‘No technical issues’ with online visa system, says Government despite complaints

The Department of Justice has said there are “no technical issues” with the new online immigration registration site and that they are “constantly refining the system”, following complaints from a number of foreign nationals applying for visa renewals.

The online system, which went live in September, aimed to end the long queues outside the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (Inis) office which have become a fixture on the Dublin south side quay in recent years.

Applicants are now able to sign up for one-hour time slots for dates up to six-weeks in advance of the appointment.

In its first week online, the new system’s appointments web page was taken offline several times for essential maintenance. A number of visa applicants have since complained that the online system continues to crash.

The department confirmed it would be reviewing the new system in the next week but that “a grace period” was needed in the early days of implementing the appointments.

It said it had engaged “significant additional resources on an overtime basis” and that appointments had been released on Saturdays to try to accommodate as many applicants as possible during the autumn months.

‘Busiest period’

“The Registration Office in Burgh Quay is currently in its busiest period,” said a spokesman for the department. “The workload is seasonal, mainly due to the calendar of the education sector. In the autumn months (September, October and November) the Office will receive nearly 40 per cent of its annual volume, almost 2,000 people per week pass through the Office.

“The early morning queues have been eliminated and customer feedback has been universally positive,” he added.

Despite the reportedly positive feedback, The Irish Times has received a number of emails from frustrated applicants who have struggled to make appointments through the new system.

An American national who has lived in Ireland for one year and prefers not to use his name said he was unable to make an appointment to renew his visa as his category - spouse with Stamp 4 - did not appear on the site's list.

The man went to the office on Burgh Quay to explain his predicament in person and was told by a supervisor he should put his name down under another category in order to secure an appointment.

After following this advice he received an email which stated if he had entered incorrect information in his application, his visa renewal request could be denied.

‘Queue chaotic’

"Once you enter incorrect information under your status your visa application can be unsuccessful," he told the Irish Times. "That's the reason I freaked out and went straight back in the next day. I couldn't even make an appointment then, the whole site was down."

The American national added that the queuing system inside the Burgh Quay building was chaotic and full of “people sitting on the ground and queuing in impromptu, scattered queues”.

Responding to this complaint, the department spokesman said there was no need to queue “due to smaller numbers presenting to the office each hour for their appointments”. He added that customers arriving at the office to check in for their scheduled appointment could take a seat in the appropriate waiting area.

‘No technical issues’

The department spokesman said that they would work to “simplify the process” if there was a need based on customer feedback and that they were “constantly refining the system” but that there were “currently no technical issues”.

He recommended that customers should seek an appointment well in advance of the expiry date of their Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) card during peak times.

Asked whether the department was planning to introduce an emergency appointment system for special cases, he said emergency situations would be dealt with “on a case by case basis” and that the NGO sector and third level colleges had been briefed on this matter.

Since the appointment system launched in early September over 16,000 people have made appointments online. The department says it will be extending the six week window for appointments to eight weeks “in an effort to match the demand”.

Some 10 per cent of applicants have not turned up to their arranged appointment time since the online system launched.