On December 7, 2021, I completed the FOI form that is available online. The title is "Request for Access to Records under the FOI Act of 2014." I saved it to my computer so that I could attach it to my email.
In the request, I referenced my citizenship application number and stated "I am requesting all records, including but not limited to notes, texts, emails, and notations on documents, pertaining to my citizenship application, what action has been taken on my application, the dates of the actions, the stage of processing my application is in and its current status."
Then I emailed
FOI@Justice.ie with the subject line - attn: xxxxxxx - FOI Request
The body of the email was:
To:
Xxxxxxxx
Freedom of Information Co-Ordination Officer
Department of Justice
Please find my Freedom of Information request attached.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
My name
I attached the FOI form to the email.
On December 8, 2021, I received the response from Justice that I mentioned in my previous post. It said that I would receive a decision regarding my records no later than January 10, 2022. On January 18, 2022, I received an email from Justice with the records they decided to release.
From my file, I received back my residency calculator page with a few handwritten notes verifying the dates added up, a page with my GNIB approval dates, a copy of the disclosure from my e-vetting in October and a page stating what they were releasing and what they were withholding and why. They did not include a copy of my application or copies of the correspondence they sent me requesting additional documents or the additional documents I sent them.
There was absolutely nothing in the returned materials documenting where my application is in the process. Based on what I received, absolutely nothing has been done on my file save verifying my residency dates, requesting additional paperwork, and one e-vetting. It was extremely disheartening.
I applied for citizenship as a non-EU spouse of an Irish citizen in January 2020. Citizenship requested additional documents in January 2021, then again in June 2021, and the e-vetting occurred in October 2021. Because I've hit the 24-month mark, this was just a step in the process to a JR (Judicial Review - but I hope it doesn't come to that), my next step is to talk to our politicians, then find an immigration attorney to send a warning letter.
I hope this was helpful. I thought long and hard about sending an FOI because I figured I'd rather my investigator spend time processing my application rather than pulling documents together for my request. After seeing how little has been done on my application (I seriously thought that I'd receive approval any day,) I'm glad that I made the request and it has convinced me that I need to proceed with a JR.