Early morning visa queues for ticketing system to end today

Early morning queuing and ticketing at Dublin’s immigration registration office on Burgh Quay will end on Wednesday following the introduction of an online appointment system last week.

The online system, which went live last Thursday, aims 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 will now be able to sign up for one-hour time slots for dates starting from September 15th.

Over the past number of years thousands have gathered each night waiting outdoors through the night visa-appointment tickets. These numbers tend to rise during the autumn months with the increased demand for student visas.

Since the system launch last week, the web page for appointments has been taken offline several times for essential maintenance due to the high level of demand. The web page was back online on Tuesday afternoon, but a question mark remains over whether new system will be able to handle the volume of applications from students throughout September.

Capacity

A spokesman for the Department of Justice said the system was being “closely monitored to ensure capacity meets demand”. Based on past trends, he said the department expected more than 20,000 visa registrations and renewals would take place between now and the end of 2016.

The Burgh Quay office, which deals with the registration of non-European Economic Area (EEA) people living in the Dublin city and county, 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 more than 75,000 of these.

Foreign nationals looking to secure an appointment through the online system will be invited to select the date and time that suits them when signing up online. To use the new system they will need their passport number (if applicable) and GNIB card number if they have one.

Applicants are advised to arrive 10 minutes early on the day of the appointment.

If applicants are renewing their immigration registration, it is recommended they select an appointment date that falls within the two week period before the GNIB card expires. If applicants do not have access to the internet or need assistance in booking, they are advised to contact their local Citizens Information Centre.

TheINIS website can be accessed at burghquayregistrationoffice.inis.gov.ie/