New Irish visa system taken offline after ‘very high’ traffic levels

A new online appointment system aimed at ending long queues at the immigration registration office in Dublin was taken offline on Friday after attracting “very high” levels of traffic.

The new system, which went live on Thursday, operates on a “just in time” basis, so there will no longer be any need for visa applicants to queue or arrive prior to their allotted time slot.

However since going live, the new system for registration appointments has “attracted very high volumes of traffic”, according to the Department of Justice.

“To ensure it remains responsive at such high levels of demand, it is now being reinforced to maintain performance,” it said. “To make this change, it must be taken offline temporarily and we apologise for this.”

The Burgh Quay office, which deals with the registration of non-European Economic Area (EEA) individuals living in the Dublin city and county area, was transferred from the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) to the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) over the summer.

At the end of 2015, the number of non-EEA nationals with permission to live in Ireland was 115,000. The Burgh Quay office processed over 75,000 of these.

When applicants log on to the new system they will be able to make an appointment in a one hour time slot starting from September 15th. The previous arrangements, whereby people queued for a ticket to be served, will cease on that day.

System welcomed

Immigrant Council of Ireland chief executive Brian Killoran welcomed the new system. “We are delighted the online appointment booking system is now operational, as we have been making calls for such a system for years,” he said.

“For far too long, people in need of work, study or re-entry visas have had to queue for hours on end to get an appointment at Burgh Quay. The system will alleviate the inconvenience caused by the previous queuing methods.

“We welcome the new system and we would like to see a similar system being rolled out to all GNIB offices nationwide.”

The transfer of the registration function to INIS and the introduction of the new online appointment booking system forms part of the “wider reform programme” of immigration services.

“This includes the major programme of civilianisation of front-line port of entry immigration functions which commenced with Terminal 1, Dublin Airport last year,” the department stated.

“This will be extended to Terminal 2 later this year by which time over 120 civilian staff will be deployed at the airport giving rise to the release of an equivalent number of Garda resources for operational duties.”

The address for the new online system can be accessed from the INIS website at https://burghquayregistrationoffice.inis.gov.ie/