Visa processing times
The processing times below refer to the median, meaning some applications can take longer to process for various reasons. To avoid any unforeseen delays disrupting your travel plans, you should apply six to eight weeks in advance of your travel dates.
We do not seek flight bookings as part of any visa application. Flights booked before the receipt of a visa are done so at the applicant's risk, and cost if the visa does not issue in time.
Median processing times
04 October 2023
Processing times do not include the time it takes to secure a VFS appointment, nor the time it takes for the documents to reach us from VFS, or be reach VFS after approval (see VFS transit times). Please note that 'Working days' exclude Saturdays, Sundays and all office closure dates; listed under About Us.
| Visa category | Sub-category | Median processing time (working days) |
| Business / Conference / Event | 10 | |
| Employment |
Critical skills permit | 10 |
| General / Other permit | 35 | |
| Join family* | 35 | |
| Study | 25 | |
| Visit | 25 | |
| Other* | 25 | |
| Appeals (approx.) | 40 |
* see Dublin-based processing.
Priority processing and contacting the visa office for a status update
30 April 2023
If there is a genuine medical emergency, you can request priority processing. Priority processing requests must include documentation from a Irish medical authority. Otherwise our office will delete any requests without response.
Applications are processed chronologically and in-line with the stated processing times below; unless natural or unexpected delays occur (see My application has gone over the stated processing time, what does this mean?).
How do I know if my visa is ready?
We upload visa decisions lists on a routine basis. See the Visa Decisions tab above for more information. After we make a decision we return your documents through VFS, postal services or via our Honorary Consulate in Sri Lanka.
My application has gone over the stated processing time, what does this mean?
Unforeseen delays can arise, which are outside the control of the visa office. Examples include biometrics or postal delays. If we cannot verify your documents we must conduct an in-depth review. If your application has exceeded the stated processing times, then it is likely under in-depth review. This process can take some weeks to complete.
Dublin-based processing
We forward some application categories to Visa Division in Dublin for processing. These include all applications to reside in Ireland under the following categories:
- Family member of EU/EEA/Swiss cit. (de facto partner);
- Family member of EU/EEA/Swiss cit. (other);
- Family member of EU/EEA/Swiss cit. (spouse);
- Join Family (Irish nat.)(de facto partner);
- Join Family (de facto partner CSEP/HA) ;
- Join Family (UK nat.);
- Minister of Religion; and
- Volunteer.
Processing times for these categories are available on the Irish Immigration Service website. If you have applied under one of these categories please send all queries to Visa Division in Dublin.
VFS transit times
Processing times begin once we receive the application at the Embassy. It can take a few days to reach us depending on what visa application centre (VAC) you used. Once we make a decision, it will take the same number of days to return to VFS.
The table below shows the number of days it takes for an application to reach the Embassy, from each VAC. Add these transit times to the visa processing time, to get an end-to-end processing time.
| Visa application centre | Transit time (working days) |
| Ahmedabad | 2 |
| Bangalore |
2 |
| Chandigarh | 2 |
| Chennai | 2 |
| Cochin | 4 to 6 |
| Hyderabad | 2 |
| Jalandhar | 2 |
| Kathmandu | 4 to 6 |
| Kolkata | 2 |
| Mumbai | 2 |
| New Delhi | 1 |
| Pune | 2 |