New website set to speed up visa applications for immigrants to Ireland

A new website to speed up the processing of immigration claims has been launched.

The site, irishimmigration.ie, will replace the much criticised Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (Inis) online appointment system, which was heavily oversubscribed and open to abuse.

Many immigrants seeking a visa to live and work in Ireland were confronted with a system which seemed to be permanently booked up. Some paid anonymous third parties €20 and €30 over social media to use internet bots to secure online appointments.

The website had a soft launch in July and has been visited by almost 3,000 people a day since then.

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The new website contains multi-lingual video content and is mobile-friendly.

Separately, Minister for Justice Heather Humphreys and Minister of State for Law Reform James Browne have reiterated their commitment to process all asylum seeker applications and appeals within six months.

Currently the wait for the first decision is about 18 months.

Direct provision

Cutting waiting times was a key measure on the White Paper to end direct provision and establish a new international protection support service.

Mr Browne said: “We are committed to treating those who seek refuge on our shores, or to make a new home for themselves in ours, with dignity and respect. Our objective is to have decisions made on international protection applications and permission to remain considerations as soon as possible.

“This ensures that those who are found to be in need of our protection can receive it quickly and begin rebuilding their lives here with a sense of safety and security.”

The White Paper proposes that the new system should be phased in and operational by 2024 and that the intervening period should provide an opportunity to progress improvements in the overall processing times for asylum seekers.

The announcement came as a group of asylum seekers held a rally in Dublin on Thursday asking the Government to address the backlog in applications for the regularisation of their residency.

The group marched under the banner “The Asylum Seekers in Ireland” from O’Connell Street to the Dáil.