VISA DECISIONS AND WAITING TIMES

For most visas, the Department indicates that you can expect a decision within eight weeks after it was received by the Irish Visa Office, Embassy or Consulate you sent it to. However, in the experience of our office, most visa applicants experience much long processing periods on their visa applications.

According to information on the INIS website, as of July 3rd 2018, business and employment visa applications received by the 11th of June 2018 are currently being reviewed.

Join family applications received by the INIS offices on the 7th of February 2018 are currently being reviewed.

According to the INIS website, applications which take longer than average if you have not submitted the necessary supporting documentation, your supporting documentation needs to be verified, because of personal circumstances, for example if you have a criminal conviction. Processing times can change during the year, for example before holiday periods.

Also, according to the INIS website, if the sponsor for the application in Ireland is an Irish citizen they aim to process your application within 6 months after they have receive all the necessary documentations. If the sponsor  in Ireland is entitled to immediate family reunification they also aim to process the application within 6 months after they receive all your necessary documents. They indicate that all other sponsors applications are aimed to be processed within 12 months after receiving all the necessary documentations.

In the experience of Berkeley Solicitors, some applications for a Join Family visa take much longer than the five month period suggested on the INIS website.

Depending on which Embassy the application is being processed, many join family visa applications take up to one year or longer.

We are aware of a number of visa applicants who have waiting over two years on their first instance decision, and have issued court proceedings due to the delay.

At Berkeley Solicitors, we do our best to assist our clients through this lengthy visa application process, and where necessary we can advise on issuing proceedings due to unreasonable delay.