1.
30 June 2023
Dr Ana Popovska Stojanovska
[FYI request #22761 email]
DOIA 2223- 2621
Tēnā koe Dr Ana Popovska Stojanovska
Thank you for your correspondence of 11 May 2023, to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and
Employment (MBIE) requesting, under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act), the following
information:
First I would most kindly request the CLARIFICATION:
1. Is 30 June 2023 the last day for the 2000 Parent Residence Category visa approvals?
2. If not, what date would be the D-day for the 2000 visa approvals?
3. Could this number be increased by 500 FROM THE QUEUED POOL, since the first ballot selection will
take place in August 2023?
Now, the queries for the UPDATED NUMBERS after the 9 May 2023 draw of EOIs :
4. What date of receiving the EOIs is the first one to begin with the next draw in August 2023, is it the 12
June 2016, the 28 June 2016, or a completely different date? I specifically ask this because for the
updated table on the immigration.co.nz site we should wait almost three months.
5. Total Count of EOIs in the queued pool after the 9 May draw and, if possible please, count of persons
included in, since one EOI could include two people.
6. Count of EOIs that are still in the queued pool after the 9 May draw, received before 10 August 2019,
and, if possible, count of persons included in.
Our response
Questions one, two and three
The annual cap up until 30 June 2023 is 2,000 visas. Immigration New Zealand’s (INZ) initial plan was to
select Expressions of Interest (EOIs) from the queue in sufficient quantity to grant 2,000 visas per year from
the start of the 2023/24 financial year, until the queue was gone. However, this would have meant that
clients submitting an EOI after 12 October 2022 would not have had the opportunity to be selected for
several years. To remedy this, a quota of 500 was added to the selection of new EOIs. These 500 places
will be added to the annual cap from August 2023 when the first ballot draw takes place.
Due to the time it takes from the first EOI selection to receive all of the visa applications, and as clients have
four months to submit their application, INZ will not necessarily reach the 2,000 target in the allotted time.
As such, INZ adjusts the number of EOIs selected from the queue prior to each selection to reach the target
of 2,000 visas approved.
Question four
Clients who previously had EOIs in the pool and withdrew them, had the ability to resubmit their application
when it was announced that the category had re-opened. The oldest EOI included in the August 2023 draw
is dated 4 March 2016. This EOI was a resubmission that was made following our May 2023 draw, and
would have been selected had they been in the pool at the time of that draw. These clients will now be
captured in the August 2023 draw, as they have regained their place in the queue.
Questions five and six
As at 20 June 2023, there were 3,523 Parent Category EOIs in the pool, representing 5,436 clients. As at 20
June 2023, there are 1,778 of Parent Category EOIs submitted on or before 9 August 2019 still in the pool,
representing 2,875 applicants.
I trust you find this information useful. You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the
Ombudsman of the Ministry’s response to your request, in accordance with section 28(3) of the Act.
Information about how to make a complaint is available
at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone
0800 802 602.
If you wish to discuss any aspect of your request or this response, please conta
ct [email address] Nāku iti nei, nā
Richard Owen
General Manager (Acting), Border and Visa Operations
Immigration New Zealand
