Paul McCarthy
[FYI request #13017 email]
26 June 2020
Ref: DOIA 1920-1705
Dear Paul McCarthy,
I refer to your official information request, which was received by the Ministry of Business,
Innovation & Employment on 23 March 2020. You requested under the Official Information Act
1982 (the Act) the following information:
• The number of applications that are currently held in the non-priority queue by Immigration
New Zealand under the SMC?
• Also from this how many applications are held that the date of lodgement falls on or before
the 12th February 2019.
• Again from this number of non-priority cases lodged on or before the 12th February 2019,
how many of these applications are noted as onshore applications?
• What is the oldest date of lodged application within the non-priority queue?
• How many Case officers do Immigration New Zealand have working on the SMC applications
overall? Are any of this team of Case officers devoted to the Non-Priority Queue?
Due to the current situation in New Zealand relating to Covid-19, resource and capacity has been
impacted by INZ working remotely and undertaking essential projects relating to the Covid-19
response.
A data request has been submitted in regards to your request. However, data requests are taking
some time to process due to the high volume and Covid-19 response priorities. Consultation will also
be required once the data is received.
Therefore the Ministry needs to extend the time available to answer your request. The Ministry’s
response will be with you no later than 31 August 2020. The reason for the extension relies on:
• S15A (1) (b) of the OIA – consultations necessary to make a decision on the request are such
that a proper response to the request cannot be made within the original time limit.
I will respond to your request sooner if I am able to.
You have the right to seek an investigation and review of our decision to extend the time limit by the
Ombudsman at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz, free-phone 0800 802 602 or post to the fol owing
address: The Ombudsman, Office of the Ombudsman, PO Box 10-152, WELLINGTON 6143
If you wish to discuss any aspect of your request, please contact Adam Jones at
[email address]
Yours sincerely
Jock Gilray
National Manager – Border & Visa Operations
Immigration New Zealand
Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment