Citizenship applicants left in limbo by unfair, ad-hoc system, group claims

PEOPLE applying for citizenship are left in limbo for years on end in an unfair system which has no hard and fast rules and no appeals mechanism, according to an immigrant support centre.

There are almost 20,000 people awaiting a decision on citizenship. The current waiting time for an application to be processed is two years.

Ongoing research by Cork-based immigrant support centre, Nasc, has found of 90 applicants it has interviewed so far, most are currently awaiting a response from the Department of Justice.