16 August 2021
45 Pipitea Street, Wellington 6011
Phone +64 4 495 7200
dia.govt.nz
Kay
fyi-request-15826-
[email address]
Dear Kay
OIA request 2122-0049
Thank you for your Official Information Act (OIA) request received by the Department of
Internal Affairs (Department) on 18 July 2021.
In your initial request, following a response to a previous OIA request reference 2021-0733, you
asked for -
Could you please provide following information?
From Jan 2021 to May 2021- information you have provided stating that quite a few
applications has been processed during each and every month already. Please advise the
total number of Applications already processed under citizenship by Grant, also how many
applications were processed for Citizenship by descendant
After email correspondence with the Department, your initial request changed, and you were
advised on 22 July 2021 that the Department would respond to your following request for
information –
Please tell me why the department is fast tracking these applications when you have
thousands of applications from last year to be processed. Why double standards?
For clarity of this response, you are referring to citizenship by descent applications, which are
processed faster than citizenship by grant applications.
I would like to provide you with additional information about New Zealand citizenship to give
context to your specific inquiry.
New Zealand citizenship
New Zealand citizenship is governed by the Citizenship Act 1977 (Act) and the Citizenship
(Western Samoa) Act 1982.
The Department of Internal Affairs is responsible for the administration of these Acts.
As part of the administration of these Acts, the Department determines whether someone is a
New Zealand citizen by birth or descent and considers applications for the grant of citizenship.
These are some of the ways a person is eligible for, or able to apply for New Zealand citizenship:
•
Automatically by birth in NZ – before 2006 regardless of the residency or citizenship
status of the parents. After 2006, at least one parent needs to hold residency or be a
New Zealand citizen. A child’s citizenship status is confirmed by the Department when
their birth is registered.
•
Automatically by descent from a NZ citizen - the first generation born outside New
Zealand are New Zealand citizens automatically and can have their citizenship confirmed
by completing a form, providing the required documentation and paying the fee of
NZD$204.40.
•
Citizenship by grant - A person may be eligible to apply for citizenship by grant under
sections 8,9, or 10 of the Citizenship Act 1977 or under section 7 of the Citizenship
(Western Samoa) Act. A person may apply by completing the relevant application form,
providing the required documentation and paying the fee of $470.20 for adults and
$235.10 for children aged 15 years and under.
Registration of New Zealand citizenship by descent in more detail
Any person born outside New Zealand on or after 1 January 1978, and whose mother or father
was a New Zealand citizen (otherwise than by descent) at the time of their birth or adoption can
apply to register their New Zealand citizenship by descent.
The applicant’s mother or father will have either been born in New Zealand or will have received
a grant of New Zealand citizenship before the applicant was born.
A person can also be eligible if they meet these requirements but were born before 1 January
1978.
A person who meets the above criteria is
already a citizen of New Zealand, however their status
needs to be registered officially.
Before their status can be registered, the following checks are made –
• Verification of the applicants claim to citizenship by descent
• Verification of the applicants Identity
• Where applicable verification of adoption
• Verification of travel movements
• Where applicable external agency check with the Ministry of Business, Innovation and
Employment
As the applicant’s eligibility is subject to their parents’ New Zealand citizenship status at the
time of their birth, the Department can undertake most of the above checks internally. For
example, against the New Zealand birth or citizenship registers of which the Department is
responsible for.
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Once the above checks have been completed, their claim to citizenship by descent is
determined and if the right to New Zealand citizenship is confirmed, a New Zealand citizenship
record is created. A citizen by descent does not need to attend a citizenship ceremony.
The standard processing timeframe for a citizenship by descent application is up to 20 working
days, provided the application is correct and complete. Please note in some cases where
additional information is required, in rare complex cases or the applicant was born before 1978,
the process may be longer.
Application for citizenship by grant in more detail
To be eligible for the grant of New Zealand citizenship, a person must meet the following
criteria:
• They are entitled to reside indefinitely in New Zealand and have been present in New
Zealand for at least 1,350 days with New Zealand residence during the five years
immediately before an application is made
• Have been present for at least 240 days with New Zealand residence in each of those five
years
• Meet any conditions imposed by Immigration New Zealand (INZ) in regard to their
residence status
• Is of good character
• Understands the responsibilities and privileges of New Zealand citizenship
• Is able to understand and speak English
• Intends to continue to reside in New Zealand if granted citizenship
Each individual requirement above must be checked and assessed by a citizenship case officer.
As part of the citizenship application process, case officers must also be able to verify an
applicant's identity with a high level of confidence, and ensure evidence supplied by an
applicant, or agency which supports the applicant's identity, can be bound to a genuine person.
In addition, external agency checks are undertaken to determine whether the agency may hold
any information detrimental to an applicant’s character.
These agencies include, but are not limited to:
• New Zealand Police (some convictions are assessed under section 9A of the Citizenship
Act)
• New Zealand Security Intelligence Service
• Ministry of Social Development
• Ministry of Justice
• Inland Revenue Department
• Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
Some applicants may be required to supply police reports from overseas agencies or to provide
other information. If the Department receives information after these checks that is potentially
detrimental to their character, additional character references may be required.
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Dependant on the requirements that may or may not be met, a submission to the Minister of
Internal Affairs (Minister) may be required. If this is the case, case officers must collate the
relevant information and write a submission to the Minister for her consideration.
Once an application is approved or declined the grant of citizenship by a delegated
Departmental official, or the Minister herself, applicants must wait to be allocated to a
ceremony.
Citizenship by grant applications are unique to the applicant’s individual circumstance, and an
applicant is not a considered a New Zealand citizen until their application has been approved,
and they have cited the oath or affirmation of allegiance at a citizenship ceremony.
As you are aware, currently applicants for the grant of citizenship will be advised of the outcome
from their application within approximately seven to 12 months of submitting a correct and
complete application. This timeframe does not include the two to five months it can take for an
applicant to be allocated to, and attend, a citizenship ceremony in their area of residence.
As outlined above, the requirements for, and the assessment of citizenship by grant and
citizenship by descent applications are very different, and it is for this reason that the processing
timeframes are different. These applications are currently processed by different teams and no
one application is prioritised or fast tracked over the other.
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this decision.
Information about how to make a complaint is available at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or
freephone 0800 802 602.
Yours sincerely
John Crawford-Smith
Acting Manager Operational Policy and Official Correspondence
Service Delivery and Operations
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