20 October 2023 
 
Baz H 
[FYI request #24228 email]  
 
 
 
 
 
 
DOIA 2324-0677 
 
Tēnā koe Baz, 
 
Thank you for your email of 25 September 2023 to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and 
Employment requesting, under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act), the following: 
1. Does Special Assessment Team (SAT) have a different queue for each visa application 
type, or it is one general queue for all visa types? 
2. What is the received date of the first visa application within SAT queue waiting to be 
assigned for immigration officer? 
3. What is the received date of the first Partnership residence Visa application within 
SAT queue waiting to be assigned for immigration officer? 
4. How many applications are there in SAT queue waiting to be assigned? 
Our Response 
 
Question 1: Does Special Assessment Team (SAT) have a different queue for each visa application type, 
or it is one general queue for all visa types? 
The Special Assessment Team (SAT) processes both residence and temporary visa categories. The team 
has multiple allocation queues for different visa categories. 
Question 2: What is the received date of the first visa application within SAT queue waiting to be 
assigned for immigration officer? 
SAT allocates applications in date order from the queues. As at 12 October 2023, the oldest residence 
category application in SAT awaiting allocation for assessment was received by Immigration New 
Zealand (INZ) on 6 April 2023 and the oldest temporary category application awaiting allocation for 
allocation was received by INZ on 9 June 2023. 
Question 3: What is the received date of the first Partnership residence Visa application within SAT 
queue waiting to be assigned for immigration officer? 
As at 12 October 2023, the oldest residence partnership application in SAT awaiting allocation for 
assessment was received by INZ on 11 July 2023. 
Question 4: How many applications are there in SAT queue waiting to be assigned?” 
As at 12 October 2023, there were 53 residence category applications and 28 temporary applications 
in SAT waiting to be allocated for assessment. 

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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 contact [email address]. 
 
 
Nāku noa, nā 
 
 
Jock Gilray  
Director Visa 
Chief Operating Officer Branch 
Immigration New Zealand 
Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment 
 

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