delay in citizenship application - applied in 2016

[Paddy_Leprechaun]

anyone from 2016 got approval letter ?
paddy_leprechaun
rockyguy
iceice304
syjem

@Mal111, the latest information I have been told by INIS phone line is that my file was ready for submission but somehow it didn't get submitted. Everything is fine and I will be definitely invited in the next ceremony.

But I don't trust them to be honest. Email inquiry response is same a template response.

It appears there was a big pile of files completed but someone in the department was too lazy to dispatch them and now they are pending for another six months. They don't care if you have to wait for the next 6 months, pay for IRP/GNIB or suffer from a mental illness.

Also, I want to say I am not among 2016 ones, I applied in September 2017 but losing my patience with the department after a year. Hats off to you guys who are waiting since 2016.

[kseni]

called them this week, was told that everything is fine with my application (22 months) and it hasn't been submitted to the minister yet as they're sorting out a big backlog from before to be ready for the Nov ceremony.

My 2nd poke via TD brought some new wording from their comms:
As well as being a significant event in the life of its recipient, the granting of Irish citizenship through naturalization as provided for in law is also a major step for the State which confers certain rights and
entitlements not only within the State but also at European Union level and it is important that appropriate procedures are in place to preserve the integrity of the process.

I'm considering to go to the Citizen Information Clinic in Mayfield, Cork end of the month to discuss processing times with them, not sure if passing feedback is worth my time tho.

[Syjem]

anyone from 2016 got approval letter ?
paddy_leprechaun
rockyguy
iceice304
syjem

No approval yet for me either. I have been told that it is advanced stage since August but till now it didn't move. I believe that for some reasons we are not welcomed in the country but the department doesn't have reasons to reject our applications so they only delaying them maybe till we start a legal process. Due to this unfair process and the long delay, I have really lost the desire to become a citizen for this country and I regret for my decision to consider it on my list as a destination to work and live.

@mal111: what was the last update you got from them?

[Paddy_Leprechaun]

anyone from 2016 got approval letter ?
paddy_leprechaun
rockyguy
iceice304
syjem

No approval yet for me either. I have been told that it is advanced stage since August but till now it didn't move. I believe that for some reasons we are not welcomed in the country but the department doesn't have reasons to reject our applications so they only delaying them maybe till we start a legal process. Due to this unfair process and the long delay, I have really lost the desire to become a citizen for this country and I regret for my decision to consider it on my list as a destination to work and live.

@mal111: what was the last update you got from them?

If you are on EU-FAM and happen to be from the Indian origin and married to a Baltic/Romanian citizen, then it is kind of obvious that department has a red flag on your application. For Kseni, they definitely think you are a red sparrow . But if this department is not capable of clarifying their doubts in a reasonable time, it is total inefficiency at their end.

[nad2107]

I don't think its just romanian to indian, or other eu to india, pakistani, bangladeshi. I think its all south east asain countries. Me and my husband are both of asian origin and I am a british passport holder. We applied in april 2017 and not hear anything since, just one letter which was sent back with documents last year in June and nothing what so ever since then. He called them last week and was told they are waiting for some external information and I have no idea what this external information they require is. As surely in this day and age people send information alot quicker then nearly 2 years.

So fed up that we are seriously considering giving up and moving elsewhere as this is just ridiculous. He even applied for the 10 year thing and they asked for lots of stuff which we sent, then they asked for another bunch of stuff which was also send and now again they have asked for the same stuff which was sent to them the first time.

Totally incompetent staff its such a fiasco the whole process is a complete shambles.

We have a child, are both from indian sub continent, earning a decent salary, living in same place for 7 years, no criminal offense, never taken social but still no response from them.

I keep thinking about forming a petition to get signatures to get them to form a decision for people who have been pending for over 12 months but someone on this forum suggested would just be wasting my time as nationality is a privilege crap!!

There must be something that we can do. Any ideas any one.

[Paddy_Leprechaun]

By Indian origin, I meant Indian/Pakistani/Bangladeshi married to Latvian/Lithuanian/Romanian, as these cases have been on news lately. Also, it appears that after brexit people mainly from the Indian subcontinent (who are now British National) are using Ireland as a backdoor by exercising EU treaty rights, bringing their family in and then moving back to UK. If the applicant happens to have name Abdul or Mohammed or wears a scarf then add a few months extra in processing. All of these are my opinions, I don't have facts But again I want to say if someone is already living in the country and have earned their privilege to citizenship, they deserve to get a decision within a reasonable time. There is no excuse for delaying the application and keeping the applicant in limbo for such a long period.

What about going to the ceremony venue anyways and hold a few placards showing the misery of people who have been not treated fairly by the department? If a petition is needed to be signed at least 70% of the attendees of the ceremony might have suffered from this situation already and will definitely sign that petition. I can already think of a few slogans;

* We are equally law-abiding residents and we deserve to be treated fairly;
* Is stress, anxiety, and depression part of the citizenship test? If not why are you keeping us waiting for years?
* Citizenship application process followed by the Department of Justice & Equality is neither Just nor treats everyone equally.
* My tax returns are processed within 21 days then why citizenship application takes years to get processed.
* Preserve the integrity of the system to grant Citizenship but not at the cost of the integrity of the applicant.

P.S: Perhaps I have too much time in hand nowadays and taking out my stress by writing here

[Statusquo73]

If you prepare a petition I am in.
I was thinking of this idea.. We should act. Or a protest...

[kseni]

My only reasonable explanation outside of sham marriages theory is that earlier this year my eu4fam has expired and I’ve applied for a new one, which was set to be decided upon next Monday but now is being delayed by two weeks. So maybe they wanted Eu treaty rights dept to provide their decision first and then use it in citizenship application.
Needless to say that applying in jan 2017 and expecting 6 mo processing times I didn’t think t will reach the point I’d be renewing eu4fam at all.
But ye if RU in work permit + marriage to a DE counts as red sparrow for them, I dunno )

[Cz2015]

Hi
All finally after a long wait my wait is finally over I received my letter requesting GNIB 950 and passport photos on Friday dated the 7th November good luck to all be patient there is a light at the end of the very very dark tunnel.

[abelekhoh]

Hi
All finally after a long wait my wait is finally over I received my letter requesting GNIB 950 and passport photos on Friday dated the 7th November good luck to all be patient there is a light at the end of the very very dark tunnel.

Cz2015 Congratulation Man
it is very good news it means they are keep sending the approvals

[Taki]

Zc2015, congratulations to you, when did u applied?

[Mal111]

Cz2015 did they gave u 10 days deadline to submit 950 and gnib card?

[2pac4ever]

By Indian origin, I meant Indian/Pakistani/Bangladeshi married to Latvian/Lithuanian/Romanian, as these cases have been on news lately. Also, it appears that after brexit people mainly from the Indian subcontinent (who are now British National) are using Ireland as a backdoor by exercising EU treaty rights, bringing their family in and then moving back to UK. If the applicant happens to have name Abdul or Mohammed or wears a scarf then add a few months extra in processing. All of these are my opinions, I don't have facts But again I want to say if someone is already living in the country and have earned their privilege to citizenship, they deserve to get a decision within a reasonable time. There is no excuse for delaying the application and keeping the applicant in limbo for such a long period.

What about going to the ceremony venue anyways and hold a few placards showing the misery of people who have been not treated fairly by the department? If a petition is needed to be signed at least 70% of the attendees of the ceremony might have suffered from this situation already and will definitely sign that petition. I can already think of a few slogans;

* We are equally law-abiding residents and we deserve to be treated fairly;
* Is stress, anxiety, and depression part of the citizenship test? If not why are you keeping us waiting for years?
* Citizenship application process followed by the Department of Justice & Equality is neither Just nor treats everyone equally.
* My tax returns are processed within 21 days then why citizenship application takes years to get processed.
* Preserve the integrity of the system to grant Citizenship but not at the cost of the integrity of the applicant.

P.S: Perhaps I have too much time in hand nowadays and taking out my stress by writing here

Good point @Paddy_Leprechaun I’d certainly encourage you to file a formal complaint first by sending an email to INIScustomercomplaints@justice.ie then they’ll tell you what’s really happening with your applications and hopefully explain the delays. Sometimes you have to act to get some rewards as sitting down and moaning won’t help speed things up. I think in this case, the fact there is no communication from INIS with regard to the delay is very frustrating.

If you’re not satisfied by their reply then a much better option would be to bring the banners at the next citizenship ceremony. This way, you’ll receive the necessary media attention that your cases deserved and hopefully a potential politician will cease that opportunity to raise awareness about the unfairness of the citizenship process. We all know what Peter Casey did at the last presidential elections to get 20% of votes.

Sometimes, people should be very vocal in order to get some justice. A friend of mine had his re-entry visa delayed by about 2 months for no apparent reason. He then emailed INIS to complain and within 48 hours, his passport was returned to him with the re-entry visa in it.

[2pac4ever]

I don't think its just romanian to indian, or other eu to india, pakistani, bangladeshi. I think its all south east asain countries. Me and my husband are both of asian origin and I am a british passport holder. We applied in april 2017 and not hear anything since, just one letter which was sent back with documents last year in June and nothing what so ever since then. He called them last week and was told they are waiting for some external information and I have no idea what this external information they require is. As surely in this day and age people send information alot quicker then nearly 2 years.

So fed up that we are seriously considering giving up and moving elsewhere as this is just ridiculous. He even applied for the 10 year thing and they asked for lots of stuff which we sent, then they asked for another bunch of stuff which was also send and now again they have asked for the same stuff which was sent to them the first time.

Totally incompetent staff its such a fiasco the whole process is a complete shambles.

We have a child, are both from indian sub continent, earning a decent salary, living in same place for 7 years, no criminal offense, never taken social but still no response from them.

I keep thinking about forming a petition to get signatures to get them to form a decision for people who have been pending for over 12 months but someone on this forum suggested would just be wasting my time as nationality is a privilege crap!!

There must be something that we can do. Any ideas any one.

I don't think they're doing some profiling in this process, it would be quite dangerous from INIS as it can backfire spectacularly. When you look at the top 4 nationalities granted Irish citizenship, India and Pakistan is in the top 2 so you can't really say that they're filtering based on the nationality.

[rockyguy]

By Indian origin, I meant Indian/Pakistani/Bangladeshi married to Latvian/Lithuanian/Romanian, as these cases have been on news lately. Also, it appears that after brexit people mainly from the Indian subcontinent (who are now British National) are using Ireland as a backdoor by exercising EU treaty rights, bringing their family in and then moving back to UK. If the applicant happens to have name Abdul or Mohammed or wears a scarf then add a few months extra in processing. All of these are my opinions, I don't have facts But again I want to say if someone is already living in the country and have earned their privilege to citizenship, they deserve to get a decision within a reasonable time. There is no excuse for delaying the application and keeping the applicant in limbo for such a long period.

What about going to the ceremony venue anyways and hold a few placards showing the misery of people who have been not treated fairly by the department? If a petition is needed to be signed at least 70% of the attendees of the ceremony might have suffered from this situation already and will definitely sign that petition. I can already think of a few slogans;

* We are equally law-abiding residents and we deserve to be treated fairly;
* Is stress, anxiety, and depression part of the citizenship test? If not why are you keeping us waiting for years?
* Citizenship application process followed by the Department of Justice & Equality is neither Just nor treats everyone equally.
* My tax returns are processed within 21 days then why citizenship application takes years to get processed.
* Preserve the integrity of the system to grant Citizenship but not at the cost of the integrity of the applicant.

P.S: Perhaps I have too much time in hand nowadays and taking out my stress by writing here

I am in ..We all should protest against them and sign the petition this will definitely build some pressure on them and i have some local person who has some good relationship with ministers so i am going to meet on monday morning they listen to this kind of problems.

[Cz2015]

Zc2015, congratulations to you, when did u applied?

I originally applied in September 2015 than two years later there was a mix up in dates and basically had to apply again so applied in May 2017 and approval was dated 7th November 2018

[Cz2015]

Cz2015 did they gave u 10 days deadline to submit 950 and gnib card?

Yes 10 days to submit what is need. sending them all today I’m hopeful that I would be included in this ceremony even though I doubt it very much.

[Mal111]

on your approval letterdid they gave you 10 days to submit 950 gnib and photos?

[Mal111]

sorry I see you answer up there

just as I thought they are still sending approvals and people might be invited to this ceremony
in past I didn't see that people were receiving approval in the ceremony month.

[Makhtar8155]

Hi guys I think best solution at the moment is to protest in front of ceremony could solve our problem.
What do u think

[Mal111]

makhtar terrible idea !!

don't ruin one of the biggest day for your fellow applicants just because you didn't get yours yet!
imagine people happily walking out with their certs and see people protesting
plus you need a permission for protest that you wont get and if you did one without permission you will get arrested and you can kiss your citizenship application good bye!

[Hello001]

makhtar terrible idea !!

don't ruin one of the biggest day for your fellow applicants just because you didn't get yours yet!
imagine people happily walking out with their certs and see people protesting
plus you need a permission for protest that you wont get and if you did one without permission you will get arrested and you can kiss your citizenship application good bye!

well said @Mal111
@makhtar, be patient and just pray/hope to get yours soon.

[Paddy_Leprechaun]

makhtar terrible idea !!

don't ruin one of the biggest day for your fellow applicants just because you didn't get yours yet!
imagine people happily walking out with their certs and see people protesting
plus you need a permission for protest that you wont get and if you did one without permission you will get arrested and you can kiss your citizenship application good bye!

Mal111, I beg to differ on some points here. Everyone in Ireland is allowed to do a peaceful assembly and express their opinion. As far I understood (not a legal expert) that as long as you call it a peaceful assembly rather than a protest you are grand and there should not be an issue with police.
Also, I have a different opinion on ruining the day for fellow applicants. In fact, all those fellow applicants must also raise their voice so what suffering they have to face, other should not be facing in future. Here everyone might have a different opinion, but I can promise that whenever I get it, I won't shy away to raise my voice against this awful system. But till the time I get it, I am still a coward

But at the same time, I agree with you that things can go horribly wrong as well. Perhaps, asking some NGO or politicians who are known to raise their voice on public concerns to do a peaceful assembly on your behalf is a good idea.

[rockyguy]

makhtar terrible idea !!

don't ruin one of the biggest day for your fellow applicants just because you didn't get yours yet!
imagine people happily walking out with their certs and see people protesting
plus you need a permission for protest that you wont get and if you did one without permission you will get arrested and you can kiss your citizenship application good bye!

I agree with your Makhtar. Protest is a good thing but doing on the ceremony day will be totally counterproductive. I am the one who's waiting here longer than anyone else. Applied since june 2016 and recently got "advanced stage" letter. I contacted some well knows lawyer in Dublin and he advised me to go got judicial review. I know my case is simple and straight so why the hell should i wait for 3 years for just a bloody decision. One of my friend also did the same thing and his citizenship was refused for some reason. he challenged the decision and after 1-2 months he got his approval and going to his ceremony today. Believe me they are not going to approve our files unless we don't take legal action against them which is Judicial Review.

[Stress]

Rockguy i am with you we can go for judicial review.. i am also waiting for since august 2016