27 July 2020
John Luke
[FYI request #13154 email]
Ref: DOIA 1920-1812
Dear John Luke
I refer to your request under the Official Information Act 1982, received on 26 June 2020, for the
following information:
I would like to know since the new criteria for the essential worker exemption -"other
critical worker category’ was issued on June 12, how many has applied under this other
critical worker’ category and how many you have declined and how many you have
approved. What is the processing time for such exemption.
Our response
The new criteria for the “other critical worker” category of border exemption was announced on 12
June and took effect from 18 June. This response covers requests that were received between 18
and 26 June. For this period Immigration New Zealand received 20 Expressions of Interest (EOIs) and
as at 26 June none of those EOIs had been decided.
Exemptions can generally take around 14 working days to process, however this time can vary and it
could take longer depending on the complexity of the request and the number of incoming requests.
If you wish to discuss any aspect of your request or this response, or if you require any further
assistance, please contact Matt Burden, Senior Business Advisor, Operations Support at
[email address]
Yours sincerely
Nicola Hogg
Business Support Manager - Border & Visa Operations
Immigration New Zealand
Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment