20 August 2024
45 Pipitea Street, Wellington 6011
Phone +64 4 495 7200
dia.govt.nz
John
fyi-request-27508-
[email address]
Tēnā koe John
OIA request 24/25 0026 Request for Citizenship by Grant application Training Materials
Thank you for your Official Information Act (Act) request received by the Department of Internal
Affairs (Department) on 30 July 2024.
You requested –
1. I would like to request the full and latest training materials for case officers to process
citizenship by grant applications.
2. I also want to know how the department assess and verify for the requirement under
8(2)f: intend to stay.
We advised you in our letter, dated 2 August 2024 pursuant to section 15(1)(b), that we were
still preparing the information for release and will provide it as soon as practicable.
You were also directed to our earlier release to you of the information requested in question
one in November 2022 and made publicly available with response 2223-0254_1 and 2223-
0254_2 on the website:
www.dia.govt.nz/Official-Information-Act-Requests-2.
In response to your request, I can now provide you with the following information.
Question One
I can advise that processes and procedures for assessing citizenship by grant (CBG) applications
remain the same. Please find attached to this letter - Appendix A – Guidelines, Policies,
Procedures and System Steps from Tuwhiria.
Some information has been withheld under the following sections of the Act:
9(2)(b)(ii) – to protect information where the making available of the information would be
likely unreasonably to prejudice the commercial position of the person who supplied or who is
the subject of the information.
9(2)(g)(ii) – to maintain the effective conduct of public affairs through the protection of such
Ministers, members of organisations, officers, and employees from improper pressure or
harassment
9(2)(k) – to prevent the disclosure or use of official information for improper gain or improper
advantage
Some information has been omitted from the documents as it falls outside the scope of your
request, any information of this nature has been marked as ‘out of scope’.
All names and details used in the training materials as examples of citizenship applicants and
applications are fictitious.
As referenced above, OIA response 2223-0254 which was proactively released in November
2022 contains reference to iLearn modules which remain unchanged.
While training materials have changed since the introduction of our new operating system
called the Customer Centred Management System (CCMS), we have determined that fulfilling
this portion of your request would involve a significant amount of time in collating the necessary
information. This process would likely have a disproportionate impact on the normal operations
of the Department.
After much consideration it was concluded that the request for this information must be
refused under section 18(f) of the Act; the information requested cannot be made available
without substantial collation or research. The Department has published, and regularly updates,
the Citizenship Guidance Document. The Guidance Document sets out the Minister’s
consideration of specific citizenship by grant requirements and the Department’s high-level
application of policy. You can access the guidance document
at www.dia.govt.nz/Citizenship-
Guidance-Document. If after reviewing that document there are specific training materials you
require, please request these and we will assess the suitability of their release.
Question Two
I can advise that this information will be available on the Department’s website in the coming
weeks, via an Official Information Act response. This response is due to be proactively released
her
e www.dia.govt.nz/Official-Information-Act-Requests-2 with the reference number 2324-
0902.
Therefore, I must refuse your request under section 18(d) of the Act; that the information
requested is or will soon be publicly available.
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:
www.dia.govt.nz/Official-Information-Act-Requests-2.
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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
Julia Taylor
Manager Operational Policy and Official Correspondence
Service Delivery and Operations
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