27 July 2020
Marta Leleka
[FYI request #13199 email]
Ref: DOIA 2021-0011
Dear Marta Leleka,
I refer to your official information request, which was initially received by the Ministry of Business,
Innovation & Employment (the Ministry) on 19 March 2020. You requested, under the Official
Information Act 1982 (OIA), the following information:
could you please share the numbers on how many residence applications were allocated to
case officers (for non-priority queue) for each of the below-mentioned periods: 1 January -
26 March 2020 1 June - 1 July 2. What is the lodgement date for the oldest application from
the non-priority queue? 3. How many months does it take at the moment to allocate a non-
priority application to the CO? 4. According to the INZ web-site, SMC visa processing time is
17 months, how is it applicable at the moment? Is it the time to get CO or to receive a visa
decision?
Response
1. The table below shows the number of applications al ocated in the periods of time you provided,
broken down by priority queue and non-priority queue.
Period
Priority Queue
Non-priority Queue Total
1 January to 26 March (Not recorded*)
(Not recorded*)
1,270
1 June to 1 July
589
81
670
∗ Note: during the period 1 January to 6 March, Immigration New Zealand (INZ) did not record
the number of applications al ocated from each queue, only the total number. In order to
provide a breakdown of priority and non-priority allocations for this period, we would need to
manually check each of the 1,270 allocated applications. This part of your request is therefore
refused under section 18(f) of the OIA, as the information requested cannot be made available
without substantial collation or research.
2. The lodgement date for the oldest application in the non-priority queue is 20 December 2018.
3. We do not record in a reportable format the average time for applications to be allocated. In order
to provide this information, we would need to manual y check hundreds of applications. This part
of your request is therefore refused under section 18(f) of the OIA, as the information requested
cannot be made available without substantial collation or research.
4. The processing times on our website are calculated by averaging the time taken to process, from
lodgement to decision, all the applications decided in the previous three months. It does not show
the average time taken to be allocated to an immigration officer.
For the parts of this OIA that are refused under section 18(f), I have considered whether the Ministry
would be able to respond to your request given extra time or the ability to charge for the information
requested. I have concluded that, in both cases, the Ministry’s ability to undertake its work would stil
be compromised.
I have also considered whether consulting with you would assist you to make the request in a form
that would remove the reason for the refusal, but in my view it would not.
If you wish to discuss any aspect of your request or this response, please contact Fraser Stretton at
[email address].
Yours sincerely
Nicola Hogg
General Manager Border and Visa Operations
Immigration New Zealand
Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
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