The number of immigrants seeking support doubled last year, a report by the Immigrant Council of Ireland (ICI) revealed today.
The council also urged the Government to honour its commitment to establish a transparent, independent appeals process for immigration decisions rather than force people into mounting expensive High Court challenges.
The report showed 9,728 people used the ICI's information and support service during 2007, compared to 4,842 in 2006.
"This demonstrates very clearly the need for a more transparent immigration system in Ireland, with clear guidelines and criteria for migrants, Irish citizens and their families, particularly in relation to rights to family life," ICI chief executive Denise Charlton said.
"It also highlights the need to make more information directly available to migrants and their family members.
"Lengthy delays in the decision-making process and inconsistency in those decisions create enormous hardship for migrants."
The ICI said the only avenue of appeal against decisions is the High Court. "The Government often settles these cases out of court, an inefficient way to conduct business, with significant costs involved for taxpayers," the report said.
The rights group said the planned Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill should be used to set up a new appeals process.
The most common query dealt with by the ICI related to the rights of migrants and Irish citizens to have family members with them in Ireland. More than 27 per cent of enquiries concerned family reunification.
Most enquiries came from Nigerians, followed by Indian, Chinese, Pakistani and South African immigrants.