Irish visa applications are causing significant stress for both travel agents and their clients. Recent reports received from agents highlight instances where visa applications submitted two or three months in advance are only approved the day before departure, leading to considerable anxiety and uncertainty for their customers.
Travel agents complain that once the visa is submitted, there is no way to follow up and clients can expect to receive their visa only days before they depart.
“This is affecting our service levels – clients cannot believe that the visa can take two or even three months to be issued. It is a busy time now with Christmas coming up and Irish visas are taking longer and longer to come out. Do they not have enough staff to process applications?” asked one angry agent.
A representative at VFS Global spoke to Travel News about submission and processing of Irish visa applications.
“Visa applications submitted at our centres are forwarded as per the agreed service level agreements with the Irish Embassy. We cannot track the status of an application during assessment within any Embassy or Consulate.
“Visa processing timelines vary depending on the visa category type, business, tourist visit, educational etc. During periods of higher than expected waiting times for application processing (due to the increased demand for outbound travel), we advise visa applicants and their agents to apply for visas as early as possible. In the case of Ireland, visa applications can be submitted up to 90 days (3 months) before the date of travel.”
He added: “VFS Global does not play any role in the decision-making process of visas, including the processing time involved and the mandatory documentation. It is at the sole discretion of the Embassy of Ireland.”
Evan Cunningham, Second Secretary at the Embassy of Ireland in South Africa told Travel News that since the Irish visa requirement was announced in July, over 5 400 visa applications had been received by the Department of Justice in Dublin. The Department had subsequently established a dedicated South Africa Visa Desk to manage the new visa requirement, he said.
Cunningham explained that the Department had also just introduced a Digital Contact Centre (DCC) for visa customers.
“The DCC allows individuals to log in and check the status of their visa application or submit a query in relation to their application through the dedicated Customer Service Portal.”
The DCC portal can be accessed here https://portal.irishimmigration.ie/en/
