17 March 2023
45 Pipitea Street, Wellington 6011
Phone +64 4 495 7200
dia.govt.nz
Pete via FYI
fyi-request-21890-
[email address]
Tēnā koe Pete
OIA request 22/23 0599 Request for Citizenship Information
Thank you for your Official Information Act (Act) request received by the Department of Internal
Affairs (Department) on 21 February 2023.
You requested –
1. Can you please advise when the newly appointed Minister of Internal Affairs will resume
reviewing citizenship submissions for approval and for how long this process has been
paused?
2. Can you provide the average number of citizenship application each senior case officer
processes per month (Applications that requires manual checks) ?
3. Do you have any plans to update the citizenship statistics in the DIA website!
In response to your request, I can provide you with the following information.
Question One
I can advise that the new incoming Minister for Internal Affairs, Hon Barbara Edmonds resumed
receiving citizenship by grant submissions on 1 March 2023.
I can also advise that submissions were put on hold when the Cabinet reshuffle was announced
on the 31 January 2023.
However, please note that one urgent citizenship application submission was submitted to the
minister’s office on the last week of February.
Question Two
From 1 September 2022 to 6 March 2023, 49 Life and Identity Services Officers (LISOs)
processed a total of 14, 617 applications which required some manual checks. The average
number of these types of applications that a LISO processed per month over this time period is
50.
It may be helpful for me to explain that citizenship applications which require manual checking
are not exclusively allocated and processed by senior LISO’s but can be worked on by
experienced LISO’s as well. This is because some applications which require manual checking are
not always due to complex queries but can be due to minor errors with providing incorrect
information in the online or paper application from.
Question Three
Citizenship statistics are updated monthly on the Department’s citizenship website. Please see
the following link of where to locate this on the website:
https://www.govt.nz/browse/passports-citizenship-and-identity/nz-citizenship/how-to-apply-
for-nz-citizenship/application-timeframes/
As this information may be of interest to other members of the public, the Department has
decided to proactively release a copy of this response on the DIA website. All requestor data,
including your name and contact details, will be removed prior to release. The released
response will be made available here:
https://www.dia.govt.nz/Official-Information-Act-
Requests-2.
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.
Ngā mihi,
John Crawford-Smith
Manager Operational Policy and Official Correspondence (Acting)
Service Delivery and Operations
Page 2 of 2
