Ref: 2324-0658

 

Dear Harry

 

On behalf of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment I
acknowledge your email of 21 September 2023 requesting under the Official
Information Act 1982 (the Act), the following:

 

To provide context, the data collected from the Migration Data Explorer.
All numbers provided are subject to random rounding to base 3.

As of August 31, 2023, INZ had 2100 on hand SMC applications from China,
2088 from India, 918 from Pakistan, 618 from South Africa, 591 from Sri
Lanka, and 234 from Iran. However, during August 2023, INZ made decisions
on 333 SMC applications from India, 219 from South Africa, 96 from Sri
Lanka, but only 15 from China, 6 from Pakistan, and 6 from Iran.

These processing disparities are not unique to August 2023. Similar trends
have been observed in previous months. For instance, by July 31, 2023, INZ
had 2274 on hand SMC applications from India, 2055 from China, 873 from
Pakistan, 636 from Sri Lanka, 594 from South Africa, and 240 from Iran.
During July, INZ made decisions on 297 SMC applications from India, 147
from South Africa, 75 from Sri Lanka, but only 21 from China, 12 from
Pakistan, and there is no available data for Iran.

This pattern of processing variations based on nationality has persisted
in previous months as well, including June, May, April, March, and
February of the current year.

 

I kindly request that you provide me with the following information:

 

A. From the data published by INZ, looks like the percentage of
applications for which decisions have been made in relation to the number
of applications on hand appears to vary significantly based on
nationality. Want a confirmation of whether nationality has any influence
on the processing of SMC applications.

A1. If nationality does affect the process, I would appreciate an
explanation of how and to what extent.

A2. If nationality is not a factor in the SMC processing, please provide
clarification on why there appear to be disparities in the processing of
SMC applications based on nationality. Specifically, I would like to
understand the reasons for variations in the processing times and decision
rates among applicants from different countries.

 

B. Any additional relevant information or insights that can help clarify
the processing patterns observed in the SMC applications based on
nationality.

 

We will endeavour to respond to your request as soon as possible, and no
later than 19 October 2023, being 20 working days after the day your
request was received. If we are unable to respond to your request by then,
we will notify you of an extension of that timeframe.  If you have any
enquiries regarding your request feel free to contact us via email to
[1][MBIE request email].

 

Nāku noa, nā

 

Ministerial Services

Corporate, Governance and Information  |   Ngā Pou o te Taumaru

Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment

15 Stout Street, Wellington 6011 |  P O Box 1473 Wellington 6140

 

References

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1. mailto:[MBIE request email]

Tēnā koe Harry,

 

Please see the attached response to your request for information under the
Official Information Act 1982.

 

 

Nāku noa, nā

 

Emina

MINISTERIAL SERVICES

Immigration New Zealand

Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment

15 Stout Street, PO BOX 1473, Wellington 6140

NZBN 9429000106078

 

[1]http://thelink/how/PublishingImages/MBIE...

 

References

Visible links