Dublin immigration office introduces online appointment booking

The new system, launching today, enables people registering with immigration to book an appointment for a time that suits them.

Until now, those registering have had to queue in person to get a ticket for an appointment time.

The Immigrant Council of Ireland, which has long called for an online booking system, welcomed the move and called for a nationwide roll-out in advance of the traditional peak demand period of August/September.

Brian Killoran, chief executive of the Immigrant Council (pictured), said: “For far too long, people in need of work, study or re-entry visas have had to queue for hours on end to get an appointment at Burgh Quay.

“Every summer, we’ve seen the inhumane spectre of families queuing overnight and heard stories of people who’ve been in the queue for 12 hours or more, without getting an appointment time.

“The introduction of online booking for immigration appointments is long overdue. We’ve been making calls for such a system for years, in response to ever-growing concerns about the impact of the current queuing methods.

“Ireland prides itself on having a 21st Century economy and a thriving digital industry, so reports of babies and toddlers with their parents kept waiting outside in the cold, from as early as 2am, are simply not acceptable. This is needless hardship on people, and can now be easily resolved using online tools.

“We’re coming into the busiest time of year for immigration, due to the numbers of international students that arrive here every August and September. We’re delighted that online booking is finally being introduced for Burgh Quay, and we would like to see a similar system being rolled out to all GNIB offices nationwide.”