Join Spouse Visa

Hello! If anybody is in the same situation, please give me some advice.
I have been living in Ireland for more than 3 years. Originally I am from non -EEA country, I got married last February, (2012)in my country. my husband has the same nationality as me. I am a stamp 4 holder. Since our marriage my husband, who is still living in our country applied for join spouse visa. All essential documentation were first sent to Bulgaria, embassy of Ireland and then the visa officer sent them to Dublin -department of justice and equality. since then 11 months have been passed and we havent heard anything from them. the only thing we know is that it is under the examination process.
does anybody know how long does the visa examination process take?
Thank you

I dont think there is a time frame on the visa examination process and approval. You just need to keep ringing/disturbing the Embassy and/or Dublin office for updates!.

They are simply reluctant because they wish you never applied in the first place because they dont want to issue the visa. This is the case with some applications. You just have to find a way and keep bothering then and expect something positive.

T & G wrote:Hello! If anybody is in the same situation, please give me some advice.
I have been living in Ireland for more than 3 years. Originally I am from non -EEA country, I got married last February, (2012)in my country. my husband has the same nationality as me. I am a stamp 4 holder. Since our marriage my husband, who is still living in our country applied for join spouse visa. All essential documentation were first sent to Bulgaria, embassy of Ireland and then the visa officer sent them to Dublin -department of justice and equality. since then 11 months have been passed and we havent heard anything from them. the only thing we know is that it is under the examination process.
does anybody know how long does the visa examination process take?
Thank you

usually it should take 12 weeks, most times if you have all documents correct it takes around 8-10 weeks, all my freinds and me got our spouses visa in less than three months.
you should try calling and asking why this long long delay

thank you both for your posts. I tried to contact them by email and what I got was that the application is currently awaiting a comprehensive examination. and they want nobody to disturb them,they dont answer the phone calls or emails. it is the only email i got from them . They haven't told if my documents were insufficient, all i got from them is unbearable silence.
I check inis.gov.ie visa decisions page every week but still nothing:(

@immigrant411@ could you tell me please, what steps did you take, did you call them, or email them? or asked them. or did they respond?

Do you think it would be better if I hired the immigration lawyer? thanks again

T & G wrote:thank you both for your posts. I tried to contact them by email and what I got was that the application is currently awaiting a comprehensive examination. and they want nobody to disturb them,they dont answer the phone calls or emails. it is the only email i got from them . They haven't told if my documents were insufficient, all i got from them is unbearable silence.
I check inis.gov.ie visa decisions page every week but still nothing:(

@immigrant411@ could you tell me please, what steps did you take, did you call them, or email them? or asked them. or did they respond?

Do you think it would be better if I hired the immigration lawyer? thanks again

first from my own experience, they dont always update the visa decision document, we got the answer by phone from the embassy, and the decision was NEVER posted on the visa document.
I used the email visamail@justice.ie to contact them, the used to reply quite quickly (same or next day). I am not sure if your case is special, I dont know if you need a lawyer, cannot advice here, sorry, but I think you can ring immigration lawyer and ask for advice on phone and they can tell you what you can do.

first from my own experience, they dont always update the visa decision document, we got the answer by phone from the embassy, and the decision was NEVER posted on the visa document.
I used the email visamail@justice.ie to contact them, the used to reply quite quickly (same or next day). I am not sure if your case is special, I dont know if you need a lawyer, cannot advice here, sorry, but I think you can ring immigration lawyer and ask for advice on phone and they can tell you what you can do.[/quote]



Thanks for your advice, I'll contact them again. hopefully I will get some positive answer from them. thanks

For your information. Here is a comment directly from the Minister in regards to Join Spousal Visa Application

Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan Information on Maureen O'Sullivan Zoom on Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality Information on Alan Shatter Zoom on Alan Shatter if his attenttion has been drawn to the fact that the visa office is currently experiencing an upsurge in applications for Join Irish Citizen in the past six months and are dealing with the applications in chronological order; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that for many families this delay is causing difficulties and uncertainty; if he has provided additional staff to deal with this upsurge; the number of applications currently waiting to be processed; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Minister for Justice and Equality (Deputy Alan Shatter): Information on Alan Shatter Zoom on Alan Shatter There has been no particular surge in visa applications for the purpose of joining an Irish citizen in recent months. So called "Join Irish Citizen" applications are taken to include Join Spouse (Irish National), Join Partner (Irish National) & Join Parent (Irish National). Application numbers in this cohort have remained relatively consistent over time, with only minor variations from month to month.

There is no significant backlog in the processing of applications. On average fewer than 100 applications are awaiting a decision at any given time and decisions on applications received in my Department in early February are currently being finalised. However, as each application is individually considered on its own merits, the actual processing time for dealing with such applications can vary depending on the particular circumstances of each case and the level of investigation required. The long term or permanent nature of the intended stay in Ireland means that they require more in-depth consideration than straightforward short-stay visa applications. In many cases, extra documentation or clarification must be sought from the persons involved and those cases cannot be finalised until the relevant documentation or clarification has been received. Staff in my Department are fully aware of the importance of these applications to the families involved, and commencing processing of applications in the order in which they arrive is considered the fairest approach.

On a broader note, policy in relation to visas for purposes of family reunification (not solely Join Irish Citizen applications) is currently being revised. As a result, consideration of visa applications from dependent relatives in the ascending line, e.g. parents, to join family members in Ireland is temporarily suspended pending publication of the policy. Applications may continue to be made, but applicants should note that these will be considered in the framework of the revised policy when published. A notification to this effect has been posted on the website of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service, www.inis.gov.ie.

IntegratedMigrant wrote:For your information. Here is a comment directly from the Minister in regards to Join Spousal Visa Application

Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan Information on Maureen O'Sullivan Zoom on Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality Information on Alan Shatter Zoom on Alan Shatter if his attenttion has been drawn to the fact that the visa office is currently experiencing an upsurge in applications for Join Irish Citizen in the past six months and are dealing with the applications in chronological order; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that for many families this delay is causing difficulties and uncertainty; if he has provided additional staff to deal with this upsurge; the number of applications currently waiting to be processed; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Minister for Justice and Equality (Deputy Alan Shatter): Information on Alan Shatter Zoom on Alan Shatter There has been no particular surge in visa applications for the purpose of joining an Irish citizen in recent months. So called "Join Irish Citizen" applications are taken to include Join Spouse (Irish National), Join Partner (Irish National) & Join Parent (Irish National). Application numbers in this cohort have remained relatively consistent over time, with only minor variations from month to month.

There is no significant backlog in the processing of applications. On average fewer than 100 applications are awaiting a decision at any given time and decisions on applications received in my Department in early February are currently being finalised. However, as each application is individually considered on its own merits, the actual processing time for dealing with such applications can vary depending on the particular circumstances of each case and the level of investigation required. The long term or permanent nature of the intended stay in Ireland means that they require more in-depth consideration than straightforward short-stay visa applications. In many cases, extra documentation or clarification must be sought from the persons involved and those cases cannot be finalised until the relevant documentation or clarification has been received. Staff in my Department are fully aware of the importance of these applications to the families involved, and commencing processing of applications in the order in which they arrive is considered the fairest approach.

On a broader note, policy in relation to visas for purposes of family reunification (not solely Join Irish Citizen applications) is currently being revised. As a result, consideration of visa applications from dependent relatives in the ascending line, e.g. parents, to join family members in Ireland is temporarily suspended pending publication of the policy. Applications may continue to be made, but applicants should note that these will be considered in the framework of the revised policy when published. A notification to this effect has been posted on the website of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service, www.inis.gov.ie.

"IntegratedMigrant"@ Thank you very much , I found it very useful. thanks everyone. any advice would be greatly appreciated

May I know your result ? Because I'm facing the same problem on join spouse visa, no response even 16wks are passed..

I will appreciate it if you could share your final result...