join them in Ireland.

My Department operates seven overseas Visa Offices, as well as the Visa Office in Dublin. In addition, certain visa applications are processed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade staff in Irish Embassies abroad under delegated authority from my Department.

While processing times can vary between visa offices, most visa applications receive a decision within our published target times. Some applications can take longer, depending on the circumstances.

Processing times are influenced by a number of factors, including the complexity of the application, the volume of applications received, and the quality and completeness of the information provided.

It is important to recall these applications are screening processes, designed to establish that the person has a legitimate reason to come to Ireland prior to travel. Verifying an application is an important part of our immigration system and the checks involved can take time to complete.

A Critical Skills Employment Permit holder can apply for join family visa at the same time as their employment visa. These applications can then be processed together and typically receive a first instance decision within the 10-12 week business target.

Applicants who submit join family visa applications separately will generally receive a first instance decision within the 12 month business target.

I can further advise that current processing times and visa decisions at Visa Offices in Dublin and overseas can be viewed at:

https://www.irishimmigration.ie/visa-decisions

The date published on the Dublin decisions page is the oldest date of application currently being processed under a given category. However, it should be noted that the Visa team continue to process and make decisions on applications received after the published processing date. If a particular application takes longer to consider this may result in the published processing date remaining unchanged. I can assure the Deputy that this does not indicate the processing of these applications has halted overall.

In December 2025, the Immigration Service of my Department introduced online payment functionality to the Department's online visa system. This allows applicants to pay visa fees as part of the online application process. The initiative is being rolled out on a phased basis and is currently operational in 40 countries, with South Africa added in January 2026. This reduces the administrative burden on Irish Missions and visa teams and allows visa officers to dedicate more time to core application processing and decision-making, thereby supporting improved processing efficiency.

Furthermore, the ongoing Immigration Service Delivery (ISD) modernisation programme is designed to support a more efficient, transparent and accessible immigration system. The recent establishment of dedicated Application Submission and Join Family Case Processing teams is intended to streamline workflows, reduce duplication and strengthen expertise, thereby improving service delivery for join family visa applications.

Detailed real-time figures on the number of pending applications on hand are not routinely compiled in a format that can be disaggregated in the manner requested by the Deputy. However, the tables below outline the average processing times for last year, and the number of applications received and processed, which provides an accurate indication of the scale of applications being managed.

Table 1. Join Family Visa applications received and processed.

* 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.

* Categories included above are Join Family Irish (Spouse, de facto, other) and Join Family Non-EEA (Spouse, de facto, other)

Table 2. Join Family visa application average processing times for 2025

* Please note, figures are correct at time of issue, however, all statistics may be subject to data cleansing.

* All figures are calendar days and based on a 7-day week. There is no allowance made for weekends, public, bank or religious holidays in the various jurisdictions.