Citizenship and Nuclear Weapons
Felix Lee made this Official Information request to Department of Internal Affairs
The request was partially successful.
From: Felix Lee
Dear Department of Internal Affairs,
On the citizenship application form there's a question that asks has the applicant ever been involved in making or using Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Weapons (question 29 on the adult form). I would like to make the following requests under the Official Information Act:
1. When was the CBRN question added to the application form?
2. What's the reasoning for adding this question? If there are any document/briefing/notes about adding this question, please provide it.
2.1 If there are any review done since about whether this question is effective in achieving its aim, please provide it.
3. What is the policy of granting citizenship to people who have been involved with CBRN weapons?
3.1. Does it matter if the applicant were acting for a government when they made or used those weapons?
3.2. Does it matter if they were acting for a friendly or unfriendly government?
4. For each of the past 10 years, please tell me the number of people, and their existing citizenship, who answered "yes" to the CBRN question and were:
4.1. granted citizenship?
4.2. denied citizenship?
5. Same as question 4 but for the war crime/crime against humanity question (question 30).
6. Same as question 4 but for the terrorism question (question 28).
I am a NZ citizen eligible to make OIA requests, and I prefer to receive a reply by email. If there are difficulties in providing some of these information please let me know and I can modify my questions as necessary .
Yours faithfully,
Felix Lee
From: OIA
Department of Internal Affairs
Tçnâ koe Felix,
Thank you for your OIA request to the Department of Internal Affairs (included with this email)
The Department will provide its response to your request as soon as practicable and within twenty working days. The 20th working day is 23 June 2020.
Please note that in cases where the Department’s response provides information that is identified to be of general public interest, the response may also be published on the Department of Internal Affairs website. If the Department publishes its response to your OIA request, all personal information, including your name and contact details, will be removed.
COVID-19
To help stop the spread of COVID-19, most of our staff are working from home. This means it may take us a little longer to process your Official Information Act request. In some cases we may need to extend the timeframe for response and will let you know if this applies to your request.
Read more information and updates from the Ombudsman about Official Information Act processing.
Ngâ mihi
-----Original Message-----
From: Felix Lee <[FOI #12874 email]>
Sent: Sunday, 24 May 2020 9:44 PM
To: OIA <[email address]>
Subject: Official Information request - Citizenship and Nuclear Weapons
Dear Department of Internal Affairs,
On the citizenship application form there's a question that asks has the applicant ever been involved in making or using Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Weapons (question 29 on the adult form). I would like to make the following requests under the Official Information Act:
1. When was the CBRN question added to the application form?
2. What's the reasoning for adding this question? If there are any document/briefing/notes about adding this question, please provide it.
2.1 If there are any review done since about whether this question is effective in achieving its aim, please provide it.
3. What is the policy of granting citizenship to people who have been involved with CBRN weapons?
3.1. Does it matter if the applicant were acting for a government when they made or used those weapons?
3.2. Does it matter if they were acting for a friendly or unfriendly government?
4. For each of the past 10 years, please tell me the number of people, and their existing citizenship, who answered "yes" to the CBRN question and were:
4.1. granted citizenship?
4.2. denied citizenship?
5. Same as question 4 but for the war crime/crime against humanity question (question 30).
6. Same as question 4 but for the terrorism question (question 28).
I am a NZ citizen eligible to make OIA requests, and I prefer to receive a reply by email. If there are difficulties in providing some of these information please let me know and I can modify my questions as necessary .
Yours faithfully,
Felix Lee
-------------------------------------------------------------------
This is an Official Information request made via the FYI website.
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #12874 email]
Is [DIA request email] the wrong address for Official Information requests to Department of Internal Affairs? If so, please contact us using this form:
https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?bo...
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If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA page.
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From: Louise Walton
Department of Internal Affairs
Tēnā koe Mr Lee,
Thank you for your official information request dated 24 May 2020,
regarding citizenship applications.
We are currently proceeding with your request, however it would be useful
to understand your reasoning for enquiring on this topic. This is so we
are best able to assist you, and provide you with the most helpful context
to this part of the citizenship process in our response.
Please do not hesitate to get in touch should you have any questions.
Ngā mihi,
Louise Walton
Advisor Official Correspondence | Branch Development and Support | Te Waka
Aukaha
Service Delivery and Operations|Kāwai ki te Iwi
The Department of Internal Affairs | Te Tari Taiwhenua
[1]www.dia.govt.nz
[2]Logo-test
-----Original Message-----
From: Felix Lee <[FOI #12874 email]>
Sent: Sunday, 24 May 2020 9:44 PM
To: OIA <[email address]>
Subject: Official Information request - Citizenship and Nuclear Weapons
Dear Department of Internal Affairs,
On the citizenship application form there's a question that asks has the
applicant ever been involved in making or using Chemical, Biological,
Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Weapons (question 29 on the adult form). I
would like to make the following requests under the Official Information
Act:
1. When was the CBRN question added to the application form?
2. What's the reasoning for adding this question? If there are any
document/briefing/notes about adding this question, please provide it.
2.1 If there are any review done since about whether this question is
effective in achieving its aim, please provide it.
3. What is the policy of granting citizenship to people who have been
involved with CBRN weapons?
3.1. Does it matter if the applicant were acting for a government when
they made or used those weapons?
3.2. Does it matter if they were acting for a friendly or unfriendly
government?
4. For each of the past 10 years, please tell me the number of people, and
their existing citizenship, who answered "yes" to the CBRN question and
were:
4.1. granted citizenship?
4.2. denied citizenship?
5. Same as question 4 but for the war crime/crime against humanity
question (question 30).
6. Same as question 4 but for the terrorism question (question 28).
I am a NZ citizen eligible to make OIA requests, and I prefer to receive a
reply by email. If there are difficulties in providing some of these
information please let me know and I can modify my questions as necessary
.
Yours faithfully,
Felix Lee
-------------------------------------------------------------------
This is an Official Information request made via the FYI website.
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #12874 email]
Is [DIA request email] the wrong address for Official Information requests to
Department of Internal Affairs? If so, please contact us using this form:
https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?bo...
Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers
If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please
ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA
page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
References
Visible links
1. http://www.dia.govt.nz/
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From: Felix Lee
Dear Louise Walton,
Thank you for your reply.
I was helping my friend with citizenship (they have nothing to do with CBRN by the way) and I came across this question. It was kind of an unusual question, so I looked at the citizenship application forms for some other English speaking countries, and none of them have this question. It piqued my interest further.
I had all sorts of questions like: does this mean that someone who used to work for a defense contractor in the US can't be a NZ citizen? Or is it only targeting potential terrorists? Does this have something to do with NZ's nuclear free status? So I decided to find out.
I may do a blog post if there's anything interesting but otherwise it'll just be for personal knowledge.
Thank you for your help with this.
Yours sincerely,
Felix Lee
From: Louise Walton
Department of Internal Affairs
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Tēnā koe Felix,
Please see attached for the response to your Official Information Act 1982
request.
Ngā mihi,
Louise Walton
Advisor Official Correspondence | Branch Development and Support | Te Waka
Aukaha
Service Delivery and Operations|Kāwai ki te Iwi
The Department of Internal Affairs | Te Tari Taiwhenua
[1]www.dia.govt.nz
[2]Logo-test
References
Visible links
1. http://www.dia.govt.nz/
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